Racism

The Oxford English Dictionary defines racism as a belief or ideology, that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group. The world has witnessed brutal outcomes of racism from time immemorial, the Holocaust being the worst.

The term race or racial group usually refers to the categorization of humans into populations or groups on the basis of various sets of heritable characteristics. The physical features commonly seen as indicating race are salient visual traits such as skin colour, cranial or facial features and hair texture. As per the United Nations, the term “racial discrimination” “shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, 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.” As the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro said “Racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia are a social, cultural, and political phenomenon, not a natural instinct of human beings; they arise from wars, military conquests, slavery, and the individual or collective exploitation of the weakest by the most powerful throughout the history of human societies.”

Sadly, despite our being in the 21′ century, racism persists and is widespread. For an increasingly educated population, this is shameful. The Holocaust and Apartheid are behind us but what do we name the different forms of discrimination that exist today? The younger generation must see the evil in propagating racism and must put an end to this futile power struggle.