{Racism: Nature or Nurtured?

Presentation by: Jeremy Richardson & Johnny Mifsud

Racism is defined as: 1) a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among

the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

2) A policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.

3) Hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. -Dictionary.com

Defining Racism

Many would argue that racism has existed since the beginning of time

Racism has been documented thoroughly through several events including (but not limited to) the Holocaust, the South African Apartheid, and through the once-fraternity now evil hate-spreading Ku Klux Klan

History of Racism

Racism is defined as: 1) a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among

the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

2) A policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.

3) Hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. -Dictionary.com

Defining Racism

Many would argue that racism has existed since the beginning of time

Racism has been documented thoroughly through several events including (but not limited to) the Holocaust, the South African Apartheid, and through the once-fraternity now evil hate-spreading Ku Klux Klan

History of Racism

Who in this class has ever said something racist? (Don’t be shy, we’ve said them too)

Now, why did you say it? Where did you hear of these racist words/phrases?

Questions for the Class =)

For those who said you grew up hearing racist remarks from generations prior to you, and for those who said you hear or see racism in the media, you are absolutely correct

Racism has fostered either intentionally in forms of rap music, or unintentionally when saying words or phrases that cause another to be upset without you realizing you are doing it

An example of this would be the term ‘porch monkey’ The term is extremely racist towards the African race,

but it is simply only a combination of two frequently used words in English and actually sounds comical, hence the desire to say it

Explanation

The racism that exists in our world derives from the simple fact that people think they are better than others

But how do they justify this? By saying their pigment of skin is better than another’s? By thinking one’s religion is better than someone else’s? Is the feeling of racial superiority natural, or has it been

fostered through history, culture, and media?

Nature….or nurture?

It is natural to observe differences and classify things according to their differences and similarities.

Hatred also seems to be something that is universal for humans

Most people have a strong dislike for some group of people, whether it is a racial group, a religious group

Natural Racism

Many believe ideas that state: Younger children spend more time staring at different races from their own when presented with photographs

Toddlers notice race more than gender Kids pick out friends based on skin color Kids’ brains categorize world and assume people that

look like them are more similar to them Conversations about race are difficult for parents Self-segregation at schools goes up as school diversity

goes up

Facts about Natural Racism

Applying hatred to a group of people based on their ethnicity is mostly a learned phenomena

A connection needs to be established between race and superiority in order for someone to be racist

Human beings are born just being people and they are nurtured throughout there life about the different races and all of the cultures in the world

Nurtured Racism

Many believe that: Racism is not an ideology, but an institution The origin of racism does not lie in human nature but it

lies in the slave trade The slave trade showed a boom in racism where

Africans were sold to white plantation owners as they were seen as inferior and lacking rights

Many also believe that history proves the fact that racism is nurtured by capitalism because prior to the invention of capitalism, racism being used as a form of oppression did not exist

This super stellar Youtube video proves another way racism is embraced and nurtured…through the media:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y44BfGAdQbU

Facts about Nurtured Racism

The consensus between Jordo and Johnny is that racism is nurtured

Reasons for this being are: Little babies do notice race over gender, and that fact is

simple to explain, and I will explain it in an analogy… If you buy a box of Smarties, and all of them are red

and only one is blue, obviously you are going to notice the blue one as it will stick out like a sore thumb

If they are all red however, and one is slightly chipped or has a slight variation in appearance, you are not going to notice it as much

Who wins here? Nature or Nurture?

Works Cited Appiah, Kwame Anthony. "'Racism': History of Hatred." AAD Project.

N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://aad.english.ucsb.edu/docs/appiah.html>.

Bronson, Po. "Racism is Innate." Interview by Campbell Brown. CNN Newsroom. CNN. 14 Sept. 2009. CNN. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq1PDYB1G1U>.

Bronson, Po, and Ashley Merryman. "Even Babies Discriminate." Newsweek. Harman Newsweek LLC, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.newsweek.com/2009/09/04/see-baby-discriminate.html>.

"The History of Racism." All About Popular Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/the-history-of-racism-faq.htm>.

“Nature vs Nurture; Racism." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2011. <http://www.scribd.com/doc/ 16463500/Nature-vs-Nurture-Racism>.

Taylor, Alex. "The roots of racism." Socialist Worker. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://socialistworker.org/2002-2/431/431_08_Racism.shtml>.

Citations (the bureaucratic stuff our lawyers make us say)