How To Eliminate Racism

Photo by Rolande PG on Unsplash

One unfortunate truth about humanity is that racism is here to stay. As someone who comes from an interracial family, it is disheartening and demoralizing to see human beings constantly divided and ripped apart because of race. Even today there seems to be no end to the way that people are treated because of the color of their skin, ethnic origin, nationality, and religion. Furthermore, it is clear that we cannot hope to eliminate racism overnight. However, I believe that over time there is hope that one day we will live in a world in which there is no more racism. By doing these simple but important things, we can start the process of eliminating racism for good.

What You Can Do to Eliminate Racism

1. Educate Yourself on The Proper Terminology

Time and again, I see people who are not using racial terminology correctly. This can happen when people ask a certain question about one’s ethnicity but ultimately use the wrong word to ask the question. This can also happen when people use an outdated term that can be considered offensive or derogatory today. To avoid such backlash, it is always best to educate oneself on the correct terms and use them accordingly.

Below I am going to list some commonly misused racial terms:

Nationality — the country that you are a citizen of
Ethnicity — your ethnic background, or where your ancestors lived
Heritage — traditions, customs, and artifacts that you inherit from your ancestors
Race — a term created by society to label and divide people by perceived differences
Monoracial — a person who has parents or grandparents who are of the same race
Biracial — a person who has parents or grandparents of two races
Multiracial — a person who has parents or grandparents of two or more races
Bicultural — a person who grows up with two cultures concurrently. Note: you can be bicultural and be of one race
Multicultural — a person who grows up with two or more cultures concurrently
Mixed race — a person who is of two or more races

In order to eliminate racism, we must strive to ask these questions with the correct…