What does “racism” really mean, and who is racist?
One commonly held definition of racism, and one to which ACF subscribes, is described in the equation “Racism = race prejudice + power.” The term “race” was invented in the late 1700’s when it was created by European whites (Johann Blumenbach and Louis LeClerc Bouffan). It served the purpose of assigning social status, with whites as the ultimate benefactors of this social hierarchy. Racism exists among and between individuals at a personal level, but it’s also present, sometimes invisibly, in every institution in our nation. Racism is perpetuated and maintained through the built-in privileges afforded to whites of all income levels, and by the internalized oppression among people of color. Racism is rooted in power and in a system created by white people for white people, unlike prejudice, bigotry and bias which are individual traits among people of all ethnicities. White people benefit disproportionately under such a system, even though they may not seek it or even be aware of it. Pe
