History and Racism

Almost every country in the world at some point has had a large-scale racist movement, and some continue to do so. The KKK and Jim Crow laws, the Holocaust, human slavery, the cast system in India, and Apartheid are just a few things that we shudder to think about. Learning about Apartheid as a more in-depth concept this year has opened my eyes and given me a new perspective towards understanding of racism, so let’s take a closer look:

Apartheid Overview:

-word mean “separateness,” “the state of being apart,” or “apart-hood” in Afrikaans

-an official political system of racial segregation in South Africa enforced by the National Party starting as far back as colonial times and continuing as recently as 1994

-non-whites were deprived of their citizenship, removed from politics, exiled for their art, and denied adequate education, employment, and medical care in addition to being forced to stay in specific regions of the country

What do all of these movements have in common? They separate out a group of people for a specific, but usually ridiculous reason. They foster a sectioned, rather than united community. They stir up violence and hate.

Racism is Taught

Have you ever noticed that there are no racist babies or toddlers? Racism is a concept that is handed down generation to generation. Kids learn from their parents at a young age that certain people are either bad, or that you should look out for them. The shock and surprise coming from the kids watching the Cheerios commercial after being told the commercial made adults unhappy was sweet to watch. They just thought everybody should love everybody. At what age do kids typically start to have racist thoughts or ideas? It depends on the parents, and how exposed the children are to their surrounding communities.

Psychology Behind Small Racist Acts

Psychology Today outlines the five major contributors to small scale racism as being self esteem, positive distinctiveness, certainty and structure, survival, and dominance. What do these factors say about how we judge, steryotype, and categorize each other?

self esteem

Putting down others in order to lift yourself up is a typical social tendency. Bullies generally have low self-esteem, or are concerned with the way they look or act. This idea is highlighted by Hitler’s striving for the blond hair, blue eyed population even though he had brown hair and eyes.

positive distinctiveness 

Human beings generally travel in groups. Being part of a group, or the “in-crowd”  makes one feel as if they belong, as if they’re important. If you don’t look or behave like the average group member, you’re typically viewed negatively. You’re an outcast.

certainty and structure

My grandfather gets up at 5am every day. Mom always just waves it off. “Some people need their routine.” Structure and certainty and tradition can have an effect on people who really need to have things set in stone. The world creates a  threat when a curveball is thrown or when there is a change in what has for so long been considered “normal.”

survival and dominance

Survival instincts kick in when a group feels like they need to compete with another group for resources or glory. Groups sometimes feel like there needs to be a hierarchy, positions, and status in order to maintain their supremacy and ultimately come out on top.

Psychology Behind Large-Scale Racist Movements

Large-scale racist movements tend to fester based off of things like religion and politics and economic issues. However, these movements can be traced back to the beginning of time. As tribal communities, people all over the world would practice “clannism.” You stuck with your clan, you wore your clan’s colors, you practiced your clan’s traditions, and when it came down to it…you fought with your clan.

Clannism leads into rivalries. If you’ve ever been to an Army-Navy game, you know rivalries are no joke. That guy who painted his face this morning can get pretty vicious when his favorite player ends up injured. Clans have this same rival-mentality. Wars between clans began with rivalries based on racial supremacy. Clans typically had differing physical characteristics based on where they lived, and every clan thought that the other clans looked “strange” because they looked different. After clans have wars, the concept of “the enemy looks different” blossomed, and so did the idea of racial supremacy. “We are more beautiful than they are, and therefore we are better.”

Other factors that went into rivalries and separation were tradition, culture, and rituals. When clansmen noticed their enemies practicing “strange rituals” and using different medication, and eating different animals, they viewed them as barbarians. This obviously connects to the novel Waiting for the Barbarians we read in class. When the outsiders behave differently, they are viewed as behaving “wrong.” Religion and politics add even more differences to the mix, and the unfamiliarity between clans separate them even further.

No, we’re not clans anymore, but this same concept can be applied to countries. We all evolved from the clan lifestyle, and we have all become uncomfortable with differences in culture. This uneasiness along with concerns about our own economic well-being stirs up wars and rivalries that go deeper than the playing field. They affect the way we look at and interact with each other. They make us rivals, enemies, opposites, but more importantly…they separate us, and our differences concern us before we even wonder why.

Looking Towards the Future

Partners for a Racism-Free Community is an organization that works with other organizations, businesses, schools, congregations, and others to provide tools necessary to build an inclusive and racism-free environment and be positioned to succeed in the new multi-cultural economy.  http://prfc-gr.org

Slam Poetry regarding racism gives kids a way to express their feelings about the topic as well as foster connections within their own communities, and these networks of students generally raise awareness on their own campuses and provide support and safety to those in need.

Role Models such as the famed Nelson Mandela, Cheerios, and quiet authors such as Dr. Seuss provide hope for a racism-free future by instilling values in people young and old that center around interracial equality and respect.