Racism and Culture of Race
Race is a social construct
Racial and ethnic differences should add to our
human life instead of creating conflicts!
www.middlepeace.com
Copyright © 2007
Definition of Culture
Culture is a sum of knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom, and other capability
needed by man as a member of a society
We define our race based on the culture
we have been accustomed to
How do we define culture in our “Iranian
way of understanding the world?”
What is our race?
www.middlepeace.com
2
Formation of Culture
Anthropologies do not believe culture is an
innate biological equipment of humans =
we get born into a culture, not necessary
we do acquire that cultural traits
Our culture is the knowledge about how
race, age, gender, sex, ethnicity, and color
define our being in the world
Culture is rather an external, acquired,
and transmissible to others
www.middlepeace.com
3
Our Iranian Culture
What does it mean that we have
“2500” years of history/ culture?
How understanding of race has
impacted that history?
How have we taken responsibility to
transmit that sum of knowledge,
morals, believes, arts, and customs?
www.middlepeace.com
4
Definition of Racism
Say no to racisim
http://www.gnb.ca/hrc-cdp/e/sayno.htm
Racism means attitudes, practices and other factors that
disadvantage people because of their race, color or
ethnicity. Racism can be directed against any race, color or
ethnicity.
Examples of racism:
graffiti, intimidation or physical violence
Racial and ethnic slurs, comments, & "jokes"
discrimination in hiring and apartment rentals, or policies
that disadvantage members of certain races, whether
intentionally or not. Discrimination of women, ethnical
groups, people belonging to various religions,….
Racism: three main levels: individual, institutional and
cultural
www.middlepeace.com
5
Social Psychology
Study of how our thoughts,
behaviors, and feelings are impacted
by others
How we get along with other races or
ethnical groups?
Human being is born to create
culture and to acquire knowledge
about what is expected of him /her
www.middlepeace.com
6
Transmitting of cultures
Mother/ Father to child
Family to family
Family to group /community
Family to the world
Groups to groups
By story telling, books, objective
history, shared knowledge….
www.middlepeace.com
7
Ethnicity and culture
No connection to the human biological
variations or race
Ethnicity = clusters of people with similar
cultural traits that make them a group
different than other groups
Similar language, accent, common
geographic place of origin, religion, sense
of history, values, and beliefs about how
life should be like for that specific group
From: Smedley, A., & Smedley, B.D. (2005). Race as Biology is Fiction,
Racism as a Social Problem is Read. American Psychologists. Vol 60.
www.middlepeace.com
8
Ethnicity not a fixed notion
We move into another countries
Learn language
Learn ethnical traditions
We become participants in that
ethnicity
Ethnocentrism = belief in the
superiority of one culture and
inferiority of other cultures, leading
to conflicts
www.middlepeace.com
9
Various type of Racism
Individual racism: individual attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviours.
Racial prejudice: belittling and jealousy are examples of racist attitudes.
Examples of racist beliefs are racial stereotypes, the belief that some races
are better than others and even the belief that people can be classified
according to race in the first place. Violence, name-calling and
discrimination in hiring are examples of racist behaviour.
Institutional or systemic racism takes the form of the practices,
customs, rules and standards of organizations, including governments,
that unnecessarily disadvantage people because of their race, color or
ethnicity. They do not always involve differences in treatment. Educational
requirements that are not related to actual job duties are an example.
Cultural racism are the cultural values and standards that disadvantage
people because of their race, color or ethnicity. Examples are cultural
expectations as to the race of a company president and the cultural
standard for what a beautiful, trustworthy or competent person looks like.
www.middlepeace.com
10
Stereotyping
Stereotype: is packing everyone
under one identity! Forming a fixed
picture of a group of people usually
based on false or incomplete
information. Making comments,
generalizing, making other “less
than”!
www.middlepeace.com
11
Prejudice & Discrimination
Prejudice literally means "prejudgment."
A prejudice is a preconceived negative
opinion or attitude about a group of
people.
Discrimination is anything that has the
effect, intentional or not, of limiting the
opportunities of certain individuals or
groups because of personal characteristics
such as race or color.
How about discriminating women because
of their gender?
www.middlepeace.com
12
Diversity
individual level; uniqueness, genes,
non-shared experiences
group level; similarities &
differences; race, gender, social
class....
universal level; common life
experiences as human beings, birth,
death, biological and physical
similarities, self-awareness
www.middlepeace.com
13
Respect for Diversity
Human being have differences in
terms of: race & ethnicity,
nationality, religion, social class,
sexual orientation, age, physicalmental-cognitive ability and
difference, sex, language, beliefsvalues-customs.
How much do we respect those
different than us?
www.middlepeace.com
14
What racism does?
1- Naming;, a rejection of other's ability to impose an identity.
2-aggregating; lumping together under one name or label; Latino
or Hispanic; Asian;
3-dichotomization; only two categories; everyone fits into one;
they are in position to one another; race; white and non-whites,
the one drop rule in the us, male or female
4-stigmatization; the "other" becomes stigmatized. One group
seen as “normal”, and other people as the “other”
5-oppresion; systematic subjugation of a disempowered social
group by a group with access to social power.
Social power + prejudice= oppression.
www.middlepeace.com
15
Racial Jokes
Our jokes are racialized
We tend to harm other ethnical groups
Being funny has limitation
Racial jokes dehumanize women, children,
ethnical groups, certain occupation,
disabled, weaker, and people with dialect
Most painful jokes:
Jokes about child molestation acts!
Jokes about women!
www.middlepeace.com
16
What can we do?!
We need to decide :
Stop saying:
Racial slurs, racial & sexist “jokes”
,discriminatory comments…
Raise awareness
Educate children
Talk to your family & other people
Create a language & culture of peace!
www.middlepeace.com
17