Racism is discrimination directed at a person or group of people based on their racial or ethnic group. Most discriminated groups are those that are marginalised or that are a minority. Racism can come in many forms including abuse, harassment, name calling, jokes and exclusion from certain activities. Racism can also become present in work, for example people may be excluded from a job opportunity due to their surname or where they come from.
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in July 2013. It is a global organisation in the UK, US and Canada who’s mission is to eradicate white supremacy. The Black Lives Matter movement is a social movement advocating for non-violent civil disobedience in protest against incidents of police brutality against black people. This movement began in the United States in response to Trayvon Martin’s murder.
Steven O. Roberts a Stanford Psychologist has researched the seven factors that contribute to American Racism. https://news.stanford.edu/2020/06/09/seven-factors-contributing-american-racism/ “Racism is a system of advantage based on race. It is a hierarchy. It is a pandemic. Racism is so deeply embedded within U.S. minds and U.S. society that it is virtually impossible to escape.”
Racism is highly present in the US, with police brutality being one of the most obvious forms of racism. However the US is not alone when it comes to racism, the UK also faces it every day with comments being made about others race. It is said that the main questions asked are ‘Where are you from?’.
