Do You Feel Racist?

Do you have racist tendencies that are hidden even to yourself? Even if you have never directly insulted or attacked people of another race, these questions might show you that you may have a prejudiced or racist way of looking at others.

 

1 Have you ever mistaken someone for someone else because he or she was of the same race as the person you thought they were?

 

2 Have you ever assumed that a person of a different race is an expert on all others of his or her race?

 

3 Have you ever joked — or refrained from challenging a joke — about persons of another race?

 

4 Have you ever assumed someone would fit the stereotype of his or her ethnicity?

 

5 Have you ever been surprised at the competent or excellent capabilities of someone of another race or ethnic background?

 

6 Have you ever eyed someone with suspicion just because of his or her race?

 

7 Have you ever said something untrue or beyond your scope of knowledge about people of a particular race, either while talking with others or online?

 

8 Have you ever excluded someone because of his or her race?

 

9 Have you ever dismissed anyone’s claim of maltreatment just because of their race?

 

10 Have you ever had low expectations of someone just because of his or her race?

 

11 Have you locked your car doors because a youth of a different race walked by?

 

12 Have you ever assumed people of another race are living down to the worst of life’s choices made by some members of their race?

 

13 Have you ever discouraged or rolled your eyes when hearing that  a person of another race is working to achieve a better career or life?

 

14 Have you ever felt as though you were superior to another because of their race?

 

Similar questions were posed to Black teens in a study seeking to find how much discrimination they encounter in everyday life.

 

“Racialization” is a way of thinking that separates people into different racial groups. It generates and maintains a hierarchy of ethnic groups in society as well as structures and functions that reinforce divisions. It creates a culture-based racism.

 

Racism demeans human dignity. How we think about other ethnic groups is important because it communicates through both our body language and our verbal language.