racism

Etymology

From French racisme. See race, -ism for more.

noun

1. The belief that there are distinct human races which are inherently different, such that a person's abilities are determined by their race, and generally that some races are superior and others inferior.
   It is altogether inaccurate to suggest that Europe is being indoctrinated with Fascism or Racism. 1932-10-21, Sisley Huddleston, “Europe Painted in Fascist Colors”, in Christian Science Monitor, →ISSN, page 8
   He lost his racism when he worked with a black man in Chicago. He lost his homophobia when he was befriended and looked after by his gay neighbors, a doctor and a nurse, in Little Rock. 2005, Bill Clinton, My Life, volume II, New York: Vintage Books, →OCLC, pages 45–46
   But other kinds of talk and text that are not visible, so called covert racist discourse, may be just as important in reproducing the culturally shared ideas that underpin racism. 2011, Jane H. Hill, The Everyday Language of White Racism, page 1987
2. The policies, practices, or systems (e.g. government or political) promoting this belief or promoting the dominance of one or more races over others.
   Martin Luther King spoke out against racism.
   In part, the answer is that racism extends considerably beyond prejudiced beliefs. The essential feature of racism is not hostility or misperception, but rather the defense of a system from which advantage is derived on the basis of race. The manner in which the defense is articulated – either with hostility or subtlety – is not nearly as important as the fact that it insures the continuation of a privileged relationship. Thus it is necessary to broaden the definition of racism beyond prejudice to include sentiments that in their consequence, if not in their intent, support the racial status quo. 1993-09-24, David T. Wellman, Portraits of White Racism, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, →OL, page 210
   In “Crazy for This Democracy” (1945), Hurston critiques the US government's racism at home and abroad, including its silence on the anticolonial movements in Africa. 2013, Tyler T. Schmidt, Desegregating Desire
3. Prejudice or discrimination based upon race or ethnicity; (countable) an action of such discrimination.
   For, if racism against non-whites is morally wrong and unjustifiable, then how can racism against whites be morally right and justifiable? 2007, Joseph Godson Amamoo, Ghana: 50 years of independence
   This was partly true, but the biggest thing stopping him was that he had tried going to a college in Adelaide before and grew tired of the little racisms and discrimination that he got there. 2016, Bernard Guerin, How to Rethink Human Behavior