What is racial discrimination?

Racial discrimination is a set of beliefs based on the idea of race inequalities, the superiority of some national groups over others. The term "racism" first appeared in 1932.

What is discrimination?

Discrimination is the restriction or denial of the rights (advantages) of certain social or national groups on the basis of gender, race, political or religious beliefs. Discrimination can be manifested in all areas of society. For example, in the social sphere, it acts in the form of restricting access to education or to benefits.

Today, discrimination (racial, sexual, religious) is condemned by the international community. The deprivation of people's rights and freedoms by some indication is contrary to the modern system of values.

The emergence of racism

The emergence of racism is attributed to the times of the first contacts of Europeans with other civilizations, ie, to the era of great geographical discoveries. During this period, to justify territorial seizures, often accompanied by the extermination of indigenous people, the first theories on the inferiority of certain ethnic groups are being developed. White racism appeared in the European colonies in America, Africa and Asia.

In 1855, a book by the French historian Joseph de Gobineau entitled "The Experience of the Inequality of Human Races" was published. The author put forward the thesis about the influence of the racial composition of certain groups on the development of these societies and their civilizational success. Joseph de Gobineau is considered the founder of Nordism (a form of discrimination based on race, a theory of the superiority of the Nordic race over others). In his work, the historian identified three main races: white, yellow and black. The first surpasses the rest in both physical and mental terms. The central place among the "white people" is occupied by the Aryans. At the middle level of the racial hierarchy, according to Gobineau, there are "yellow", and the bottom is occupied by "black".

Attempts at the scientific substantiation of racism

After Joseph de Gobineau, racist theory was developed by many scientists. Let us note the main milestones in the development of ideas of discrimination based on race:

• Georges Your de Lyapuzh - French ideologue of racism, sociologist. He put forward the thesis that the cranial index (cephalic index) is the main factor affecting the position of a person in society. In this regard, the Europeans Lyapuzh divided into 3 groups: long-headed light-blond (differing in energy and intelligence), short-haired dark-haired (malogenious race), long-haired dark-haired.
• Gustav Lebon is a French sociologist, author of the work Psychology of Peoples and Masses. I considered that inequality and discrimination on the basis of race are an objective way of the existence of society.
• Houston Stuart Chamberlain is a German sociologist. He put forward the idea of the superiority of the German nation. He was in favor of maintaining and preserving the "purity of the races." In the book "Foundations of the XIX century" said that the Aryans are carriers of civilization, while the Jews are destroying it.

Racism in the US: Negroes or African Americans?

Racial discrimination in the United States arose even before the founding of the state. In America, Indians (indigenous people) and Negroes were considered inferior. Only "white people" had civil rights. For the first time black slaves were brought by English colonists to the territory of the country at the beginning of the XVII century. The labor of slaves from Africa was widely used in plantation, especially in the southern United States.

Officially, the elimination of racial discrimination in the United States began in 1808. This year, the State Congress banned new black workers from entering the country. In 1863, slavery was officially abolished. This event was recorded in 1865 in the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Despite the abolition of slavery, racial segregation - the form of racial discrimination, the practice of restricting black populations to separate areas of residence or attaching them to certain institutions (for example, schools) was widely spread during this period. Officially, it existed since 1865.

Substantial progress in the elimination of racism in the United States began only in the middle of the twentieth century. He was associated with a number of new laws that equalize the rights of Americans, Indians and African Americans.

Activities of the Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan is an ultra-right organization that arose in the United States in 1865. Discrimination (racial) of blacks and their physical extermination was its main goal. At the heart of the ideological doctrine of the Ku Klux Klan lay the idea of the superiority of the white race over others.

A few interesting facts from the history of the organization:

• The Ku Klux Klan experienced a threefold rebirth. In 1871 the organization was dissolved for the first time. After the revival in the early XX century, the Ku Klux Klan ceased to exist during the Second World War. A new reconstruction of the organization belongs to the 1970s.
• The grotesque costumes worn by members of the CCC were really awesome. They consisted of a wide hoodie, a long pointed cap and mask.
• Today the Ku Klux Klan is not a single organization. Individual centers of its activities exist in different countries.

Racism in Europe: Nordism and Racial Hygiene

Nordism - discrimination (racial), which has become widespread in European countries in the XX century, in particular in Nazi Germany. It is based on the theory of the superiority of the Nordic (Aryan) race over others. The founders of Nordism and its main ideologues are French sociologists Joseph de Gobineau and Georges de Lyapuz.

Racial discrimination and the policy of xenophobia in Nazi Germany were based on so-called racial hygiene. This concept was introduced into scientific circulation by Alfred Pletz. The Nazi racial policy was directed against the Semitic race - the Jews. In addition, other nations were declared inferior: French, Gypsies and Slavs. In Nazi Germany, Jews were initially excluded from the economic and political life of the state. However, as early as 1938, the physical annihilation of the Semitic race begins. It began with the "Kristallnacht" - a Jewish pogrom, carried out on the territory of the whole of Germany and partly by Austria by armed detachments of the SA.

Combating Racism

Today, the struggle against racial discrimination is the goal of all democratic states. Restriction of human rights and freedoms contradicts the values of modern society. Between 1951 and 1995, international organizations adopted a number of documents that condemn and prohibit discrimination on any grounds (racial, sexual or religious). The provision on the inadmissibility of deprivation of liberty is present in the European Convention on Human Rights. In many modern countries, mass rallies and speeches are held on the International Day Against Racial Discrimination (March 21).