Racism is
something
created and
anything that
has been
created can be
undone
Samuel Eto'o
(professional
footballer)
When talking about racism what
does the word race mean?
In the past people believed that there were different races of people,
who shared common physical features such as skin colour, hair type, facial
features, character and skills. Racists have used this idea to label certain
‘races’ as different and inferior.
However we now know through genetics that there is just one species to
which we all belong and that people of all colours and appearances have a
similar potential.
The physical differences between people around the world are external
not internal and are caused by the adaptation of people over long periods
of time to different environments.
What is Racism?
Racism is the belief that people who
have a different skin colour,
nationality, religion or culture are
inferior. Racist ideas have developed
over thousands of years and have
been used to justify the oppression of
many different groups of people.
What forms does racism take?
Racism can take many forms, ranging from
verbal abuse to outright physical attacks to a
person or property. Racism can also be nonverbal, for example denying a person from a
minority ethnic background a job or entry to a
restaurant or shop, purely on the grounds of
their colour, nationality or religion.
Look at the four pictures on the
next slide.
With a partner discuss how you
think the people in the photos are
connected to racism.
During the Second World War,
the Nazi party killed around six
million Jewish people, one million
of which were children. As well as
the Jewish, they also killed
another million people including
gypsys, homosexuals, and the
disabled. Hitler and the Nazi
party believed that these groups
of people were biologically
inferior.
Stephen Lawrence was a black
British teenager who was stabbed
to death while waiting for a bus.
The attack was believed to have
racist motives.
Rosa Parks was an AfricanAmerican who in 1955 refused to
give up her seat on the bus for a
white customer. At the time
black people were only allowed to
sit at the back of the bus and
had to give up their seats if a
white person needed it. Rosa’s
refusal started a chain of events
in America which contributed to
the change in civil rights.
15 Year old Johnny Delaney was
beaten to death in Liverpool by 2
boys (aged 15 and 16) because he
was a ‘gypsy.’
One of the boys stamped on
Johnny’s head with both feet and
said he deserved it because “he
was only a gypsy…”