The mutual agreement and shared understanding among people are what give words meaning. But over time many words undergo cultural reform as connotated uses of those words spread and transform their use and popular understanding. It is at these critical points in time when lexicographers, the gatekeepers of the English language, might consider adjusting the official definitions of a word to ensure it accurately reflects the shared understanding of society. 

For some words, determining broad agreement is more difficult despite official records given the complexities of opinions, history, and the constant development of human understanding. The term “racism” is an example of this. 

Like all words, the term racism is subject to this developmental process, having its meaning evolve over the years. Notably, although the term dates to 1903, it was not prescribed meaning until the late 1950s, and became a centerpiece in movements for equality in the 1960s. 

During this period, the core understanding of racism was unfair treatment owed to one’s race, and the belief that some races were biologically superior to others. Today, this definition is reflected in the Oxford and Merriam Webster dictionaries to represent our foundational understanding of the term.

Given this definition, we have long used the term racism to reference discriminatory behaviour or beliefs that manifest on the interpersonal level. From the 1960s to 1980s, however, this interpersonal racism, which we now consider to be our foundational shared understanding of the concept, was known as “prejudice”. 

Driven by civil rights activists and social scientists, during this same period the meaning prescribed to racism expanded to capture “institutional racism”. As a result, the perspective of mainstream media was challenged, pushing hegemonic forces to consider the role of power, specifically how the legal, political, and financial systems were unjust and used to oppress Black people. They were further challenged to consider how these systems excluded Black people, instituted severe punishments, and deprived Black people of resources, opportunities, and services. The hope was to recognize the outcomes of these unjust systems, this being a community ravaged with system induced disparities that was justified by science and powerful institutions. 

Over time, some members of society began using the general term racism in place of the concept of institutional racism. However, it was only a few years ago when the collective conscience of society started to recognize the role power plays in the institutional and social aspects of racism. Subsequently, in 2020, Merriam Webster gave a nod to this idea by updating their definition to capture systemic oppression. Despite the lag in recognition, this adjustment by Merriam Webster sought to reify the shared understanding of society. But the Oxford dictionary has yet to do this. Regardless, it demonstrates that our understanding of racism has expanded to consider the role of power and both the macro and micro ways racism manifests in society.

Can Black People be Racist?

In recent years a socio-political discourse has emerged that asserts that Black people, a marginalized group, cannot be racist. Fundamentally grounded in the concepts of institutional racism and societal racism, the idea is that the bedrock of racism is power. It suggests that racism requires ownership or control of institutional structures and political and legal forces, all of which Black people have never owned under Western rule. In this light, the idea of racism has been redefined to eliminate our foundational understanding of interpersonal racism to be wholly defined as institutional and societal racism. This assertion would mean that Black people can only be prejudiced. 

In a very specific way, I admit that this ideology is one I do not subscribe to. I recognize my rationale may not sit well with some. In that case I welcome healthy discussions for personal enlightenment. However, this ideology seems to have divided our focus to vain debates on theoretical ideas that contribute nothing to the upward mobility of Black people. Yet, still, it is a question I find myself thinking about often.

Under the new definition and developed understanding of racism being pushed, it would certainly be the case that Black people cannot be racist. Looking to the past, one can see why this logic holds weight in many circles. In the past, there was no room for marginalized populations—who were seen as subhuman and second-class citizens—to commit racist macro or micro-offences. Even in times of racial wars or unrest, the actions of marginalized and oppressed groups were merely reactions to the provocations of racist leaders and systems of subjugation. It was a system where social racism was legalized, reified, and perpetuated through acts of bigotry and oppression. So, although the collective conscience of white people led to individual racism, it was the legitimization of racism by institutional power that gave it credence. In this light, the permeation of the Black inferiority complex and subservience stripped Black people of the ability to alienate based on race, and broad pursuits for white acceptance socially and institutionally ensured white people could be positioned to experience racism.

Today our context is different given the change of the social climate has changed. Despite this change, it is the legacy of these systems and social perceptions that have created today’s racial effects. Indeed, the power dynamics of society remain heavily in favour of white people and a system overarching structural inequality continues. But when we speak about Black people being incapable of being racist, if the collective conscience and shared understanding of societal members is what creates and reshapes language, the reality is that this discourse is inconsistent with reality.

To me, Black people can be racist. To fully understand this, we must move ourselves outside of the binaries of Black and white. For myself, for Black people to be racist two things are required: proximity in some form to whiteness; and a motivation of racial superiority. With these requirements my personal nuance here is that Black can only be racist towards other racialized groups. This is because the essence of racism emerged from a superiority complex attached to whiteness. For racialized groups, proximity to whiteness can replicate the superiority complex, causing them to racially discriminate against other racialized groups. According to our foundational definition of racism (which reflects the general understanding of the population) this is considered racism. Indeed, the exclusion of white people as receptors of racism may seem odd given the foundational definition of racism. However, on a deeper level, acts of racial prejudice towards white people are not rooted in racial superiority. These acts are often driven by ancestral history, responses to systemic exclusion, and the refusal of ideas of racial inferiority.

If we extend our thinking of society’s foundational understanding of racism to recognize the diversity reflected in countries such as Canada and the U.S., we see how limiting this idea of Black people being incapable of being racist is. Due to the legacy of racism, we often look at racism in binary terms. We center our discussions in terms of Blackness and whiteness, not recognizing how modern culture is nuanced and diverse. As such, if power is required to be racist, this would mean that no racialized group can be racist. But there are numerous interactions and relationships that all people have among these diverse groups where the power balances shift based on region and proximity to Western culture or whiteness. In interactions with other racialized or marginalized groups it is possible for Black people to racially discriminate against them, particularly if the Black individual in question has successfully attained a high level of socio-economic status. So, despite the lack of power in terms of institutional control, the mastery of Western culture and white systems can play a role in racial prejudice, as can ownership. Agreeably Black people neither own nor control institutions of society. However, there are sub-systems within these institutions and larger systems that some Black people control or contribute to. In these sub-systems power can be used to exclude other racialized groups due to a superiority complex.

I recognize that this conversation will continue. Surely our understanding of racism must continue. However, I would argue that the emerging definition of racism being solely about power is reductionist and a step backwards. It fails to recognize that individual racism is also an important factor that impacts the experiences of many and disregards the fact that racism manifests in multiple ways outside of the binaries we have created. The key is not to reduce our definition of racism, but to contextualize it—clarifying that while people of all races can perpetrate acts of racial bigotry, racism is inherently tied to power dynamics and structural inequality.