Racism Is Defined As An Ideology Of Racial Superiority

Introduction Racism is defined as an ideology of racial superiority followed by discriminatory and prejudicial behavior. Racism can come in many forms such as racial profiling; hating someone for the color of their skin, workplace discrimination, and the stereotypical notion that one race has superior work ethics than another. No matter the origin, racism can have long lasting effects on its victims and the community. We will look how the psychological impact of racism affects the victim mentally and health wise. We will then look into how the community can be affected. Effects on the Victim Racism may be as subtle as a clothing store clerk following targeted customers from isle to isle under the disguise of straightening already†¦show more content†¦Media influence paired with the longstanding cultural norms in the United States shows the Black American population, especially Black males, as being hyper-aggressive criminals (Akbar, 1981; Dixon, 2008; Painter, 2007; Parham et al., 1999). Research exploring the connections between racial discrimination and criminal offending has concluded that in many instances a positive association exists between racial discrimination and increased criminal activity (Burt, Simons Gibbons, 2012). Victims of racism may experience signs of psychological distress that present in the form of mental stress. Although regular stress can have negative effects on an individual, the added stress of racism undoubtedly increases the level of stress the victim experiences. Perceived racism may lead to mental health symptoms similar to trauma (Pieterse, Todd, Neville, Carter, 2012). They found that perceived racism was positively related to psychological stress. In addition, Black Americans have been noted to have higher rates of hypertension. Hypertension in itself has been associated with stress and depression. This along with studies like a landmark report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2003 which documented that from the simplest to the most technologically advanced diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, African American individuals and those in other minority groups receive fewer procedures and poorer-quality medical care than white