#racism

Can people of color be racist?” I reply, “The answer depends on your definition of racism.” If one defines racism as racial prejudice, the answer is yes. People of color can and do have racial prejudices. However, if one defines racism as a system of advantage based on race, the answer is no. People of color are not racist because they do not systematically benefit from racism. And equally important, there is no systematic cultural and institutional support or sanction for the racial bigotry of people of color. In my view, reserving the term racist only for behaviors committed by whites in the context of a white-dominated society is a way of acknowledging the ever-present power differential afforded whites by the culture and institutions that make up the system of advantage and continue to reinforce notions of white superiority. (Using the same logic, I reserve the word sexist for men. Though women can and do have gender-based prejudices, only men systematically benefit from sexism.) ↗

— Paula S. Rothenberg

#racism #sexism #sexist #equality

Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out. ↗

— Pierre Berton

#destroy #divide #enemy #freedom #head-on

To cheapen the lives of any group of men, cheapens the lives of all men, even our own. This is a law of human psychology, or human nature. And it will not be repealed by our wishes, nor will it be merciful to our blindness. ↗

— William Pickens

#human-rights #racism #truth #men

Some negroes lie, some are immoral, some negro men are not be trusted around women - black and white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. ↗

— Harper Lee

#racism #truth #men

Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make. ↗

— Ruth Benedict

#against #decision #differ #everyone #exposed

You should read history and look at ostracism, persecution, martyrdom, and that kind of thing. They always happen to the best men, you know. ↗

— George Eliot

#best #happen #history #kind #know

In America there is institutional racism that we all inherit and participate in, like breathing the air in this room - and we have to become sensitive to it. ↗

— Henry Louis Gates

#america #become #breathing #inherit #institutional

We are not past racism. It took us 500 and however many years to get us where we are; it's not gonna change in one day or in one election. We made a step maybe, which they'll try and take away from us as soon as they can. But I mean what the fuck is the Tea Party about? It's not about "tea"; it ain't about "trans", either. ↗

— Bo Brown

#change

Black seamen - or "Black Jacks" as African sailors were known - enjoyed a refreshing world of liberty and equality. Even if they were generally regulated to jobs such as cooks, servants, and muscians and endured thier fellow seamen's racism, they were still freemen in the Royal Navy. One famous black sailor wrote, "I liked this little ship very much. I now became the captian's steward, in which I was very happy; for I was extremely well treated by all on board, and I had the leisure to improve myself in reading and writing. ↗

— Tony Williams

#equality #history #racism #royal-navy #sailors

I am a foreigner, but I like to hide the fact. I'd rather people be prejudiced against my personality. ↗

— Bauvard

#funny #humor #personality #prejudice #racism