VCU Counseling Services Vol. One Down One to Go by M Nieri Jackson, Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University P residential conversations on race, celebrations of multicultural diversity, social movements, and policies and laws against discrimination have not been enough.
Racism is, disturbingly, leading the charge into the next century.
Racism is part of an enduring, even if altered, worldview birthed in 15th century Europe. In this era of European colonialism, industrial and capitalist expansion provided fertile ground for the growth of racist ideology. In the intervening centuries, developments in scientific knowledge have made it possible for us to exchange the scribe's pen and inkwell for the most recent version of Microsoft Word. However, more subtle ideas and behaviors have displaced once overt racist ideas and practices. Consequently, unlike earlier perspectives on racism that viewed it as a scientifically reasonable and culturally acceptable worldview, contemporary writings consider racism an outrageous expression of the worst aspects of humanity.