WORD OF THE DAY
Racism
[ rey-siz-uhm ]
A mix of discrimination, domination, and antagonism that maintains the power and privilege of one race over another. In many countries, racism manifests as the belief that whiteness or even lightness is superior to those with darker skin. Racism, like other oppressions, can play out in interpersonal interactions (e.g., racist jokes), through institutions backed by institutional power (e.g., biased treatment by police, unfair laws), or as internalized beliefs (e.g., wishing oneself to be white or lighter-skinned). Anti-Black racism is a specific kind of racism with discrimination, domination, and antagonism directed towards Black people and people of the African diaspora.