Module 2: Race & Racism

Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes

Jump to: Intro | Readings | Definitions & Key Terms/Themes | Videos | Reflections

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Intro 

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Readings 

They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life and Growing Up by Eternity Martis

Chapter Page Number
Go Back to Your Country p. 48 - 81
Visible Bruises p. 82 - 111
Party Gastritis p. 112 - 131
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Definitions and Important Terms/Themes 

The many forms of racism:

Form of Racism Definition Examples
Racism Related Events Time-limited life experiences Police harassment, housing discrimination
Vicarious Racism Observing and reporting of racist experiences of others The work you do or listening to a friend experiencing racism
Everyday Racism Micro-aggressions or the day-to day "minor" racist behaviour Being followed in a store, not being served
Systemic (or Institutional Racism) Includes the policies and practices entrenches in established institutions  
Chronic-Contextual Stress The result of institutional and systemic racism Having your professional qualifications routinely questioned
Collective Experiences Perceptions of racism towards one's group Negative media portrayals
Inter-generational effects of oppression As transmitted from one generation to the next Residential Schools, slavery, or colonialism

Definitions from 'How to Be an Antiracist' by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi:

Term Definition Page Number
Racism

"Racism is a powerful collection of racist policies that lead to racial inequity and are substantiated by racist ideas"

p. 20
"The source of racist ideas was not ignorance and hate, but self-interest." p. 230
"The history of racist ideas is the history of powerful policymakers erecting racist policies of self-interest, then producing racist ideas to defend and rationalize the inequitable effects of their policies, while everyday people consume those racist ideas, which in turn sparks ignorance and hate." p. 230
Racist Power
  • "Racist power produces racist policies out of self-interest and then produces racist ideas to justify those policies."
  • Racist Power (Racist Policymakers) = hoarding wealth and resources
p. 129
Racial Inequity "...when two or more racial groups are not standing on approximately equal footing." p. 18
Racial Equity "...when two or more racial groups are standing on a relatively equal footing." p. 18
Racist Policy "...any measure that produces sustains racial inequity between racial groups." p. 18
Antiracist Policy "...any measure that produces or sustains racial equity between racial groups." (i.e written and unwritten rules and laws) p. 18
Racist Idea "...any idea that suggests one racial group is inferior or superior to another racial group in any way. Racist ideas argue that the inferiorities and superiorities of racial groups explain racial inequities in society." p. 20
Antiracist Idea "...any idea that suggests the racial groups are equals in all their apparent differences - that there is nothing right or wrong with any racial group." p. 20
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Videos

Aamer Rahman (Fear of a Brown Planet) - Reverse Racism

Runtime: 2:48 minutes

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Reflections

Now that you have completed the module, take some time to reflect on what you have learned. Use the reflection template to document your response to the following:

Does Reverse Racism exist? Reflect on what these two quotes mean to you:

  • "Race, 'writes the great historian Neil Irvin Painter, ' is an idea, not a fact.' Indeed. Race does not need biology. Race only requires some good guyswith big guns lookingfor a reason." - Ta-Nehisi Coates, "What We Mean When We Say 'Race is a Social Construct'," The Atlantic, May 15, 2013
  • "Racism is the father of race, not the child" - Coates