This article describes the state of

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in the ...

and racism in North America. Racism manifests itself in different ways and severities throughout North America depending on the country. Colonial processes shaped the continent culturally, demographically, religiously, economically, and linguistically. Racism was part of this process and is exemplified throughout North America today, but varies regionally.

Canada

In a 2013 survey of 80 countries by the

World Values Survey The World Values Survey (WVS) is a global research project that explores people's values and beliefs, how they change over time, and what social and political impact they have. Since 1981 a worldwide network of social scientists have conducte ...

, Canada was ranked among the most racially tolerant societies in the world. In 2021, the

Social Progress Index The Social Progress Index (SPI) measures the extent to which countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens. Fifty-four indicators in the areas of basic human needs, foundations of well-being, and opportunity to progre ...

ranked Canada 6th in the world for overall tolerance and inclusion. Canadian author and journalist

Terry Glavin Terry Glavin (born 1955) is a Canadian author and journalist. Career Born in the United Kingdom to Irish parents, he emigrated to Canada in 1957. Glavin has worked as a journalist and columnist for '' The Daily Columbian'' (reporter, columnist ...

claims that white Canadians consider themselves to be mostly free of

racial prejudice Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, perceiving the country to be a "more inclusive society" than its direct neighbor the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, a notion that has come under criticism. For instance, Galvin cites the treatment of the Aboriginal population in Canada as evidence of Canada's own racist tendencies. These perceptions of inclusion and " colour-blindness" have also been challenged in recent years by scholars such as

Constance Backhouse Constance Barbara Backhouse, (born February 19, 1952) is a Canadian legal scholar and historian, specializing in Sexism, gender and Racism, race discrimination. She is a Distinguished University Professor and University Research Chair at the Facu ...

stating that white supremacy is still prevalent in the country's legal system, with blatant racism created and enforced through the law. According to one commentator, Canadian "racism contributes to a self-perpetuating cycle of criminalization and imprisonment". In addition, throughout Canada's history there have been laws and regulations that have negatively affected a wide variety of races, religions, and groups of persons.''Statutes of Canada. An Act of Respecting and Regulating Chinese Immigration into Canada, 1885. Ottawa: SC 48–49 Victoria, Chapter 71'' Canadian law uses the term "

visible minority A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...

" to refer to

people of colour The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

(but not aboriginal Canadians), introduced by the Employment Equity Act of 1995. However, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated this term may be considered objectionable by certain minorities and recommended an evaluation of this term. In response, the Canadian government made efforts to evaluate how this term is used in Canadian society through commissioning of scholars and open workshops. In 2020, Canadian university students attracted media attention by sharing on Instagram their experiences of racism on campuses. According to Ethnic and Racial studies, Henry and Tator argued that in context of the Canadian universities, they have denied the role of racism in Canadian society and are resistant in the decision of changes which hinders incorporation and equity for students who are aboriginal.

Mexico

Racism in Mexico has a long history. Historically, Mexicans that were more genetically Spanish, and thus lighter skin tones, had absolute control over dark-skinned Indigenous people. This is evidenced in the Spanish colonial Casta system. Generally,

White Mexicans White Mexicans ( es, Mexicanos blancos) are Mexicans who are considered or identify as white, typically due to their physical appearance and/or self-identification with their European ancestry. While the Mexican government does conduct ethnic c ...

have made up the majority of Mexico's

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

and as such, many White Mexicans feel a sense of superiority over the

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

population who tend to be predominantly of

low income Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

. In Mexico, people who are darker-skinned or of indigenous descent make up the majority of the working classes, while lighter-skinned Mexicans of Spanish descent typically make up the majority of the upper class. However, there are notable exceptions as most of the poor in the rural north of Mexico are White, whilst in Southern Mexico – particularly in the states of

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate mun ...

and Chiapas – Amerindians and Mestizos make up a large part of the upper class. In Mexico the most common racism is used towards Mexican families, underlying multiple relational and individual conflicts. Most racist feelings in Mexico are sourced in differentiation from Indians. However, the indigenous people were inhabitants of these ancient territories after being conquered by the Spaniards.

Trinidad and Tobago

The island nation of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

is a place of tension between

Afro-Caribbeans Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the tr ...

and Indo-Caribbeans. Around 39% of Trinidadians are of African descent, 40% are of Indian descent and a small population is of European descent. Africans usually live in urban areas, notably the

East–west corridor The East–West Corridor is the built-up area of north Trinidad stretching from the capital, Port of Spain, east to Arima. The term was coined by economist and political philosopher Lloyd Best, after gleaning the works of a technocrat named ...

, while Indians usually live in the rural areas surrounding the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

plantations. According to W. Chris Johnson, in 1973, a secret wing of Trinidad and Tobago's police ministrations went to war against an equally shadowy group of youthful people called the National United Freedom Fighters. On September 13 of 73, Beverly Jones, soldier of NUFF was killed in a firefight with Trinidad and Tobago's force. Revolutionary young girls and women like Jennifer, Althea, and Beverley Jones battled gender violence and racism that assembled both with and against anti-imperialist movements, where Black men in tradition, "set the agenda and stole the show."

United States

Racism in the United States has been a major issue ever since the era of colonialism and

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. 12.5 million individuals were abducted from Africa and transported to the Americas via the transatlantic slave trade between 1525 and 1866. Only 10.7 million people made it through the terrifying two-month voyage. Legally sanctioned racism imposed a heavy burden on Native Americans, African Americans,

Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

, Americans from lesser developed parts of Europe, and Asian Americans.

European Americans European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent E ...

were privileged by law in matters of

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, land acquisition, and criminal procedure over periods of time which extended from the 17th century to the 1960s. However, numerous European ethnic groups, including

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

an and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

an Americans, as well as immigrants from elsewhere, faced

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

exclusion and other forms of racism in

American society The society of the United States is based on Western culture, and has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, ...

. Major racially structured institutions included

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

Native American reservations An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

, residential schools (for Native Americans), and

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

(for

Japanese Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

). Formal racial discrimination was largely banned in the mid-20th century and it came to be perceived as being socially unacceptable and/or morally repugnant as well, yet, racial politics remains a major phenomenon. Historical racism continues to be reflected in socio-economic inequality. Racial stratification continues to occur in employment, housing, education, lending, and government. As in most countries, many people in the U.S. continue to have some

prejudice Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...

s against other races. In the view of a network of scores of US civil rights and human rights organizations, " Discrimination permeates all aspects of life in the United States, and it extends to all communities of color." Discrimination against African Americans and Latin Americans is widely acknowledged. Members of every major American ethnic and religious minority have perceived discrimination in their dealings with other minority racial and religious groups. Using U.S. Department of Justice statistics to show social justice inequalities, the index found that blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to experience intimidation and violence during police encounters and were more likely to be detained upon arrest. It turned out to be three times more likely. It’s said that in the year of 2020, black people were likely to be victims of hate crime by 93 percent more. Legal scholar Charles Lawrence, speaking about the American political elite said that their "cultural belief system has influenced all of us; we are all racists". Philosopher

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society an ...

has stated that "racism is an integral element within the very fabric of American culture and society. It is embedded in the country's first collective definition, enunciated in its subsequent laws, and imbued in its dominant way of life." Since

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

is a territory rather than a state, the island is only entitled to receive certain "fundamental" constitutional protections, which is a source of their differential treatment. Holding the status as residents of an incorporated territory, they are limited to certain rights, are unable to vote and are excluded from certain federal entitlements and welfare programs under the 14th Amendment. Furthermore, they hold zero representation in all branches of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

, which proposes the application of a heightened judicial view under the equal protection doctrine. The Supreme Court holds the view that

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

may treat Puerto Rico unequally as long as it does so on a rational basis for its actions. Federal courts have relied on this upholding and Puerto Rico's unincorporated territorial status and the resulting systematic inequality in order to deny plaintiff's equal protection lawsuits.

References

Works cited