racism

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racism summary

racism

Q: What is racism?

Racism, also called racialism, is the belief that humans can be divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called “races"; that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural and behavioral features; and that some races are innately superior to others.

Q: What are some of the societal aspects of racism?

Historically, the practice of racism held that members of low-status races should be limited to low-status jobs or enslavement and be excluded from access to political power, economic resources, and unrestricted civil rights. Members of low-status races could encounter segregation, acts of physical violence, and in some places, racism dictated that it was unnatural for members of different races to marry.

Q: What were the measures taken to combat racism?

Racism elicits hatred and distrust and precludes any attempt to understand its victims. Many societies attempt to combat racism by raising awareness of racist beliefs and practices and by promoting human understanding in public policies, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, set forth by the United Nations in 1948.

Also known as: racialism

Written by Audrey Smedley

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 7, 2024 • Article History

racially restricted beach in apartheid-era South Africa

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Category: History & Society

Also called:: racialism

Key People:: Ian Smith; Theodore G. Bilbo; Enoch Powell; Hinton Rowan Helper; Ibram X. Kendi

Related Topics:: anti-Semitism; white supremacy; institutional racism; racial segregation; Aryanism

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What is racism?

What are some of the societal aspects of racism?

What were the measures taken to combat racism?

racism, the belief that humans may be divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called “races”; that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural and behavioral features; and that some races are innately superior to others. The term is also applied to political, economic, or legal institutions and systems that engage in or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race or otherwise reinforce racial inequalities in wealth and income, education, health care, civil rights, and other areas. Such institutional, structural, or systemic racism became a particular focus of scholarly ...(100 of 1028 words)

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