Five types of racism explained

I saw this one over at The Angry Black Woman. It seems to have been making a lot of rounds and I figured I'd share it here too.

She argues that there are five main types of racism, each equally as detrimental as the next:

• Aware/Blatant Racism: Outright racists that, without apology or confusion, tell people of color, that because of their color, they “don’t appeal to them.”


• Aware/Covert Racism: When racists are being racist but just not saying it. For instance, upon seeing that a potential tenant is Indian, rather than saying it directly, a landlord will pull the apartment “off the market” without providing an explanation.


• Unaware/Unintentional Racism: “With the best of intentions, the best of educations, and the greatest generosity of heart, whites, operating on the misinformation fed to them from day one, will behave in ways that are racist, will perpetuate racism by being ‘nice’ the way we’re taught to be nice.”


• Unaware/Self-Righteous Racism: “The ‘good white’ racist attempts to shame Blacks into being blacker, scorns Japanese-Americans who don’t speak Japanese, and knows more about the Chicano/a community than the folks who make up the community.”


• Internalized Racism: Stereotypes and attitudes of the white hegemonic system are internalized by members of oppressed groups and peoples and taken for truth or inform the ways they think about themselves and others from similar backgrounds or cultures.

Makes sense when you think about it. Funny thing is I ran those through my head in the form of using the apartment example in Aware/Covert Racism.

1. Aware/Blatant Racism: A racist landlord/lady will open say something like, "We don't rent to your kind."

2. Aware/Covert Racism: A racist landlord/lady just pulls an offering off the market when people of a certain race come looking for openings.

3. Unaware/Unintentional Racism: A landlord/lady that will make it a point to rent to people of a certain race because, "You know those folks need all the help they can get."

4. Unaware/Self-Righteous Racism: A landlord/lady that will be shocked that tenants of a certain race don't act a certain way. Such as, "I know Indian people live there but the hall doesn't smell like curry every evening. Odd."

5. Internalized Racism: A potential tenant that won't even look for places in certain places because they think they are not good enough, smart enough, rich enough, (i.e. the wrong color)

Pretty interesting read.