The Oxford dictionary describes racism as, “the belief that certain races are better than others” or “discrimination against, or hostility towards other races.” Racism is not only an individual ideology but an entire system of behaviors, ideas, practices, conditions, structures, policies, and processes that maintain a racial advantage. The word ‘racism’ is often exchanged with ‘prejudice’, however, unlike prejudice, racism is organized and persistent. People face racism in different places and various ways. Individual racism Individual racism comes from personal hatred. When it’s expressed consciously, the person is aware of their biases. It unconsciously shapes one’s beliefs, attitudes, and decisions. Institutional racism We’ve come a long way but racist policies and processes are deeply rooted at the institutional level be it at a school or workplace. In India, Dalit and tribal people are disadvantaged because of systemic racism. Also, the fairer person is always preferred and considered to be better than their darker counterpart. Everyday Racism Philomena Essed in 1991 first came up with the term ‘everyday racism’ that challenged the idea of racism as an individual problem. In other words, the focus of everyday racism is not so much on racist people, but the taken-for-granted racist practices deep-rooted in our society. This type of racism can be intentional or unintentional. It leaves people from a certain region feeling racially judged covertly. ‘Racial micro aggressions’ refer to the damaging attitudes, behaviors, humiliations, and jokes that people from minorities face on a daily basis. They’ve been described as ‘the new face of racism’. What is internalized racism? Internalized racism is a disturbing concept. It occurs when the racial or ethnic group being discriminated against begins to accept society’s racist attitude and beliefs. Internalized racism is a consequence of colonization. Now, coming back to the meaning of the word ‘RACE’. What does RACE include or what does it mean? Race includes a person’s color, nationality, and ethnic or national origin. A person can simply be discriminated against based on race - for being Black, Asian, Hispanic, Brown, etc. Categorizing race further, we can see that a race can be traced back to a particular region. For example, dark-skinned persons originated from Africa, or brown persons are from Asia, and so on. Thus, racism finally leads to regionalism. Racism and regionalism are not something that we can be proud of. In fact the lesser it is the faster will a nation progress. Showing others that you care about their well-being and are committed to diversity, inclusion, equity and anti-racism is one way to take action. In the UK, employees are legally protected from racial discrimination by the Equality Act 2010, race includes color, ethnic or national origin, and nationality. Employers must not discriminate because of any of these protected characteristics. Unfortunately, there aren’t any pertinent laws in India that discourage people’s racist behavior. If we don’t speak up then change will never occur, be it in people’s minds or the law. “I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by their colour, but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King Tanika Pereira