Justice and Racism

Q: What is racism? A: The Church defines racism as awareness of the biologically determined superiority of one’s own race or ethnic group with respect to others.

Racism can be person-to-person or institutional Racism leads to mistreatment of people based on: race color national origin religion place of origin ancestry Remember. . . Racism can be person-to-person or institutional

Institutional Racism Q: What is it? A: Racism that infects every aspect of society A: Racism that favors the majority and hindering the success of the minority

Members of other minorities Institutional Racism Members of other minorities Affirmative Action is the policy and programs established to correct the past discrimination in education and employment opportunities b l a c k s wo m e n

Racism Against Certain Groups African Americans: Slavery continued until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery Segregation continued and blacks were treated as second class citizens until the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s In 1954, the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka desegregated schools

Racism Against Certain Groups African Americans Did you know that blacks: *suffer more from violence *are incarcerated disproportionately *have shorter life spans *lack educational opportunities *have a large number of families headed by single women Also, keep in mind. . . There still is a large income gap between African Americans and whites

Racism Against Certain Groups African Americans Racism against African Americans is, in part, a result of apartheid Apartheid was a policy of South Africa from 1948-1991 of strict segregation, prejudice and racial inequality against blacks.

Racism Against Certain Groups Hispanic Americans: Did you Know. . . * Hispanic Americans have a history of working low-paying jobs in ranches, farms, mines and railroad *Children of migrant workers cannot get a decent education * many Hispanic Americans face immigration problems. * Suffer from low wages, lack of health care and decent education, unsafe and congested housing

Racism Against Certain Groups Hispanic Americans: Did you Know. . . Nearly 73% of Hispanics in the US are Catholic 64% of Catholic Hispanic Americans go to church regularly American Catholic Bishops challenge parishes to find ways to embrace Hispanic Catholics

Racism Against Certain Groups Native Americans: Did you Know that the Native American suffered because : Once numbered from 4.5 to 10 million when Columbus discovered American, by the end of the 19th century decreased to a quarter of a million people Diseases that the Native Americans had no immunities Loss of cultural identity as Native American religion and customs were stamped out Vicious wars by the English Destruction of the buffalo Expansion of the railroad Lands taken over by Anglos as they moved West

Racism Against Certain Groups Housing Homelessness Negative Effects of Reservations Education Poverty Death rates among youth Unemployment

Racism Against Certain Groups Native Americans: Did you Know. . . Although the Church was prejudice in the past trying to Christianize Native Americans, it has become more sensitive to defending their rights

Being Inclusive Things to Consider about Racism: During Jesus’ ministry, he included everyone St. Paul encouraged his converts to see through the external differences that separate us

Being Inclusive Racial Justice Celebrate diversity Support efforts to eradicate discrimination Root prejudice out of own lives Empathize with others Celebrate diversity Learn from others Appreciate our common humanity

Vocabulary racism affirmative action institutional racism Apartheid encyclical