Racism and Social Welfare Policy
Racism and Social Welfare Policy What is Race? ... Over the course of time race has acquired a social meaning by which these biological differences, via the mechanism of stereotyping, have become markers for status assignment within the social system. ... Racism is the institutional oppression of a group of people based on color. Racism is always institutional. (Reddy,1998) Racism is the underlying current running through our society. ... From the decimation of the Native American people to the African slave trade, Racism is as American as apple pie. The force of racism can be traced back to its origins in Prejudice. ... It begins small, as an attitude or an opinion about another and with proper nourishment grows into racism. A common formula to understand this evolution towards oppression is Prejudice + Power = Racism. ... Institutionalized Racism occurs when the will to oppress is coupled with the power of legislation and large institutions. ... (Reddy, 1998) Institutional Racism is frequently subtle and shrouded in the rhetoric of deliberately confusing legislation and policy. According to Keleher & Johnson, the best way to measure institutional racism is to look at its impacts rather than intentions. ... If we deny the biological inferiority of peoples of color, and we must, there is only one reason for the widening gulf of inequality - institutional racism. More often than not Social Welfare Policy reflects not the interest of all but rather is used as a tool to maintain the status quo, thus the balance of power remains intact.