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Anti-Racist

adjective | an·ti-rac·ist | \ an-tē-ˈrā-sist

A set of beliefs, and actions that work to dismantle racism. Anti-Racism identifies the ways racism is built into political, and social, structures at all levels of society, and works to fight against racism in every... ​​

Black Lives Matter

noun | \ ˈblak-lahyvz-mat-er

A Black-led grassroots protest organized in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter developed into a movement that organizes non-violent protests, and civil disobedience aimed at dismantling systemic racism in the United States.

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Colonization

verb | col·​o·​ni·​za·​tion | \ ˈkä-lə-ˌnīz-ā-shən

The invasion, domination, and oppression of land and people by foreign powers. Most often, colonization is used to refer to a period when European countries colonized the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa- stealing land from indigenous populations and enslaving the local population. The transatlantic slave trade...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Part of the Urban Renewal Center’s Concise Dictionary series

image_urc_banner_racial justice(2).jpg
 

‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ The ABCs of R​acial J​ustice

 
 
 

by Alexander C. Fella | alex@theurcnorfolk.com

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Do you know the difference between Structural Racism and Systemic Racism? Or Equality versus Equity? Below is a concise dictionary of terms you will hear in discussions on racial justice discourse, the protests, and the urban unrest we are experiencing today. Meant to be a primer, this list is not exhaustive and many of these definitions are still contested, debated, and evolving.

 
 
 

Anti-Racist

adjective | an·​ti-rac·​ist | \ an-tē-ˈrā-sist

A set of beliefs and actions that work to dismantle racism. Anti-Racism identifies the ways racism is built into political, and social, structures at all levels of society, and works to fight against racism in every aspect of daily life. Being an anti-racist is different from ‘not being a racist’. ‘Not being a racist’ is when someone takes personal responsibility to stop individual racism, such as telling a racist joke. Anti-Racism works to stop structural, systemic, and institutional racism that is often reinforced by people who only focus on their individual actions, without looking at the broader way race plays a role in our world.

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Black Lives Matter

noun | \ ˈblak-​lahyvz-​mat-er

A Black-led grassroots protest ritual organized in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter developed into a movement that organizes non-violent protests, and civil disobedience aimed at dismantling systemic racism in the United States, as well as ending police brutality against Black people.

Commonly referred to as BLM, there is no central hierarchy to the movement. However, there emerged an organization with the same name - Black Lives Matter - and general mission of the protest movement. The organization has more than 40 chapters around the world. BLM protests are organized in various cities, protesting the deaths of Black people by the police. Some are organizaed by the organization's chapters and others are grassroots protests unaffiliated with the organization.

As an ideological connector between the grassroots protest movement and the subsequent organization by the same name, "Black Lives Matter" seeks to affirm “Black folks’ humanity, their contributions to society, and resilience in the face of often deadly oppression.”

Above: Black Lives Matter Plaza, in Washington D.C. After the protests following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the Mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, renamed parts of 16th St NW to Black Lives Matter Plaza Northwest. The Department of Pu…

Above: Black Lives Matter Plaza, in Washington D.C. After the protests following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the Mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, renamed parts of 16th St NW to Black Lives Matter Plaza Northwest. The Department of Public Works painted “Black Lives Matter” as a mural on the street.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Colonization

verb | col·​o·​ni·​za·​tion | \ ˈkä-lə-ˌnīz-ā-shən

The invasion, domination, and oppression of land and people by foreign powers. Most often, colonization is used to refer to a period when European countries colonized the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa- stealing land from indigenous populations and enslaving the local population. The transatlantic slave trade was a result of European colonization of West African countries from the 15th through the 19th century. In addition to land, culture can also be colonized. As European, White, Protestant ways of life became established as the dominant culture in the world through colonization, African and Indigenous American culture was suppressed. Colonizers expected the colonized to assimilate into White culture. Some examples of White culture that have become ‘the norm’ include societal expectations around ownership of property; success is the result of individual hard work; religions other than Judeo-Christian religions are suspicious; and that a family is a husband, wife, and two kids.

American Progress by John Gast, 1872. An allegorical painting depicting American expansion westward as Native Americans flee further from the expansion.

American Progress by John Gast, 1872. An allegorical painting depicting American expansion westward as Native Americans flee further from the expansion.

 
 

'Defund The Police'

de·​fund·​the·​po·​lice | \

A rallying cry and policy change that gained popularity amid the protests after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Most commonly, policies advocating the defunding of police departments seek to shift a portion of the funding that police departments receive to investments in community programs such as job training, education, mental health resources, affordable housing, and substance-abuse treatment.

Historically, policing has proven ineffective as a solution to homelessness, drug addiction, and school discipline. In Norfolk, V.A., over the course of 2018, a Norfolk Police Internal Affairs investigation recorded nearly a quarter of all use of force occurrences were related to “psychiatry” or “narcotics.” Movements to defund the police seek to rebuild community safety around community-driven solutions.

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Ethnicity

noun | eth·​nic·​i·​ty | \ eth-ˈni-sə-tē

The number of people living in an urban space. Urban density was long criticized by urban planners, with residents instead opting for the less densely populated suburban sprawl. But since the early 2000s, urban density has become associated with benefits as more people move back into cities from the suburbs. Proximity to cultural assets, walkability, reliance on public transportation, and city diversity have all become associated with the benefits of denser urban living. However, as affluent residents begin returning to cities, increasing that cities’ density, less affluent residents are forced out of the city to the suburbs.

 
 
 

Equality / Equity

noun | equal·​i·​ty | \ i-ˈkwä-lə-tē

noun | eq·​ui·​ty | \ ˈe-kwə-tē

Equality ≠ Equity.

Equality offers an equal opportunity, support, and treatment for everyone without prejudice or bias. Equality treats all people as equals. Equity, on the other hand, does not treat people equally, but according to their specific circumstances.

George Washington University offers this example: All public schools in a city have computer labs with the same number of computers and opening hours. This is an example of equality. Equity would be if schools in low-income neighborhoods had more computer labs and longer opening hours because households in low-income neighborhoods tend to have less reliable internet access.

 
 
 

Individual Racism

noun | in·​di·​vid·​u·​al ·rac·​ism | \ ˌin-də-ˈvij-wəl ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm

Individual racism is a person’s individual beliefs and actions that are racist. Individual racism, like bias, can be explicit or implicit. Example of individual racism includes telling a racist joke, or thinking a black man in a hoodie must be a criminal. Actions taken to ‘not be a racist’, or challenge explicit racial bias, often target individual racism without fully taking into account the wider systemic issues of racism.

 
 
 

Institutional Racism

noun | in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al rac·​ism | \ in(t)-stə-ˈt(y)ü-shnəl ·ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm

Institutional racism is racism that is embedded in institutions. As opposed to individual racism, institutional racism is seen through racist policies and practices of institutions such as racially biased policing, a racially biased justice system, racially biased banking and housing policies.

Institutional racism can be explicit, such as Jim Crow laws in the South which reinforced racial segregation. Similarly, in the 20th century, cities across America were redlined, meaning Black people were refused home mortgages because of their race. These are examples of explicit racist policies held by political and financial institutions.

Today, institutional racism is more likely to be implicit. Implicit institutional racism can be seen in policing policies such as stop-and-frisk policing. Stop-and-frisk policing encouraged police to stop and search people on the street suspected of criminal activity. While not explicitly targeting racial minority groups, the policy proved implicitly racist as the majority of people stopped by police were Black or Latino.

Above: HOLC Redlining map for Greater Norfolk. Institutional policies like redlining, which denied home mortgages to African Americans is an example of institutional racism. (Photo: University of Richmond).

Above: HOLC Redlining map for Greater Norfolk. Institutional policies like redlining, which denied home mortgages to African Americans is an example of institutional racism. (Photo: University of Richmond).

 

 

 

Intersectionality

noun | in·​ter·​sec·​tion·​al·​i·​ty | \ ˌin-tər-ˌsek-shə-ˈna-lə-tē

The ways in which numerous social categories such as race, class, gender, sex, and ethnicity overlap and inform one another. Intersectionality acknowledges that oppression can occur in more than just one way.

For example, given the wealth gap between Black families and White families, oftentimes, racial discrimination is accompanied by class discrimination. Similarly, an intersectional feminist is one who fights both gender-based discrimination as well as race-based discrimination, believing both to be informed and influenced by each other.

 
 
 

People of Color

noun | peo·​ple·​of·col·​or | \

A collective term used to refer to all racially non-White people. For example, when referring to representation in politics, one can say “people of color are disproportionately underrepresented in government.” While helpful only in a broad sense, the term has taken on criticism for failing to identify particular racial groups who are disproportionately oppressed by specific policies. For example, to say “the war on drugs disproportionately affects people of color” risks distracting from the fact that policing around drugs overwhelming affects Black and Latino men specifically.

 
 
 

Post-Racial

adjective | post-ra·​cial \ pōst-ˈrā-shəl

A moment in society when racism, discrimination, and prejudice, no longer exist. As both a theory and a goal of racial justice activists, a post-racial America is one in which racism no longer occurs on an individual and societal scale. Though still not realized, post-racialism has held important political implications in America. In 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts overturned parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which put Southern states’ voting laws under Federal oversight. Chief Justice Roberts cited a post-racial America, particularly Black politicians in office, as his justification. Overturning parts of the Voting Rights Act has made it easier for Southern states to suppress the voting rights of people of color.

 
 
 

Privilege

noun | priv·​i·​lege |\ ˈpriv-lij

An unearned advantage in society. Importantly, White privilege does not mean that all White people are wealthy, financially secure, never struggle or achieve their goals. Often the term is used in conjunction with ‘White Privilege’, or ‘Male Privilege’. Historic policies of institutional racism have created systems that privilege Whiteness at every level of society. Because of its pervasiveness in everyday life, white privilege can appear almost as an invisible force that goes unnoticed by White people. Some of these privileges include access to better schools, frequent positive representation in media, and not being stereotyped as violent criminals.

 
 
 

Race

noun | \ ˈrās

A scientific and societal invention created to categorize some people as superior and others as inferior based on inherited physical differences. Often referred to as a social construct, race has no grounding in biological fact. Rather, racial distinctions based on a person’s appearance have evolved over time, particularly during the era of colonization, when White colonizers perpetuated racial distinctions between Black West Africans and White Europeans in order to enforce practices of slavery, oppression, and domination.

Without a grounding in biology, racial distinctions have evolved over time, especially in America. For example, while today divisions between race are commonly based on appearance, such as Black or White skin. However, during the 20th century, the American South practiced the “one-drop-rule,” which said that any person who had a single black ancestor no matter how far back (one drop of Black blood) was Black.

 
 
 

Structural Racism

noun | struc·​tur·​al rac·​ism |\ ˈstrək-chə-rəl ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm

A term used to indicate racism that is woven into the fabric of society. Structural racism is the various and multiform ways racism occurs at all levels of society such as politics, economics, culture, and daily life. Historic policies of institutional racism reinforce structural racism.

As opposed to individual racism, and institutional racism, structural racism the broadest term used to talk about racism in America.

 
 
 
This infographic from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill illustrates how various institutions reinforce racism throughout all levels of society.

This infographic from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill illustrates how various institutions reinforce racism throughout all levels of society.

 
 

Systemic Racism

noun | sys·​tem·​ic rac·​ism |\ si-ˈste-mik ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm

A term most often used interchangeably with Institutional Racism or Structural Racism. Systemic Racism indicates the various ways racism occurs in the systems that structure our daily life, such as systems of government, systems of finance, or systems of religion. Systemic racism also refers to the way those institutions operate on a day-to-day basis to reinforce historic and contemporary racist practices.

 
 
 
 

Woke

noun | \ ˈwōk

An awareness of social injustice. For example, a person can be called ‘woke’ if they are aware of the ways racially biased policing leads to the disproportionate incarceration of Black men. The term is often used as an adjective to describe someone or something as being current with the latest trends in social justice activism. Woke can be used in conjunction, such as ‘stay woke’, an imperative to keep the fight for social justice going; or ‘woke Twitter’, used to refer to parts of the social media site used by social justice advocates.