racism
In its most simple definition, racism is a prejudice based on race involving in which that prejudice is based on a social hierarchy and furthers the social hierarchy. However, there are many types of racism which rarely occur alone.
Some types of racism include:
Ideological racism
- A racist world view, which can be personal or widespread across a community or people. Consider for example historical views that lead to genocide of Indigenous people across North America. When discussing personal racist beliefs influenced by culture, this is often referred to as internalized racism. When those beliefs are expressed through racialized words or hate speech, it is referred to as discursive racism.
Systemic racism
- Thought of as racism from the foundation of a society and from a society-wide approach. In the U.S., this can be looked at as the U.S. being founded on a system of enslavement, of racial oppression, of ethnic cleansing, and of genocide, and how that has profoundly affected the way society has been built.
Structural racism
- May be thought of as the way society builds around and into racism. This can include public policy, government and private institutions, and social practice. In the U.S., both Jim Crow laws and white flight are examples of structural racism. When specific laws or institutions are built or instituted for the purposes of racist ideology, it is termed institutional racism, for example covenant housing, redlining and other zoning regulations.
This is far from an exhaustive list of types of racism, and types of racism often overlap.
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