Anti-racist: A person who actively and explicitly combats racist ideas or practices and advocates for racial equity in social, political, and economic life. A person who is anti-racist does not simply ignore or choose not to participate in racist behavior. Rather, they address issues of racism head on and support policy and practices that would create racial equity. Anti-racist is most often viewed as an interpersonal approach to dealing with racism, as it is focused on an individual's actions (Kendi, 2019).
Color Neutral/Blind: The idea that one should ignore race and color in an effort to move beyond racism, as in the statement, "I don't see color." This approach does not acknowledge that structural barriers and institutional racism exist that impact individuals of color (Burke, 2013). This ambivalence to acknowledging race may also allow some people to avoid noticing race-based discrimination and inequities. While the color blind mindset started gaining attention in the 1970s, "color consciousness" is a newer term that brings to light the voices and struggles of people of color (Smith, 2016). This important contrast allows for conversations to acknowledge these struggles and move toward improvement. Rather than ignoring the problem, this perspective takes an active role in addressing the racial disparities that continue to exist nationwide.
Discrimination: The unequal treatment of members of various groups (e.g. race, gender, economic class, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, language, age, national identity, religion and other labels or identities) due to conscious or unconscious prejudice which favors and empowers one group over another. Prejudice, whether conscious or unconscious, usually leads to discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex in schools, places of employment, public spaces (e.g. parks, housing, stores) and voting registration. The law makes it illegal for one to retaliate or punish a person who has complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business. Many acts of discrimination build up over time, perpetuated against one relatively less powerful social group by a more powerful social group, leading to a group of people being in a state of oppression.
Equality: There are several different types of equality. Here, the focus is on social equality, or providing everyone with the same thing without regard to circumstances. Equality and equity are often used interchangeably, but they have very different meanings. Equality focuses on the equal distribution of resources, while equity focuses on obtaining equal results. Like equity, equality aims to promote fairness and justice, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same things.
Equity: Equity distinguishes itself from diversity, inclusion and equality. Rather than being about diversely representing different groups of people (diversity), including a group of people (inclusion), or equally sharing among all groups (equality) — equity is about what an individual needs to survive and succeed. Additionally, it encompasses human thriving. Another focus within the term equity is social equity. Social equity is fairness in the delivery of public goods and services (Gooden, 2015). Social equity calls for equal treatment for all citizens in the political system, regardless of economic resources.
Implicit Bias: This term is used to describe the attitudes and assumptions individuals unconsciously hold and associate with a person or group of people.
Intersectionality: This term refers to the ways social identities (e.g. race, gender, sexuality, class) are interconnected and informed by social-historical processes which creates unique experiences of privilege and discrimination (Crenshaw, 1990). For example, a Black man and a Black woman experience different types of discrimination because of the way their gender intersects with their race. Similarly a Black woman and a White woman will experience different types of discrimination because of the way their race intersects with their gender. Importantly, rather than treating forms of oppression as independent from one another (i.e. a Black woman faces discrimination that is connected to either her race or her gender) one should view experiences as compounded (i.e. a Black woman faces discrimination that is connected to both her race and her gender). Essentially, a person's experiences with discrimination are cumulative rather than additive. Intersectionality must be acknowledged to fully address the marginalization some individuals face.
Microaggressions: The commonplace, interpersonal messages that insult people who are marginalized because of their social identities (e.g. race, gender, sexuality, religion, class) and create oppression at the interpersonal level (Nordmarken, 2014; Sue, 2010). According to Nordmarken (2014), "Microaggressions are routine in social interaction; all social actors deliver them. These often unconscious and unintentional messages manifest as brief, unthinking slights, snubs, insults, or other indignities, frequently embedded within a stream of communication" (pp. 129). Examples of microaggressions include a woman being spoken over during a meeting, a teacher expressing surprise at the quality of a Black student's paper, or someone "complimenting" an Asian person's English speaking ability.
Prejudice: A conscious or unconscious negative belief or prejudgement, usually negative, about a whole group of people and its individual members. When a person holding the prejudice also has and uses the power to deny opportunities, resources or access to a person because of their group membership, it leads to discrimination. Prejudice is typically based on unsupported generalizations or stereotypes that deny the right of individual members of certain groups to be recognized and treated as individuals with individual characteristics.
Racism: According to Grosfoguel (2016) "Racism is a global hierarchy of superiority and inferiority along the line of the human that have been politically, culturally and economically produced and reproduced for centuries" (pp. 10). He also argues that racism extends past skin tone and "can be marked by color, ethnicity, language, culture and/or religion" (Grosfoguel, 2016; pp. 10). For example, the British treatment of the Irish as inferior mirrored a racial superiority caste even though the two groups shared the same skin tone. By expanding the definition of racism to examine how certain groups are treated as human and subhuman, one can make sense of the racial divides that go beyond Black and White.
Structural Racism: Many people think racism only occurs at the interpersonal level. This would be seen in a person's prejudiced beliefs or discriminatory actions towards another person. This idea is incomplete. Racism frequently occurs at the macro-level and is an integral part of institutional practices and policies. The legal system is a prime example of how laws that structure society can discriminate against groups of people due to their racial identities. Slavery is another great example of structural racism given that the institution was legal for generations within the U.S. (Tatum, 2017).
White Supremacy: The belief (ideology) that White people are superior to people of other races. Many people may believe that White supremacy is the most extreme form of racism and is most accurately represented in the actions of extremist groups like the Klu Klux Klan or Neo-Nazis.