What Is Racism?

Written by: Danton Valenzuela (@dantonsinferno)

To the majority of us, racism has been taught from a very skewed perspective. We have been taught that it ended in 1968 with the Civil Rights act, and that a man named Martin Luther king and a few other key figures started a large movement that shifted our society's view on race. Since then blacks and whites have lived in harmony and we all have the same opportunities. 

The modern face of racism is Donald Sterling saying the “n” word, or someone in the public eye making a politically incorrect statement .Or as an ideology followed by small groups (KKK, Skinheads, trailer park racists) who carry confederate flags and say spiteful ignorant things about other races. We have learned that rather it being seen as an advantage to whites, it is seen as a disadvantage to others. This is why people assume we all have the same opportunities to succeed. That is why it’s so easy for white people to ignore white privilege. They don’t see the advantages they get, the “racism is dead” myth has indoctrinated the world.

This is very misleading to people who have no idea that our societies current structure is set up at a disadvantage to people of color. Things like the food system, mass incarceration, police brutality and gentrification are not looked at as racial issues. The truth is that these systems are what actually harm the black/brown community. Black men are incarcerated more than anyone else in this country, black communities are food deserts and time and time again cops get away with murder.

Soooo… How do we change this? We have to change our definition of racism and actively dismantle the systems that keep people oppressed. This idea of what modern racism looks like is called “The new Jim Crowe”. It compares mass incarceration to slavery and explains the laws and ideology that have tricked people into believing race doesn’t play a factor. I will have some sources below if you are interested in learning more about that. Racism is as prevalent today as it was before the civil rights movement. . The state of the world often seems bleak when you look at all the injustice that we all face. I like to think that 100 years ago things were a lot worse and we’ve made a lot of strides. Things only ever get better, humans are constantly evolving. Remember to never lose hope for a better world, and that change is possible