Racism has existed throughout human history.

It may be defined as the hatred of one

person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of
skin color, language, customs, and places of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals
the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations,
and legal codes.
This belief was not "automatic": that is, Africans were not originally considered
inferior. When Portuguese sailors first explored Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries,
they came upon empires and cities as advanced as their own, and they considered
Africans to be serious rivals. Over time, though, as African civilizations failed to match
the technological advances of Europe, and the major European powers began to plunder
the continent and forcibly remove its inhabitants to work as slave laborers in new
colonies across the Atlantic, Africans came to be seen as a deficient "species," as
"savages." To an important extent, this view was necessary to justify the slave trade at a
time when Western culture had begun to promote individual rights and human equality.
The willingness of some Africans to sell other Africans to European slave traders also
led to claims of savagery, based on the false belief that the "dark people" were all
kinsmen, all part of one society - as opposed to many different, sometimes warring
nations.
"There are three effects of racism," says Professor Dunn. "Number one is that it affects
the work place, as it results in staff turnover, as well as having effects on the economy.
"Second are the mental health affects which lead to the negative effects on a person's
wellbeing." "Third, it is not good for a person's wellbeing and finally, it is socially
disruptive as it boosts the crime rate." "Racism usually occurs when one has negative
attitudes to diversity, based on their stereotypes and prejudices." "We are all susceptible
to our stereotypes and prejudices. We can have wrongheaded views or be misinformed."

Five main types of racism:

Aware/Blatant Racism: Outright racists that, without apology or confusion, tell

people of color, that because of their color, they dont appeal to them.
Aware/Covert Racism: When racists are being racist but just not saying it. For
instance, upon seeing that a potential tenant is Indian, rather than saying it directly, a
landlord will pull the apartment off the market without providing an explanation.
Unaware/Unintentional Racism: With the best of intentions, the best of
educations, and the greatest generosity of heart, whites, operating on the misinformation
fed to them from day one, will behave in ways that are racist, will perpetuate racism by

being nice the way were taught to be nice.

Unaware/Self-Righteous Racism: The good white racist attempts to shame
Blacks into being blacker, scorns Japanese-Americans who dont speak Japanese, and
knows more about the Chicano/a community than the folks who make up the
community.

Internalized Racism: Stereotypes and attitudes of the white hegemonic system are
internalized by members of oppressed groups and peoples and taken for truth or inform
the ways they think about themselves and others from similar backgrounds or cultures.

Is Dominican Republic racist? Dominican Republic is not a racist country and there is
no systematic violence against black people or Haitians or Dominicans of Haitian
ascendance. Take this from someone who has observed this process closely, who has
disagreed with many decisions of Dominican authorities, but who is also not willing to
lie in favor of her expressed positions.
If you have said that Dominican Republic is a racist, xenophobe, systematically
violent country against the aforementioned groups, you are either mistaken or
lying.
The Dominican racists say they are in her right, but the Dominican-Haitians are in their
right, too.

My children were born in the United States. But since they have a Dominican-born
grandfather, they are eligible for citizenship in the Dominican Republic once they turn
18. But as the country gears up to deport some 200,000 undocumented residents of
Haitian descent, children who actually live and have roots there may be loaded onto
buses and taken from the only home theyve ever known.
People who support the ruling say that it has been unfair that the Dominican Republic, a
poor country in its own right, has had to constantly come to the aid of Haiti and its
people. Others view it as an ethnic cleansing similar to the Parsley Massacre, when
Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo oversaw the killing of some 20,000 Haitians in the
late 1930s. (Its called that because Trujillo reportedly had troops kill people who didnt
pronounce perejil with a Spanish inflection.)

Trujillo painted Dominicans as proud but modest campesinos the hybrid of Spanish
conquistadores and native Tainos and Haitians as superstitious, backward, physically
grotesque Africans. Public education in the Dominican Republic for decades under
Trujillo was nationalistic and hateful toward Haiti and its people.

Ways you can prevent racism. At the Individual Level (These are mostly for white
people, but not exclusively.)
1. Listen to, validate, and ally with people who report personal and systemic racism.
2. Have hard conversations with yourself about the racism that lives within you.
3. Be mindful of the commonalities that humans share, and practice empathy.

At the Community Level

4. If you see something, say something.
5. Cross the racial divide (and others) by offering friendly greetings to people,
regardless of race, gender, age, sexuality, ability, class, or housing status.
6. Learn about the racism that occurs where you live, and do something about it by
participating in and supporting anti-racist community events, protests, rallies, and
programs.

At the National Level

7. Combat racism through national-level political channels.
8. Advocate for Affirmative Action practices in education and employment.
9. Vote for candidates who make ending racism a priority; vote for candidates of color.

http://archive.adl.org/hate-patrol/racism.html#.VqqmpZrhBdg
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/12/10/3651332.htm
http://theangryblackwoman.com/2011/04/25/five-different-types-of-racism-explained/
http://thesocialsciencepost.com/en/2015/06/so-you-heard-dominican-republic-is-racistyou-have-been-lied-to/
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/23/dominican-republic-haitiandeportation-reflects-racist-history
http://sociology.about.com/od/Current-Events-in-Sociological-Context/fl/9-Things-YouCan-Do-to-Help-End-Racism.htm