RACISM

Steps Taken By The Government To Tackle Racism

Substantial measures are being taken to improve the human rights situation of people of African descent in several countries worldwide. These are achievements reported by States, human rights bodies, mechanisms and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, regional organizations, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations. Through these steps, it is hoped that these measures will serve as inspiration for other countries to effectively implement national and international legal frameworks, policies and programmes to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance faced by people of African descent.

Legislative actions

Uruguay has passed a legislation on affirmative action policies to ensure that individuals of African origin have equal access to higher education and the public labour market, with a quota of at least 8% set aside for them. With the acknowledgement and support of black communities, African people, and persons of African heritage in Spain, the Spanish Congress of Deputies has enacted a law on the remembrance of slavery.

Plans of action at the national level and other policies

Argentina, Costa Rica, Honduras, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru, Serbia, and Uruguay have all established national anti-discrimination action plans, as well as plans geared explicitly at promoting the rights of individuals of African origin. Portugal has taken steps to aid the assimilation of migrants, many of whom are said to be of African ancestry, into Portuguese society. The national programme for equality and non-discrimination in Mexico, which runs from 2014 to 2018, has 13 courses of action for the Afro-descendant community, including increasing the participation of Afro-descendant and indigenous women in politics and positions of public representation.

Complaint mechanisms and monitoring bodies

The National Council of Afro-Bolivians was established in Bolivia to address the interests and problems of this population group. The Office of the Presidential Commissioner for Matters Relating to Persons of African Descent, according to Costa Rica, is a permanent institutional framework responsible for coordinating activity aimed at individuals of African descent. Greece established the National Board Against Racism and Intolerance, which collaborates with the Greek Ombudsman, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and non-governmental organisations to develop a national anti-racist strategy. Portugal established the National Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination as a platform for disseminating legal information in response to discriminatory treatment.

The Australian Human Rights Commission appointed a Race Discrimination Commissioner, whose mandate is to investigate complaints under anti-discrimination legislation, thereby providing a free and impartial mechanism for parties to resolve complaints about alleged racial discrimination. In South Africa and the United Kingdom, commissions or ombudspersons have been established to respond to public complaints about discrimination.

United Nations System

Every year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights hosts a fellowship for people of African descent, which provides participants with an opportunity to learn more about the United Nations human rights system, with a focus on issues that are particularly important to people of African descent.

In December 2016, on the occasion of Human Rights Day, DGC co-sponsored a film night with the Permanent Mission of Jamaica, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and the African Diaspora International Film Festival, which featured short films by young African diaspora filmmakers.

UNESCO has created pedagogical content based on the General History of Africa for various levels of schooling in order to address the problem.

Root Causes of Racism

Cause #1: Greed and self-interest

Many experts believe racist beliefs were developed to justify self-interest and greed. For almost 400 years, European investors enslaved people through the Transatlantic slave trade to support the massive tobacco, sugar, and cotton industries in the Americas. Slavery was cheaper than indentured servitude, so slavery was a business decision, not a reflection of hatred or bigotry.

Cause #2: Scientific racism

While many say ignorance sparks racism, some of history’s most intelligent minds were behind racist ideas. Around the end of the 18th century, science replaced religion and superstition as the intellectual authority. In the way scientists started categorizing animals and plants, they also started categorizing humans. In 1776, German scientist Johann Fredrich Blumenbach classified humans into five groups, putting “Caucasian,” or “the white race” at the top. In the mid-1800s, Samuel George Morton posited that brain size was linked to intelligence. He concluded that white people had larger skulls and were therefore intellectually superior. While scientific texts were not widely available in this era, Morton’s ideas managed to spread in accessible publications, like cheap periodicals.

Cause #3: Discriminatory policies

Policies that discriminate by race reinforce racist beliefs. It sends a message to society that certain people, simply because of their race, don’t deserve the same treatment or opportunities as everyone else. Governments use a variety of justifications, such as natural security or public health, that many won’t ever question. It rarely matters if those justifications are at all based in reality.

Cause #4: Representation in media

How the media represents people of different races in books, TV, movies, and music has a big impact on how society views race. While the media reflects cultural views, it also shapes culture and implants racist beliefs into young people and those new to a country. As an example, on a 2020 panel about the media’s influence on views about racism, a UNLV graduate student studying social work and journalism discussed how new immigrants are often first introduced to Black people as either criminals or police abuse victims. This negative media representation can convince immigrants they should stay away from Black people if they want to be safe.

Cause #5: A desire to “keep the peace”

Racism often persists because “keeping the peace” or maintaining law and order is more important than change. In his book Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi writes that racist ideas in America have long suppressed resistance to racial inequalities. When people believe racist things – like that Black people are naturally more violent and dangerous – they aren’t disturbed by police brutality or mass incarceration. They believe it’s justified.

Cause #6: “Good” people who don’t challenge racism

Racist ideas flourish when “good” people refuse to talk about them. While many people don’t agree with racism, they fail to confront it head-on, which makes them ill-equipped to recognize all the forms of racism. This problem has a long history in the United States. White abolitionists may have fought to abolish slavery, but they did not go after the laws and beliefs that kept Black people from being full, equal citizens in America. Many even ended up contributing to racism as they still saw Black people as inferior, though not so inhuman as to deserve slavery. The North, which liked to see itself as progressive compared to the South, was home to numerous hate crimes.

Cause #7. Failing to recognize racism in oneself

In places like the United States, people aren’t good at recognizing racism in themselves. There are a few reasons, including the country’s failure to reckon with its racist legacy and the persistent myth that being “colorblind” is the best way to end racism. Many well-meaning people think if they just “love everyone” and ignore race, they can never be racist. They often fall into the trap that as long as they aren’t wearing a white hood or using racial slurs, they’re in the clear. However, believing in platitudes like “I don’t see race” or “All lives matter” ignores history and pretends that the US has overcome all its problems regarding race.

Cause #8: Community ties

For individuals, finding community with people who share the same beliefs about race can strengthen racist thinking. As an example, if someone grows up surrounded by racist family members or friends, they’ll likely share those beliefs. They’ll repeat racist jokes, believe the same stereotypes, and seek out others who agree with them. Even if they begin to doubt their old views or experience the negative effects of their racism, community ties and fear of isolation can keep people from changing their minds.

Cause #9: Quick, unconscious judgments

People are quick to judge others based on their appearance, clothing, how they talk, and other physical traits. This isn’t something necessarily shameful as humans are wired to make fast judgments on our surroundings so we can stay safe. Our brains also use judgments as “shortcuts,” because it’s very difficult to gather a ton of information before making a decision. However, humans aren’t making judgments in a vacuum. Things like unconscious bias, our upbringings, the kind of media we consume, and more all factor into what we think of others.

Cause #10: Scapegoating

Society always looks for a scapegoat when things aren’t going well and when people experience personal struggles, they may blame others rather than themselves. Historically, racial (and often religious) minorities get blamed. As an example, when someone gets passed up for a job opportunity, they may say something like, “It’s because I’m white. The minorities always get the jobs.” Scapegoating can lead to violence. “The Great Replacement Theory” is a big example. This racist belief claims that non-European immigrants are “replacing” white people around the world. A handful of mass shootings – like the ones in Christchurch, New Zealand; El Paso, Texas; Buffalo, New York – were carried out by men who believed in the theory.