Racism

Independent Study: RACISM

This study will try to answer questions and find the history as well as find

out if racism can be stopped or slowed down in anyway.

Prejudice is the roots of racism and discrimination, the word prejudice means a

judgment based on previous decisions formed before the facts were known, in

Latin. In our society today prejudice has a social tie, but not all prejudice is racial.

Racism is a specific kind of prejudice.

Racism has had ancient beginnings. For centuries periodic conflicts have taken

place among the three principal races- White, Oriental, and Negro. Chinese texts

from third century B.C describe with hatred a race of blonde haired, green eyed

barbarians that the Chinese thought were directly descended from monkeys. Also

an old American Indian legend said that both black and white races represent

mistakes on the part of the creator-- the first man was baked to long and turned out

black, while the second man wasn't cooked enough and came out white, but on the

third try, the creator got the timing just right and produced a golden Indian.

A 13th century book illustration produced in Baghd...

Sign for "colored" waiting room at a Greyhound bus...

English: Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (unive...

These

ancient beliefs reflect an attitude that was a major factor in the development of

racial prejudice in North America.

It is believed that racial discrimination occurs more often and most severely

when two groups with different skin colours and distinctive physical features

come into contact with each other and the two compete for the same resources.

What happens follows the same pattern worldwide, with predictable out comes.

The concept of colour, to the British of the sixteenth century, colour and

physical appearance had great meaning in the 1500's. "Black" was used to mean

"soiled" or dirty, having dark or deadly purposes, wicked, disgraceful. So from

than on black became the colour of evil.

Yellow (oriental)...