Race and Racism Religious Relations Ethnic Race
Race and Racism Religious Relations Ethnic Race
A dictionary defines race as "a division of mankind possessing traits that are transmissible by descent and sufficient to characterize it as a distinct human type" but in practice, 'races' tend to be characterized more by their position of power or powerlessness in a society than by any innate traits. Biologically, no transmissible (genetic) traits are sufficient to characterize a person as belonging to one race or another. Scientists classified the population of the world into different races hundreds of years ago based on observed characteristics, but it is now generally agreed upon that race is a social construct -- a fiction which persists for complex reasons we will try to explore here.
Racism is commonly understood to be prejudicial discrimination based on race -- i.e. the notion that you can gain some information about someone's intelligence, values, personality, etc. by observing the color of their skin. It follows from this notion that certain races are inherently better than others. Many find that a more useful definition encompasses the issues of power and oppression that are involved in racial discrimination. Defining racism as "racial prejudice plus power" means that when one group of people uses the notion of racial distinctions to deny power to others, this group of people can be considered racist. According to this definition, when an individual behaves in a prejudicial manner that behavior is considered racist only if it accords that person's racial group power. The power gained by subjugating a large population based on some easily observed physical characteristics is one of the many reasons racism continues to be difficult to eradicate.
Top: Society: Issues: Race-Ethnic-Religious Relations
Race and Racism
See Also:
Editor's Picks:
How Race Is Lived in America - Series of New York Times articles based on the premise that race relations are being defined less by political action than by daily experience. Includes archival articles and Web resources list. [Free registration required.]
-
Teaching to make a difference - The sites general aim is to support and provide educational material to teach about issues relating to tolerance and intolerance, the Holocaust, Human Rights, diversity and multi-culturalism.
-
Racism In America - Essay exploring racism.
-
Secret Daughter - The story of a mixed race daughter and the white mother who gave her up for adoption. Discussion boards, audio of racial issues, and links to search for your family history.
-
Salon Directory: Racial Issues - Complete archive of race articles from Salon.com
-
Race and History - A community of volunteers committed to social development. Includes articles and links.
-
Race and Affirmative Action- The Atlantic Monthly - Articles from archives.
-
Undoing Racism - Notes from a training session.
-
Reverse Racism - Includes an article on reverse racism and discrimination.
-
FAIR Issue Area - Racism - Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting project to monitor and combat the media's marginalization, misrepresentation and exclusion of people of color in both the news and the newsroom.
-
Black Mormons & The Priesthood Ban FAQ - A perspective on historic Mormon racial attitudes.
-
The Biology of Skin Color - Researchers suggest that differences in skin color arose to balance the body's use of sunlight and vitamins.
-
Jewish comic bars 'Palestinian' warm-up - Describing how comedian Jackie Mason refused to allow an American Vietnam veteran to perform an opening act for his show, because the performer happened to be Palestinian.
-
World Conference against Racism 2001 - Official site of the United Nations conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
-
World Conference Against Racism - Brief background and analysis of issues like caste discrimination, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, internally displaced persons and citizenship.
-
Race and Human Rights - Compilation of resources on race and human rights for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa in 2001.
-
Racism in Modern America - Thorough examination of the forms racism takes, why it continues, and what can be done about it.
-
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia - A careful examination of racist stereotypes of African-Americans throughout history including research papers and photos of racist objects.
-
Literature on Race, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism - Links and annotated bibliography.
-
The Press And Lynching Of African Americans - A scholarly examination of the lynching epidemic of the early 20th century and how the press reacted to it.
-
Race Relations, About.com Guide - Includes discussions, articles, links and other resources.
-
Racism and Race in American Law - Considering the intersection between racism and race with American law, and the role of the law in promoting or alleviating racism.
-
Protest - Together We are Strong - Fights against theories and ideology of Nazis and Nazism. Takes a stand against racism.
-
The Barbie Science Fair Experiment - A 3rd grade science fair experiment titled "Does Skin Color Make a Difference" that was removed by the school district.
-
All Look Same - Tests the reader's ability to identify people by Asian descent in 18 individual photographs.
-
Black People Love Us - Satire by Chelsea and Jonah Peretti describes a fictional white couple and their flubbed attempts to relate to blacks. Includes viewer letters.
-
Over 200 Facts Related to Racial Issues - This site contains over two hundred facts on racial issues such as discrimination, income differences, affirmative action, education, slavery, media, politics and violence among other topics.
-
AsianWhite.org - Focusing on race relations between Asians and whites. Topics include outmarriage, immigration, media and politics.
-
Call Me Racist, I Don't Care - A Henry Rutgers Undergraduate Honors Thesis examining Englewood, New Jersey's lawsuit seeking to desegregate its schools by merging with its unwilling neighbors.
Click here to add, change or remove your listing
|
