Debate on whether racism has ended utterly refuses to die down. And, rightfully so, we cannot say for sure if racism is a thing of the past – even, in today’s world. Racism is described as ‘a doctrine of biological inferiority (And, no matter how much one denies that it is true that we all or at least an impressive majority believe in races). As a norm, we are conditioned to think that these races rank upon a scale while these rankings are intrinsic, or natural. It is an acquired way of thinking. So, by default, everyone at some level is a racist. The societal perspectives have drilled the concept into our thinking and approach.
In all honesty, attempts must be made to abandon the category of race. This whole concept of racial discrimination erupts from the idea of racialized groups. As per a report on The Conversation, the type of the “racialized group” can be of great value speaking. It offers a way for the members of “inferior races” to assert and defend themselves collectively while distancing themselves from the negative and misleading associations of the term “race.”
If you take a deeper look, it will occur to you that racial groups are not biological groups –they aren’t biological races. Racial discrimination is mostly dependent on superficial biological characteristics, such as skin color and the likes of it. Thus, it is safe to say that racialized groups entail biological inclusion criteria, vague and arbitrary as they may be. Social factors often determine these biological inclusion criteria. Under the concept of racism; the biological and the social aspects converge with several other factors: administrative, cultural, economic, geographic, gendered, historical, lingual, phenomenological, political, psychological, religious, and so on. Experts describe this view as “interactive constructionism about racialized groups.”
For those who wish to be a part of an anti-racism movement, here are some of the things you could do:
- Fighting racism is a challenge, but the hurdles are well worth it. Sign up for an NGO, which focuses on communicating the anti-racist ethos of their organization in the mission statement, strategic plans, job descriptions, staff induction manual, organization’s reports, publications, newsletters, and others. Keep a close eye on the formalities for clarity before signing up.
- An on-going examination of the company’s ethos is crucial. Ensure that anti-racism is central to the organization’s
- Be an active part of their on-going awareness-raising and training on racism. If possible, look at the anti-racist practices for their management and staff (paid and unpaid) and in inter-project and partnership working arrangements.
- Run through how issues like oppression of women and girls from black and minority ethnic groups are addressed.
A legit organization will complete the following criteria:
- Regular and timely gathering of information depending on the needs and aspirations of a diverse set of ethnic members of various communities.
- How to challenge incidents of racism as they crop up within the organization.
- Being an active part of designing actions and services specific to minority ethnic members of the community. Paying heed to where such concepts will address specific needs and a history of discrimination.
- Tracking, through the collection of data, the take-up and outcomes for minority ethnic members of the community.
- Raising adequate and well-researched awareness on plaguing issues in the societal and environmental spheres that we are involved.
- Advocating realistic and doable anti-racist practices at different levels – the state level, and national level through institutions and organizations.
On an ending note, we have a long way to go when it comes to completely eradicating racism. But, there is hope as we can all strive towards bettering ourselves by equipping ourselves to wade through it all by educating and informing ourselves and those around us.