It’s just so crazy how people are judged by the way they look, how they speak, or even the type of hair that they have. This is just a sad reality of how we have dismally failed as the human race. I strongly believe a person should be judged based on their actions or behavior and never on their skin color. Not to be escaped mention is the fact that All people are born equal, and nothing can change that. It is such a familiar phrase but are we really living up to it? We keep talking about how modern society embraces diverse cultures and diverse people. We try to accomplish great and enormous things like World Peace, eradicate hunger, and poverty, but we are not ready to unite to make such changes happen.

No one is born racist but hatred and surroundings give birth to this inherent behavior. Racism refers to the horrific belief that inherent physical appearance has everything to do with intelligence and personality. Racism is so deep-rooted in cultures that we have wrongfully placed it as a norm. The dire need to eradicate racism has come to arise after a series of violent activities and horrific behaviors against people for their race. So many people have succumbed to this behavior and presently a lot of people are still victims of Racism and suffer in the workplace, society, schools, and every other place even where you least expect it.

CAUSES OF RACISM

MAINTAINING STATUS QUO 

Maintaining a status quo that protects racism is often justified as “keeping the peace” or maintaining law and order. In the book Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi writes that in America, racist ideas have long been used to suppress resistance to racial inequalities. When people believe racist things like that black people are naturally more violent and dangerous or that they are not disturbed by police brutality or mass incarceration. Those who benefit from racist institutions need racist ideas that prop up discrimination or society would rebel against the status quo. Therefore, “keeping the peace” becomes more important than justice and equality.

SELF INTEREST

Self-interest is one of the major root causes of racism. During the slave trade era that occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, a lot of African men, women, and children were taken by force or kidnapped and forced into slavery. Essential also is the fact that instead of trying to attract voluntary laborers, the Europeans decided to go to extremes and used slavery. They realized that on their own with their own workmen they could not handle the farming and all the tasks and sort to exploit others for their own self-interests. They needed to justify their barbaric action, so instead, they claimed that slavery was acceptable because the slaves were less than human. What a disappointing and enraging justification. It is crystal clear that the same cause is still a catalyst and major cause of racism today.

DISCRIMINATORY POLICIES

Policies that discriminate by race and keep people in poverty reinforce racist beliefs. Housing laws are a prime example of this. Many laws kept Black people from owning houses in certain neighborhoods, relegating them to lower-quality housing and preventing them from accumulating wealth.[1] Society looks at this and believes it justifies beliefs about how blacks, Hispanics, and Asian people only live in low-income, crime-ridden neighborhoods and that it’s somehow a choice. Moreover, there are cases where black and mixed-race children have been denied admission in schools because of the looks of their hair.