Racism

Racism refers to beliefs and practices that assume inherent and significant differences exist between the genetics of various groups of human beings; that assume these differences can be measured on a scale of "superior" to "inferior"; and that result in the social, political and economic advantage of one group in relation to others.

Some examples of specific types of alleged racism

• Afrocentrism - the belief that black African cultures were historically more powerful and influential than most historians believe, or that certain ancient civilizations were created or maintained by black Africans.
• Anti-Arabism - racism and cultural stereotyping directed towards Arabs.
• Anti-Semitism - racism directed towards followers of the Jewish faith or people of Jewish ethnicity, the latter often including those who follow other faiths.
• Apartheid - a now defunct, white supremacist system that once existed in South Africa, in which Whites, Blacks and "Coloureds" (i.e. people of mixed race) were segregated; some refer to current Israeli policies towards Palestinians as apartheid as well.
• Black supremacy - the belief that those of African descent are the superior race.
• Bumiputra - A system whereby Malays are accorded economic privileges not available to those of other races.
• Caste system - (not always considered racist) A system of social hierarchy among various social groups, such as in India often stratified along color lines, with the darkest individuals being members of the most subordinate caste - each assigned a specific occupation and social role. (See also Dalit (outcaste).)
• Colonialism - a practice of the imperial powers of Europe and Asia, wherein foreign territories were subjugated and minority ruling classes were installed to exploit the natural and human resources of the territory. Although not explicitly racist by intent, negative consequences due to racism nearly always resulted.
• Colorism - a bias against dark skin resulting from an internalization of white racist values, manifested in such things as the paper bag test. There seems to be an implicit calculus behind this belief that makes the worth of an individual inversely related to the darkness of his/her skin.
• Cultural genocide is a term used to describe the deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage of a people for political or military reasons.
• Ethnic cleansing - the intentional and systematic relocation and/or elimination of different ethnicities to produce an ethnicly "pure" territory or country - for example, recent history in the former Yugoslavia
• Eurocentrism - the practice of historically and culturally focusing on white Europeans, to the exclusion of study, or even mention of, significant achievements of other groups of people; and often the appropriation of achievements of people of color as being European in origin
• Genocide - the intentional and systematic elimination of different races to produce an racially "pure" territory or country - for example, the history of the Third Reich
• Institutionalized Racism - the process of purposely discriminating against certain groups of people through the use of biased laws or practices. Often, institutionalized racism is subtle and manifests itself in seemingly innocuous ways, but its effects are anything but subtle. An example of this type of racism is the redlining of districts to keep certain people from moving in to a new neighborhood, pervasive in the financial industry in the 1950s and 60s.
• Interracial fetish - a sexual fetish involving stereotypes of cultural behaviors in a fetishistic manner. Coercion and dominance are recurring themes. Additionally, this is sometimes considered misogynistic as well as racist. Not surprisingly, there is no shortage of pornographic material that has been produced catering expressly to this attitude.
• Manifest Destiny - a historical form of the belief that asserted that white Americans had the right and duty to colonize the West and "civilize" the Native American inhabitants.
• Model Minority - stereotype that Asian Americans are intelligent and hardworking and should serve as a "model" for other minorities in the United States
• Nazism (National Socialism) - a historical form of political organization coupled with extreme racism, that directed its energies against the Jews, Roma (the so-called Gypsies), Poles, Russians and other Slavs, among other groups. Some adherents of Nazi ideology continue to exist today.
• Racial purity - the belief that the various so-called races should be kept "pure" by not permitting interbreeding
• Racial segregation - the discriminatory practice of separating groups in society along racial lines, often associated with privilege, power and entitlement for a dominant group and disdvantage and oppression for the subordinate one.
• Redlining - the practice of denying marginalized communities services (such as food delivery or taxi service), or access to home or business loans allowing residents to build equity and have a financial stake in their own communities, or refusal to locate businesses or other services in marginalized communities (such as supermarkets, banks, or bus and subway routes).
• Reverse discrimination or reverse racism - the belief that measures designed to correct alleged racism, such as Affirmative action. Critics would point out that if racism is inherently evil, then there can be no good racism.
• Scientific racism
• Systemic racism - Is a specific type of racism. It usually deals with employment. It involves the denial of employment to immigrants or individuals with overseas education or experience.
• White flight - the practice of white residents abandoning a neighborhood or area coinciding with the arrival of black or other residents, often weakening the tax base and reducing public services. The practice is also known as the tipping point.
• White man's burden - the belief once held by Europeans that they were obligated to civilize and "correct" the great unwashed heathen masses of the world. Although considered a noble mission by some, in practice its consequences nearly always resulted in more human suffering. Term coined by Rudyard Kipling. Similar to "colonialism".
• White privilege - the perceived preferential treatment enjoyed by white persons in various aspects of society.
• White supremacy - the belief that Caucasians are, as a race, superior or worthy of supremacy, even called by some the "master race".
• Attitudes of suburb and gated community developers, who are often accused of pandering to racist views by emphasizing "crime risk" in more racially diverse downtowns, especially in North America.
• Yellow peril
• Zionism was labeled racism by UN Resolution 3379 in 1975 by a vote of 73-35 with the Soviet Bloc and Arab states voting in favor of the resolution. This was rescinded by UN General Assembly Resolution 4686 in 1991 in a vote of 111-25. See Zionism and racism for details.