Racism

According to UN Iternational Conventions, "the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life." This definition does not make any difference between prosecutions based on ethnicity and race, in part because the distinction between the ethnicity and race remains debatable among anthropologists According to British law, racial group means "any group of people who are defined by reference to their race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin".
Racism exists at three main levels: individual, institutional and cultural. Individual racism takes the form of individual attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviours. Racial prejudice, bigotry, belittling and jealousy are examples of racist attitudes. Examples of racist beliefs are racial stereotypes, the belief that some races are better than others and even the belief that people can be classified according to race in the first place. Violence, name-calling and discrimination in hiring are examples of racist behaviour. Institutional or systemic racism takes the form of the practices, customs, rules and standards of organizations, including governments, that unnecessarily disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. They do not always involve differences in treatment. Educational requirements that are not related to actual job duties are an example. Cultural racism are the cultural values and standards that disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. Examples are cultural expectations as to the race of a company president and the cultural standard for what a beautiful, trustworthy or competent person looks like.
What can we do to stop racism? First of all, we can take part in activities marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination every March 21 or join organizations dealing with issues of racism and human rights. What is more, we can suggest that our local newspaper publish a special section on the racial and cultural diversity of our community, create a speakers bureau of persons willing to speak about racism and human rights.
Finally, everyone of us can explore ways in which community organizations can work together to promote positive race relations.