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Racism is a complex concept that can involve each of those; but it cannot be equated with, nor is it synonymous, with these other terms. [ citation needed ] The term is often used in relation to what is seen as prejudice within a minority or subjugated group, as in the concept of reverse racism .
The statement did not reject the idea of a biological basis to racial categories. It defined the concept of race in terms of a population defined by certain anatomical and physiological characteristics diverging from other populations; it gives as examples the Caucasian, Mongoloid, and Negroid races.
In other words, increasing racial diversity can lead to increased racial bias and discrimination. Evidence suggests, however, that positive contact between two racial groups can promote racial equality. Interacting with minority groups can reduce feelings of threat and increase trust between racial groups.
The word "race", interpreted to mean an identifiable group of people who share a common descent, was introduced into English in the 16th century from the Old French rasse (1512), from Italian razza: the Oxford English Dictionary cites the earliest example around the mid-16th century and defines its early meaning as a "group of people belonging to the same family and descended from a common ...
In the context of racism in the United States, racism against African Americans dates back to the colonial era, and it continues to be a persistent issue in American society in the 21st century. From the arrival of the first Africans in early colonial times until after the American Civil War , most African Americans were enslaved .
For example, the Population Registration Act, 1950 was used to enforce the apartheid system in South Africa, and Brazil has set up boards to assign a racial category to people for the purpose of enforcing racial quotas. [7] Because of genetic variation, skin color, and other features of physical appearance can vary considerably even among siblings.
In essence the term refers to one who places racism squarely in the past. Whiteness is a vague racial-socio-economic category that has shifted definition over time. In the early-mid 20th century the category of whiteness was expanded to include people of Irish , Slavic , Greek , Jewish , and various other backgrounds which had previously been ...
Without reckoning with race, it's impossible to understand how Europeans and Americans engineered the most complete and enduring dehumanization of a people in history