'Racism...what's that?'

Especially for those who might still be in some denial about this subject, I will start at the beginning.

Racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, but especially to distinguish that race as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.

Merriam Webster's dictionary defines racism as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capabilities (when in fact it is the Spirit that is the main determinant) and that certain racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular racial group. It is also the prejudice based on such a belief. Macquarie dictionary defines racism as: "the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective values, usually involving the false idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others. The concept that discrimination can be based on "race" presupposes the existence of "race" itself. However, even the United States government's, Human Genome project, has announced that the most complete mapping of human DNA to date, indicates that there is no distinct genetic basis to racial types

Racism is the erroneously perpetuated belief, that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person's social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics, rather than their innate spirit. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another.

Racism is destructive. It dis-empowers people by devaluing their identity. It destroys community cohesion and creates fake divisions in society. It is the opposite of the democratic principle of the equal rights of all people to be treated fairly. An understanding of the nature of racism is essential in order to recognize and counter it successfully. Racism is a global phenomenon which is influenced by a range of historical, social, political and economic factors. It takes different forms in different contexts and as a result has been defined in many different ways. For example In Australia, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1998) states that Racism is an ideology that gives expression to myths about other than caucasian racial and ethnic groups, that devalues and renders inferior those groups, and is perpetuated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities in society. Racism is the result of a complex interplay of individual attitudes, social values and institutional practices, motivated by the intent to deceive and exploit.

Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of "... the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man's genetic lineage -- the notion that a man's intellectual and character traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry. "...which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors. "Racism claims that the content of a man's mind (not his cognitive apparatus) is inherited; that a man's convictions, values and character are determined before he is born, by physical and material rather than Spiritual forces beyond his control. " This is the caveman's version of the doctrine of biologically inherited knowledge -- which has been thoroughly refuted by philosophy and science even, not to talk of other educational disciplines. Racism is a doctrine of, by and for brutes. "It is a barnyard or stock-farm version of collectivism, appropriate to a mentality that differentiates between various breeds of animals, but not between animals and men".

Racism is repeatedly treating someone differently and especially unfairly, simply because they belong to a different race or culture. People can also experience prejudice because of their religion or nationality. It is illegal to treat people differently or unfairly because of their race and no one has the right to make you feel bad or abuse you. Racism is the cancer of our society. Racism is old and racism is a disease.

It is the intentional or unintentional use of power to isolate, separate and exploit others. Racism is more than just a personal attitude; it is the institutionalized form of the attitude". Racism is subtle but still exists beneath the surface, it is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

Did you know for instance, that racism is rife in Britain's schools and has surfaced several times? It takes two distinct forms: racist teachers and racist kids. Last year, government-funded research by the university of Warwick caused a stir by seeming to prove, conclusively, that children of African heritage are the victims of ‘institutionalized racism' and, more specifically, ‘teacher racism' It amazes me that this news could come as a surprise to anyone who has been residing in the UK for more than 6 months. You would have had to be living under a stone somewhere not to be aware of this, but 'denial' like 'cognitive dissonance', is a powerful mental defense mechanism.

So where do you stand on the subject of racism? Are your actions for it, against it, or are you just sitting on the fence?


by Rev.Bola A
(copyright: 21Oct09 -ARR)

'Great Quotes To Inspire'

*My Black Is Beautiful*

'From the colour of my skin,
to the texture of my hair,
to the length of my strands,
to the breadth of my smile

To the stride of my gait,
to the span of my arms,
to the depth of my bosom,
to the curve of my hips,
to the glow of my skin...

My Black is Beautiful.

It cannot be denied.
It will not be contained.
And only I will define it.
For when I look in my mirror,
my very soul cries out,

My Black is Beautiful.

And so today,
speak it out loud,
unabashedly,
I declare it anew.

My Black is Beautiful.

Whether celebrated,
imitated, exploited or denigrated.
Whether natural from inside
or skilfully applied.

My Black is Beautiful.

To my daughters,
my sisters, my nieces,
my cousins, my colleagues
and my friends,
I speak for us all when I say again,

My Black Is Beautiful'

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'You have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk'

For more inspirational poetry and words go here: Poetry Planet by Rev.Bola

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'Recovery From Racism For Humans'

by Rev.Bola

This blog has been a long time coming. I have been preparing for it, by doing a great deal of research and personal study on the subject, so as to come up with actual examples and practical solutions that would benefit a broad spectrum of people. I wanted to make this blog purposeful and inspirational enough to encourage others as well as myself, to take positive and constructive action to eliminate racism from the world, and to do it without inciting people to reckless and undue violence and abuse.

Racism is indeed a very sensitive matter for many of us. The solution to it cannot be undermined further with patronizing idealism, denial, hypocrisy, generalizations, ambiguity, or any of the other subtle ways of avoiding the issue. When we talk of people of color, we are discussing the vast majority of the human population. This matter clearly affects all humans; whether you are a perpetrator, a victim, or an idle stander-by, racism concerns us all. Fortunately I am not the first person to raise this issue for discussion, nor will I be the last. I have many role models I can emulate, including stellar well known ones, as President Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Rev.Martin Luther King and Ghandi to name a few.

I am a black woman of African heritage, and as far as I know, I do not have any other racial mixes in my genetic make-up, other than African. In addition, I have spent the greater part of my life living in the United kingdom, and most of my cultural influences are western, particularly British and American. I have a predominantly British/American education. Never-the-less, I still have a lot of African cultural influences directing my personality and my innate sense of identity. Am I esteemed by my heritage? Very much so. I love who and what I am. Usually, when people meet me in person, they are often in no doubt, that both my African and my western British influences are evident, and that both blend well together in me, and in a manner that I can be happy with and quite proud of. I have dual nationalities, and two passports, both of which I would never give up, for anything in the world. I believe I have earned my right to be both British and African; not because I am nationalistic, but rather because I am phenomenally grateful, for every one of the cultural influences that have shaped my life and made me who I am today. Phenomenally grateful, I repeat.

Racism influenced my life, even before I was born. It has continued to weave its ugly passage through my life, in one form or another, from my day of birth, and right through to this current day. All of my life, I have had to live with it, recognize it, get around it, deflect it, avoid it, learn from it, discuss it, ignore it, run away from it, stand up to it, ponder over it, or deal with this unwanted nemesis in my life called racism. One way or another, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, racism has been a major culprit in my life demanding my attention.

I am in no denial about this subject at all. Racism has affected my self esteem, my physical health, my mental health, my emotional health. It has affected my relationships with others, my family of origin, my ability to be married and raise a family of my own, my friends, my social life, my career, my work, my hobbies and pastimes, my finances, my buying decisions. It has affected where I live, where I go, whom I can support, whom I can receive support from, how I socialize, how I view the world around me, and every aspect of my freedom and liberty as an individual and a group or community member. It has affected my choice of Faith and manner of worship, and my religious practice. There is not a single area of my life that racism has not affected (except of course my spirituality, which is something I will be addressing later on). Henceforth, I have decided that, Racism as an issue, does require blogging about, and some further discussion on my part, now and long after I am gone from this earth.

I would like to pose a couple of important questions.
Firstly, what exactly is racism? and secondly, whom or what does racism serve? ( as to say, what use is it to anyone, and whom or what stands to gain anything from it?)

I believe that asking ourselves these two very important questions, can assist us greatly, in deciding whether racism is something we want to continue having, as part of our game of life, and if not, what we can do to reduce it and completely remove it.

As you consider the above two questions, would you say that they are religious or spiritual questions, political questions, or scientific questions? Would you say these questions were Artistic questions, Social questions, Economic questions, Biological questions, Paranormal questions, Medical questions, or Ethical questions? Are they intelligent questions, or stupid questions? Are they humanistic questions, or universal questions, or would you say that they are a bit of all of the above or absolutely nothing to do with any of the above? How would you label these two questions, and how would you go about answering them?

Personally, I would love to hear and share your views and comments about this. please send them in, and keep them coming.
In this blog I will also be attempting to present the answers I have found, to these questions, whatever knowledge and awareness I have gained, and also some practical solutions. Stay tuned!

Blessings and Love
Rev.Bola A
(copyright: 17.10.09 -ARR)