Racism Is Not A Physical Action - 1533 Words

Solomon Northup a free Black man sold into slavery in Southern United States recalls in his memoir 12 Years A Slave being threatened by his white masters for being able to read and write. Not only did Blacks such as Northup suffer from the structural violence that was slavery, but also from institutionalized racism in the school system. Racism is more than a single person s actions towards another based on skin color. Racism is â€Å" the belief that all members of each race possess certain characteristics that make them inferior or superior to another race†. Racism is not a physical action, rather a mental thought process that often leads to violent physical actions. Racism can take many different forms on many different levels. Racism can†¦show more content†¦Another example would be the lynchings of blacks by members of the Klu Klux Klan. The Klu Klux Klan is a movement that supports white supremacy and often advocates through terrorism. White members of the Klu K lux Klan would attack and hang blacks in the United States at random. Although members of the Klu Klux Klan may not have known their victim’s personally, the personal nature of these prejudices is what makes them forms of individual racism. When the word racism comes to mind many people think of a single person acting against another based on one’s race. However, there are larger forms of racism that exist at all levels of human society. Institutional racism refers to the practices of specific institutions that affect people based on their race. Institutional racism can be practiced knowingly or unknowingly. Redlining is a form of institutionalized racism that began with the National Housing Act in the 1930’s. Redlining is the practice by which banks refused to offer minority loans for houses in white neighborhoods. Minorities were forced to turn to egregious loans in minority neighborhoods regardless of their economic class. â€Å"Sharkey’s research s hows that black families making $100,000 typically live in the kinds of neighborhoods inhabited by white families making $30,000.† That means that minority middle-class workers such as doctors, lawyers, and business owners were forced to live in lower