Racism can be defined as:
prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another; typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
the belief that some races are better than others, or the unfair treatment of someone because of his or her race.
policies, behaviours, rules, etc. that result in continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race
harmful or unfair things that people say, do, or think based on the belief that their own race makes them more intelligent, good, moral, etc. than people of other races.
Racism can be experienced in many forms. Here are some examples, some of them overt and obvious, some less so, and these less obvious forms are sometimes labelled as 'micro aggressions'.
- verbal abuse like name-calling
- offensive jokes
- derogatory language
- bullying or intimidation
- physical attacks
- threats of violence
- hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, hate mail
- online abuse for example on Facebook or Twitter
- displaying or circulating discriminatory literature or posters
- higher scrutiny over performance, for example at work or in education
- being put at an unfair disadvantage
- personal questions or assumptions about race, culture, language, place of origin