Racism: Causes, Effects and Solutions

Running head: Racism
English Essay
-Racism
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1Racism
Introduction: what is racism?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, Racism can be understood as any form of
discrimination, prejudice or antagonism directed towards anyone from a different racial
background, and is based on the notion of a racial superiority over the one being
discriminated/prejudiced/antagonized. It also implies that members of each race possess
qualities that are unique to the race, which makes the race inferior or superior to others
(en.oxforddictionaries.com, 2018). This also supports the idea of racial separatism, which is
the belief that different racial groups should remain separated and segregated from each other
(adl.org, 2018). According to the human Rights Commission, racism can take place in
different forms and in different places, and is based on differences in the skin color, ethnicity,
and national origin. Racism can also be related to acts of harassment and abuse, however
does not necessarily include violent or intimidating behavior. It can however still cause
individuals to be excluded from social groups (itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au, 2018).
Racism has been a significant tool that encouraged and instilled fear and haltered towards
others from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, especially during times of unrest and war
or economic downtime. This process have fostered an environment of inequality and
discrimination and influenced how we related to other people (Globalissues.org, 2018). In
North America, the problems of racism were prevalent in Canada and US. The racist
government policies in Canada for instance have the Innu community of eastern Canada and
in US, racial profiling is still a major source of stress for ethnic groups in the US
(Globalissues.org, 2018).
Causes of racism
Racism has been a part of human history since a very long time, stemming out of our
tendency to make stereotypes based on color, race, religion and nationality. It is often

2Racism
practiced unconsciously, and is a part of the nurturing and upbringing process of individuals.
This is often due to our social history of discrimination against people, which has been
ingrained as a part of the upbringing. The feudal systems, the slavery system have formed
some of the darkest histories of our civilization, where violent ethnic cleansing and genocides
have been done in the name of racist ideologies, which were even seen in the more recent
times of our history (Mukherjee, 2018).
Several factors are related to propagation and persistence of discriminatory and racist
behaviors in us. The main factors that have fostered racism includes: Selfishness towards the
welfare of themselves and their own races; Unfamiliarity and a lack of understanding of
people of other races; Stereotyping towards others; Peer Pressure and Upbringing (Perey
1999). Similarly, aspects such as fear; wrong assumptions based on previous experience,
hearsay and media coverage; historical context, social hierarchy; economic divide in the
society or economic inequalities; problems associating with outsiders or unfamiliar people;
an inferiority complex; statistical data; family beliefs and a lack of respect towards humanity
as a whole (Nazroo, 2003; Van Dijk, 2015).
Mukherjee (2014) also supported similar views on factors that fosters racism, and
outlined 9 factors, namely: 1) Human Nature: An inherent sense of inferiority in people
predisposes us to establish a sense of supremacy over others, which further leads us to think
of others in a poor context (Muris et al., 2017). Racism provides an ideal opportunity to claim
supremacy or inferiority of different racial groups 2) Fear of Economic and Social Problems:
Many people are afraid and hostile towards foreigners from other countries due to a perceived
fear of the Economic and Social Impact it can have (Banks & Hicks, 2016). This irrational
fear is also called Xenophobia, and is one of the factors that fuel racism (Muscat et al., 2017).
3) “Us and Them” mentality: People from different racial backgrounds are often considered
outsiders of the community, creating a mental segregation (Van Dijk, 2015). 4) National

3Racism
Demarcation of Countries as first world and third world countries also serves to foster a sense
of Racism, considering the third world countries as inferior to the first World countries, a
concept that persisted from the post colonial era. 5) Political Factors: Politics have always a
source of divide between people. A politics of appeasement helps to support differences
among certain group’s people, perpetuating inequalities among them. 6) Stigmatizing colors:
The color black has been associated with mourning, death and evil in most European cultures,
which propagated into the practice of considering people with dark skin as inherently bad and
thus fostered inequalities against them. 7) A fragmented and Stratified Society: A society that
is highly fragmented and stratified will have several social divisions, with each group
considering others as the outsiders as a form of defense mechanism against them, and fosters
a sense of animosity towards the other ethnic and racial groups. 8) Popular Culture and Mass
Media: The popular culture as well as mass media has also covertly and overtly fuelled
racism, through stereotyping of skin colors, which have become ingrained as a part of our
social belief system. 9) Lack of Awareness towards other racial groups and the history how
racism have crippled and oppressed minority communities (Mukherjee, 2014; Lee &
Zalkalne, 2018).
Effects of racism on ethnic minorities
Racism and discrimination have been related to have many adverse effects on the
overall wellbeing of individuals as well as entire communities and societies. Many studies
have supported that Racism can have adverse effects on the mental health of individuals.
Kwate and Goodman (2015) showed that residents in the Black Neighborhoods in New York
City who experience racial discrimination are more prone to poor mental health conditions,
compared to their white counterparts. Other studies have also supported that racism can cause
mental health problems among individuals experiencing racist and discrimination (Willie,
2016). Clement et al. (2015) also suggested that stigmatization in the form of racism also