Racism, which is defined as a “system of cultural, institutional, and personal values, beliefs, and actions in which individuals or groups are [disadvantaged] based on ethnic or racial characteristics” (Tinsley-Jones, 2005), is the hallmark of America’s history because the construct of race[1] was and has remained the fundamental determinant of sociopolitical ordering in the nation. Racialized sociopolitical ordering both affected and continues to affect without abatement the legal, natural, political, psychological, and social rights of human persons in America. It also affects their labor market positioning and personal identity.
[1] A social construction that maintains a sociopolitical hierarchy.