Race, Racism, and Sociology: From Jim Crow to Brown v. Board

Introduction to the Sociology of Racism

The sociology of racism, according to Clair and Denis (2015), is the study of racial inequality, racial discrimination, and racism and their associated features. Racism is essentially the domination of one group over another based on the perception and preconception that the dominating group is culturally or biologically superior. This belief in superiority is used to justify the mistreatment of people from other races. Racialization has led to people being divided into various groups based on physical characteristics such as skin color, eye shape, hair texture, and language, among others. These groups are then designated as races. Racial discrimination involves the unequal treatment of these groups and manifests most prominently in areas such as education, income, and health.

Race is a construct of society. It has no biological basis, as there are no behavioral differences among humans that can be attributed to factors such as skin color. It does, however, play a significant role in how society is structured. From a sociological standpoint, the primary interest when studying racism is in society's construction of race. In North America, race-driven ideologies were used to justify the appropriation of land, colonial violence against indigenous groups, and the enslavement of people of African descent beginning in the 16th century. Race was also used to justify violence against Black Americans and other minority groups under the infamous Jim Crow laws. How states and nations discussed, understood, and viewed racism changed only in the mid-20th century, as a result of increased immigration of non-Europeans into Western countries, anti-colonial struggles, anti-racial movements gaining prominence, and the activities of the American Civil Rights Movement (Clair & Denis, 2015).