Racism 

Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another.

There are 6,153,407,895 people of different skin tones, beliefs and cultures that reside on our planet .

The diversity of race, religion and culture on Earth should be the catalyst for mutual enrichment and growth. 

Racism is a product of fear and ignorance. The world is richer for the mixture of different types of people. 

Racism, to varying degrees and in various forms, infects virtually every country of the world.  

Beliefs in the innate differences between “us” and “them” have been invoked to justify one group’s domination, exclusion, or elimination of another.

Xenophobia denotes a phobic attitude toward strangers or of the unknown. It comes from the Greek words xenos, meaning "foreigner," "stranger," and phobos, meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe fear or dislike of foreigners or in general of people different from one's self. For example, racism is sometimes described as a form of xenophobia, but in most cases racism has nothing to do with a real phobia.

The term "racism" appeared in the 1930s, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.  "racism" and "racist" appeared in the French Larousse Dictionary in 1932, with "racist" being defined as "the name given to the German national-socialists, designating, rather than the sole Nazi Party (NSDAP), the whole of the völkischIt (comes from the German word Volk, meaning "people, nation") movement.

Nazism was the ideology held by the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, commonly called the NSDAP or Nazi Party). The word Nazism is most often used in connection with the government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, also known as the "Third Reich". In terms of ideology, Nazism combines collectivism, racialism, nationalism, anti-Semitism and anti-communism, and draws from a variety of other sources. 

They were led by Adolph Hitler who believed in the superiority of an Aryan master race (the believed a people known as Aryan was a master race that built a civilization that dominated the world from Atlantis about ten thousand years ago), advocated strong leadership through a centralized government and claimed to be defending Germany and the entire Western world against communism and Jewish subversion.

Racism is illogical. We all have the same DNA

Types of Racism

Scientific Racism 

 Scientific racism refers to the use of science  to justify and support racist beliefs. The use of science to justify racist beliefs goes back at least to the early 18th century, though it gained most of its influence in the mid-19th century.

Some in the scientific community at that time, believed that there were inherent biological differences in the mental capacities of different races.

Individual and Structural 

Examples of individual racism include an employer not hiring a person, failing to promote or giving harsher duties or imposing harsher working conditions, or firing, someone, in whole or in part due to his race.

Two examples of structural racism are apartheid in South Africa, and the system of Jim Crow laws in the United States of America. 

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism is a specific case of racism targeting  Jewish people

Prejudice

Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group. Common features of prejudice include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a tendency to discriminate against members of the group.

• Cognitive Prejudice refers to what people believe to be true: for example, in adherence to a particular metaphysical or methodological philosophy at the expense of other philosophies which may offer a more complete theoretical explanation.
• Affective Prejudice refers to what people like and dislike: for example, in attitudes toward members of particular classes such as race, ethnicity, national origin, or creed.
• Conative Prejudice refers to how people are inclined to behave. It is regarded as an attitude because people do not act on their feelings. An example of conative prejudice may be found in expressions of what should be done if the opportunity presents itself.

These three types of prejudice are correlated, but all need not be present in a particular individual. Someone may believe that a particular group possesses low levels of intelligence, but harbor no ill feeling towards that group. A group may be disliked because of intense competition for jobs, but still recognize no differences between groups.

"Discrimination" is a behavior (an action), with reference to unequal treatment of people because they are members of a particular group. 

• Personal / Individual Discrimination is directed toward a specific individual and refers to any act that leads to unequal treatment because of the individual's real or perceived group membership.
• Legal Discrimination refers to "unequal treatment, on the grounds of group membership, that is upheld by law." Apartheid is an example of legal discrimination, as are also various post-Civil war laws in the southern United States that legally disadvantaged african americans with respect to property rights, employment rights and the exercise of constitutional rights.
• Institutional Discrimination refers to unequal treatment that is entrenched in basic social institutions resulting in advantaging one group over another. The Indian caste system is a historical example of institutional discrimination.

Extermination of People

By conservative estimates, the  Native American population of the United states prior to European contact was greater than 12 million. According to 2003 United States Census Bureau estimates, a little over one third of the 2,786,652 Native Americans in the United States live in three states: California at 413,382, Arizona at 294,137 and Oklahoma at 279,559. 

There are 560 American Indian tribes that have tribal governments that are recognized by the United States in a government to government relationship. The United States has failed to fulfill the terms of over 300 treaties agreed to with Native Americans.  There are also approximately 314 federal Indian reservations in the United States.

In World War II  Nazi led Germany killed an estimated 6 million Jewish people.

In the  bloody civil war in The Congo over 2.5 million people have died.

The 1960's a Time of Change In America

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation in the United States which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Act transformed American society. It prohibited discrimination in public facilities, in government, and in employment. The "Jim Crow" laws in the South were abolished, and it became illegal to compel segregation of the 'races' in schools, housing, or hiring. Enforcement powers were initially weak, but they grew over the years, and later programs (such as affirmative action) were made possible by the Act.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was the catalyst for many nonviolent protests in the 1960's which led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This signified a change in the social acceptance of legislative racism in America and a profound increase in the number of opportunities available for people of color in the United States.

On August 23, 1963, a crowd of more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. and marched to the Capitol Building to support the passing of laws that guaranteed every American equal civil rights. Martin Luther King was at the front of the "March on Washington." On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial* that day, Dr. King delivered a speech that was later entitled "I Have a Dream." The March was one of the largest gatherings of black and white people that the nation's capital had ever seen... and no violence occurred.

In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while he was leading a workers' strike in Memphis, Tennessee. White people and black people who had worked so hard for peace and civil rights were shocked and angry. The world grieved the loss of this man of peace.

On Monday, January 20, 1986, in cities and towns across the country people celebrated the first official Martin Luther King Day, the only federal holiday commemorating an African-American. 

James Brown

"Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a 1968 recording by James Brown.  It is notable both as one of Brown's signature songs and one of the most popular "black power" anthems of the 1960s. In the song, Brown addresses the prejudice towards blacks in America, and the need for black empowerment. He proclaims that "we done made us a chance to do for ourself/we're tired of beating our head against the wall/workin' for someone else".

Sly and The Family Stone

Sly and The Family Stone, a multi racial group, unheard of for the times, recorded a landmark 1969 song about acceptance, "Everyday People". The band exemplified racial harmony, ethnic diversity and a voice for women in its lineup. 

Everyday People

Sometimes I'm right and I can be wrong My own beliefs are in my song The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then Makes no difference what group I'm in I am everyday people, yeah yeah 

There is a blue one who can't accept the green one For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one And different strokes for different folks And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee Oh sha sha - we got to live together I am no better and neither are you We are the same whatever we do You love me you hate me you know me and then You can't figure out the bag l'm in I am everyday people, yeah yeah 

There is a long hair that doesn't like the short hair For bein' such a rich one that will not help the poor one And different strokes for different folks And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo-bee Oh sha sha-we got to live together 

There is a yellow one that won't accept the black one That won't accept the red one that won't accept the white one And different strokes for different folks.

Muhammad Ali

"I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong-No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder kill and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end." —Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942) AKA "The Greatest".

 In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated. He won the World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times, and won the North American Boxing Federation championship as well as an Olympic gold medal.

On August 23, 1966, Muhammad  applied with the Selective Service for conscientious objector status on religious grounds (as a minister with the Nation of Islam). In what became an extensive legal, political, professional, and personal battle, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his boxing title, and became a lightning rod — and a voice — for opinions on the Vietnam War. Muhammad Ali's willingness to speak out against racism in the United States, and the affect it had on domestic and foreign policy, earned him many supporters and detractors. 

During the time Muhammad Ali was unable to box he gave speeches on college campuses against the Vietnam War and racism .

 In 1971, nearly five years after it began, Ali's legal battle finally culminated with a unanimous decision (8-0 with Thurgood Marshall abstaining) by the United States Supreme Court overturning his draft conviction.

Muhammad Ali transcended the sports world and became a man known globally as an activist and a positive citizen of the world. He did not care about money he cared about his beliefs and values.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, there will be no other like Ali."

John Carlos and Tommie Smith

Black Power was a political movement, most prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s, that strove to express a new racial consciousness among blacks in the United States. More generally, the term refers to a conscious choice on the part of blacks to nurture and promote their collective interests, advance their own values, and secure their own well-being and some measure of autonomy, rather than permit others to shape their futures and agendas.

In 1968 at the Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico two American track and field runners, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, made a  stand against racism in the United States and the oppression of people worldwide.

Smith and Carlos were both competitors in the 200-meter race. Smith won the gold with the time of 19.5 seconds and Carlos won the bronze. At the medal ceremony, Smith and Carlos stood on the platform wearing black socks without shoes, they both wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, and Smith wore a black scarf around his neck. As the American flag was raised and the National Anthem was played, Smith and Carlos bowed their heads and each raised a gloved fist in the black power salute. Because of their actions, the Olympic Committee barred them from competing in other events. John Carlos and Tommie Smith are true heroes.

Gene Roddenberry

"If Man is to survive, he will have learned to take delight in the essential difference between people and cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear." -Gene Roddenberry

In an episode of the Science Fiction TV series Star Trek "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield( 1969).  Bele (played by Frank Gorshin) and Lokai (played by Lou Antonio), alien humanoids from the planet Cheron, are mortal enemies. Their hatred for each other leaves Captain Kirk(William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) bewildered. 

Bele and Lokai, after all, look the same. Each is black on one side and white on the other. What reason, Kirk asks, could they have to hate each other? An indignant Bele snarls: "Are you blind? We're nothing alike! I'm black on my right side and white on my left side. He's white on his right side and black on his left side!" When the Starship Enterprise arrives at Cheron, they discover a lifeless planet, annihilated by racial armageddon. Bele and Lokai however have learned nothing. They beam down to Cheron, fighting each other to the death. 

The entire conflict on the episode was written to show that racism was ridiculous and pointless

In the 1980's rap artists like Public Enemy ,NWA and X-Clan produced a more explicitly political and cultural analysis of United States without compromising the basic hip-hop aspects of their raps. 

Their songs brought home the reality of what it is like to live in poverty and the prejudice and oppression that is attached with the condition. They produced a sound that was called gangsta-rap songs of resolution, rebellion and justice finding audiences the world over.

• Chuck D (Carlton Douglas Ridenhour) — leader, producer, lyricist, main vocalist, and artwork
•  Flavor Flav (William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.) — lyricist, vocalist, producer, instrumentalist, hype man, comic relief
• Professor Griff (Richard Griffin) head of S1W, liaison between PE and S1W, road manager. Occasional vocalist and producer, plays drums at live shows
• DJ Lord (Lord Aswod) — DJ, producer
• Terminator X (Norman Rogers) — DJ, producer (former member)
• DJ Johnny Juice (John Rosado) Studio DJ, Producer

Chuck D. The Public Enemy frontman grew up listening to protest music, and later used it as inspiration for his own work. "'Fight the Power' by the Isley Brothers was the song that inspired me to write 'Fight the Power' by Public Enemy," he says. "But, being a child of the Sixties, there's so many great protest songs. 'People Get Ready' and a lot of Curtis Mayfield's songs touched my soul. James Brown had a protest song against drugs with 'King Heroin,' and Peter, Paul and Mary struck me as a kindergartener. How could those songs not mean so much?"

In 1988, Public Enemy released It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, which focused on politics, corporate control, structural racism and police brutality.

In 1991 Public Enemy collaborated with Anthrax on "Bring Tha Noize". Chuck D ,Scott Ian and Flavor Flav recently reunited and performed together again.

Religion and Racism

• Islam 

Islam has always accepted converts, or what it regards as "reverts", from all ethnic and racial groups, and condemned any ideas which would keep any group of people from joining together in brotherhood and submission to God on the basis of ethnic or racial characteristics.

• Judaism 

Although Judaism teaches that Jews are God's chosen people, most Jews think it is a distortion to present this as some sort of doctrine of racial superiority. The Jewish belief is not that they are superior to other groups, but that they have been chosen by God for a special spiritual task.

• Buddhism 

Buddhists believe in the peaceful coexistence of all humans

• Hinduism

The basic religious philosophy of Hinduism states that all Life forms (not just Humans) as having soul and are a part of the Supreme being. Hindus believe that the all religions worship the same GOD, the difference is only the way you do it.

• Christianity

   

  Most Christian religious figures today reject racism.

  Buddhism:			      Christianity:
  "Hurt not others in 		"As you wish that men
 that you yourself would        would do to you, do so
find hurtful."		         to them."            
       --Udana-Varga 5:18                 --Luke 6:31   

Confucianism:			Hinduism:
   "Do not unto others		"Do naught unto others
 what you would not have         which would cause you
    them do unto you."	         pain if done to you." 
        --Analects 15:23          --Mahabharata 5:1517

   Islam:	   		        Judaism:
   "No one of you is a 		"That which is hateful
 believer until he desires      unto you, do not impose
for his brother that which       on others."               
 he desires for himself."         --Talmud, Shabbat 31a

   --Sunnah     

"I don't have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white." -Bob Marley

"Can't we all just get along?"

                          --Rodney King

Civil Rights in America and Europe are bound to human rights in the rest of the world. The right to live like a human. But these thoughts are expensive, they are going to cost us. Are we ready to pay the price? Is America still a great idea as well as a great country? When I was a kid in Dublin, I watched in awe as America put a man on the moon and I thought, wow this is mad! Nothing is impossible in America! America - they can do anything over there! Is that still true? Tell me it s true. It is true isn't it? And if it isn't, you of all people can make it true again.-Bono

Every human being alive today belongs to the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Primata, Family Hominidae, Genus Homo, Species Sapiens. Every human being alive today is a member of the same species. That species is Homo sapiens. There is no other hominid species to which one can belong.

"What is race? It is a biologically meaningless category. It is a cultural term that Americans use to describe what a person's ancestry is. But biologically the human species does not have categories. It just has variations as one travels around the world.''
-- Jefferson Fish, psychologist, St. John's University, New York

"Effectively, we're all cousins separated by, at most, a couple of thousand generations. So the next time you're sitting in traffic... try to remember that the driver in front is one of the family."
-- Spencer Wells, Population Geneticist

The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas' vision is that of a socially conscious Hip Hop Group. 

In one of their top hits they put across  the simple statement-

      "if you only got love for your own ways then you only leave space to discriminate and to discriminate only generates hate and when you hate, then you're bound to get irate madness is what you demonstrate".  They pose the question-Where is The love?

This image released by Golfweek magazine shows the cover of the Jan. 19, 2008 issue. Dave Seanor, vice president and editor of the weekly magazine, said he was overwhelmed by negative reaction to the photo of a noose on the cover of this week's issue, illustrating a story about the suspension of Golf Channel anchor, Kelly Tilghman , for using the word 'lynch' in an on-air discussion about how to beat Tiger Woods.

Golfweek magazine fired editor Dave Seanor after his decision to run a cover photo of a 'noose' in wake of Kelly Tilghman's 'lynch' remarks.

Racism still exists worldwide

Racism unfortunately, is all too real, because racism lingers in the hearts of men

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

• Jim Crow Laws

• Apartheid

• Civil Rights Act