Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD

UNIT 4: RACES & RACISM

A – WARM-UP

I. Discuss about racism.

What is your skin color? Are you happy with it? What skin colors are there in the world?
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II. List stereotypes of the following races to complete the table. Share ideas with your
classmates. Give reasons to support your view.
RACIAL STEREOTYPES
Races Stereotypes Reasons

1 Whites

2 Asians

3 Africans

4 Hispanics/ Latinos

5 Others? (Arabian,
Jewish, etc.)

B – READING COMPREHENSION
III. TRUE / FALSE: Read the following passage and decide if a-g below are true (T)
or false (F).

APARTHEID (1848 – 1994)

Apartheid is the name of the racial institution that was established in 1948 by the
National Party that governed South Africa until 1994. The term, which literally means
“apartness,” reflected a violently repressive policy designed to ensure that whites, who
comprised 20% of the nation's population, would continue to dominate the country.
Although the policy began officially in 1948, the practice of racial discrimination
has deep roots in South African society. As early as 1788, Dutch colonizers began
establishing laws and regulations that separated white settlers and native Africans. These
laws and regulations continued after the British occupation in 1795, and soon led to the
channeling of Africans into specific areas that would later constitute their so-called
homelands. By 1910, the year that all of the formerly separate Boer Republics united with
the British colony to become the Union of South Africa, there were nearly 300 reserves
for natives throughout the country.
By 1948, Dr. D.F. Malan, the prime architect of apartheid, led the National Party in
the first campaign that centered on openly racist appeals to white unity. The Party
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Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD
promised that if elected it would make permanent these reserves under the joint
fundamental principles of separation and trusteeship. The National Party swept into office,
winning 80 seats (mainly from Afrikaner voters), compared to the United Party‟s 64
seats. Soon afterwards the new government instituted a number of policies in the name of
apartheid which sought to “ensure the survival of the white race” and to keep the different
races separate on every level of society and in every facet of life. One of the first acts
passed was the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, in 1949, which outlawed marriage
between Europeans and non-Europeans. The following year new legislation banned
sexual intercourse between Europeans and non-Europeans. Additionally, in 1950, the
Malan government passed the Population Registration Act, which categorized every South
African by race, and subsequently required people to carry with them at all times a card
stating their racial identity. This Act was later modified in 1952, by issuing “reference
books” instead of identification passes. Anyone caught without their “reference book”
was fined or imprisoned.
The Group Areas Act of 1950, however, was the core of apartheid in South
Africa. The act marked off areas of land for different racial groups, and made it illegal for
people to live in any but their designated areas. Thousands of Africans were uprooted and
moved into racially segregated neighborhoods in cities or to reserves which by the 1970s
would be called homelands. In conjunction with the Reservation of Separate Amenities
Act of 1953, even black workers who during the day worked in the now residentially
white only cities were still required to use different public transportation, post offices,
restaurants, schools, and even separate doors, benches, and counters. The Natives Urban
Areas Act in 1952 and the Native Labor Act in 1953 placed more restrictions on the black
majority in South Africa.
Three important movements challenged apartheid. The oldest was the African
National Congress (ANC) which was founded in 1912. The Pan Africanist Congress
(PAC) broke away from the ANC in 1958 and initiated its own campaign against
apartheid. Both groups were eventually banned by the South African government and
forced underground where they began violent campaigns of resistance. In the late 1960s,
the South African Students‟ Organization (SASO) was formed. Today it is known as the
Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) in South Africa. Apartheid formally ended in
1994 with the first election which allowed the participation of all adult voters. With that
election Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa.
(Adapted from Backpast.org)

T F
a Eighty percent of South Africa population was black in the second half of
the twentieth century.
b In 1910, there were 300 designated places for native Africans across the
country.
c It was legal for a European man to get married to a non-European woman
in South Africa in 1949.
d People were required by law to carry with them the reference books when
traveling in 1952.
e Africans must live in their allocated homelands in 1950.
f The establishments of ANC, PAC, and SASO put an end to Apartheid.
g Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994.

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Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD
IV. Gap-fill: Put the italic words into the gaps in the following passage.
RACES vs. RACISM
The idea of race has a complex history. It has been used for centuries to expense
categorize, reward, and (1) _______ people based on perceived opportunities
differences. Despite often being (2) _______ defined by skin tone and on
other physical attributes, race has no genetic basis. This powerful social
construction has a tremendous impact (3) ______ individuals‟ lives prejudice
because it is often employed to establish and maintain (4) ______ and forms
power dynamics. Access to resources and (5) ______ are often unknowingly
distributed along racial lines. penalize
Commonly defined as “prejudice + power,” racism is (6) ________ or privilege
discrimination against someone based on his/her race. Underlying this is
misguidedly
the belief that certain racial groups are (7) ________ to others. Racism
can be manifested through beliefs, policies, attitudes, and include
actions. Racism comes in several (8) ________, including: superior
Individual or internalized racism – This is racism that exists within joint
individuals. It is when one holds negative ideas about his/her own
culture, even if (9) ________. Xenophobic feelings or one‟s internalized
sense of oppression/privilege are two examples of individual or
internalized racism.
Interpersonal racism – This is the racism that occurs between
individuals. It is the holding of negative attitudes towards a different
race or culture. Interpersonal racism often follows a victim/perpetrator
model.
Institutional racism – Recognizing that racism need not be individualist
or intentional, institutional racism refers to institutional and cultural
practices that perpetuate racial inequality. Benefits are structured to
advantage powerful groups as the (10) ________ of others. Jim Crow
laws and redlining practices are two examples of institutional racism.
Structural racism – Structural racism refers to the ways in which the
(11) ________ operation of institutions (i.e., inter-institutional
arrangements and interactions) produce racialized outcomes, even in the
absence of racist intent. Indicators of structural racism (12) ________
power inequalities, unequal access to opportunities, and differing policy
outcomes by race. Because these effects are reinforced across multiple
institutions, the root causes of structural racism are difficult to
isolate. Structural racism is cumulative, pervasive, and durable.
(Adapted from Intergroup Resources)

V. Read the following passage and complete exercises V and VI.

CIVIL RIGHTS FOR BLACK AMERICANS
The day is August twenty-eighth, 1963. More than two hundred fifty-thousand people are
gathered in Washington. Black and white, young and old, they demand equal treatment for
black Americans. The nation's most famous civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, is
speaking: "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the
greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of our nation."

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Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD
Early in its history, black Africans were brought to America as slaves. They were bought
and sold, like animals. By the time of America's Civil War in the 1860s, many had been
freed by their owners. Many, however, still worked as slaves on the big farms of the
South. By the end of the war, slavery had been declared unconstitutional. But that was
only the first step in the struggle for equality.
Most people of color could not get good jobs. They could not get good housing. They had
far less chance of a good education than white Americans. For about one hundred years,
blacks made slow gains. Widespread activism for civil rights did not really begin until
after World War Two. During the war, black Americans earned respect as members of the
armed forces. When they came home, many demanded that their civil rights be respected,
too. An organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
led the way. In 1951, the organization sent its lawyers to help a man in the city of Topeka,
Kansas. The man, Oliver Brown, and twelve others had brought legal action against the
city. They wanted to end racial separation in their children's schools. At that time, two of
every five public schools in America had all white students or all black students. The law
said all public schools must be equal, but they were not. Schools for white children were
almost always better than schools for black children. The situation was worst in Southern
states.
The case against the city of Topeka - Brown versus the Board of Education - was finally
settled by the nation's highest court. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separate
schools for black children were not equal to schools for white children. The next year, it
said public schools must accept children of all races as quickly as possible.
In September 1957, a black girl tried to enter an all-white school in the city of Little Rock,
Arkansas. An angry crowd screamed at her. State guards blocked her way. The guards had
been sent by the state governor, Orville Faubus. After three weeks, a federal court ordered
Governor Faubus to remove the guards. The girl, Elizabeth Eckford, and seven other black
students were able to enter the school. After one day, however, riots forced the black
students to leave.
President Dwight Eisenhower ordered federal troops to Little Rock. They helped black
students get into the white school safely. However, angry white citizens closed all the
city's public schools. The schools stayed closed for two years.
In 1962, a black student named James Meredith tried to attend the University of
Mississippi. School officials refused. John Kennedy, the president at that time, sent federal
law officers to help him. James Meredith became the first black person to graduate from
the University of Mississippi.
In addition to fighting for equal treatment in education, black Americans fought for equal
treatment in housing and transportation. In many cities of the South, blacks were forced to
sit in the back of buses. In 1955, a black woman named Rosa Parks got on a bus in the city
of Montgomery, Alabama. She sat in the back. The bus became crowded. There were no
more seats for white people. So, the bus driver ordered Mrs. Parks to stand and give her
seat to a white person. She refused. Her feet were tired after a long day at work. Rosa
Parks was arrested. The Reverend Martin Luther King organized the black citizens of
Montgomery. They were the major users of the bus system. They agreed to stop using the
buses. The boycott lasted a little more than a year. It seriously affected the earnings of the
bus company. In the end, racial separation on the buses in Montgomery was declared
illegal. Rosa Parks's tired feet had helped win black Americans another victory in their
struggle for equal rights. And, the victory had been won without violence.

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Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD
The Reverend King was following the teachings of Indian spiritual leader, Mohandas
Gandhi. Gandhi urged his followers to reach their political goals without violence. One of
the major tools of nonviolence in the civil rights struggle in America was the "sit-in". In a
sit-in, protesters entered a store or public eating place. They quietly asked to be served.
Sometimes, they were arrested. Sometimes, they remained until the business closed. But
they were not served. Some went hours without food or water.
Another kind of protest was the "freedom ride." This involved buses that traveled through
states from the North to the South. On freedom rides, blacks and whites sat together to
make it difficult for officials to enforce racial separation laws on the buses. Many freedom
rides -- and much violence -- took place in the summer of 1964. Sometimes, the freedom
riders were arrested. Sometimes, angry crowds of whites beat the freedom riders.
Perhaps the most dangerous part of the civil rights movement was the campaign to win
voting rights for black Americans. The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution said a
citizen could not be denied the right to vote because of race or color. Several Southern
states, however, passed laws to try to deny voting rights to blacks for other reasons.
Martin Luther King and his supporters demonstrated to demand new legislation to
guarantee the right to vote. They held protests in the state of Alabama. In the city of
Birmingham, the chief law officer ordered his men to fight the protesters with high-
pressure water hoses and fierce dogs. People throughout the country watched the
demonstration on television. The sight of children being beaten by policemen and bitten
by dogs awakened many citizens to the civil rights struggle. Federal negotiators reached a
compromise. The compromise was, in fact, a victory for the protesters. They promised to
stop their demonstrations. In exchange, they would be permitted to vote.
President Johnson signed a major civil rights bill in 1964. Yet violence continued in some
places. Three civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi. One was murdered in
Alabama. Martin Luther King kept working toward the goal of equal rights. He died
working. On April fourth, 1968, he was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee. He had
gone there to support a strike by waste collection workers. A white man, James Earl Ray,
was tried and found guilty of the crime. A wave of unrest followed the murder of Martin
Luther King. Blacks in more than one hundred cities in America rioted. In some cities,
areas affected by the riots were not rebuilt for many years. The movement for civil rights
for black Americans continued. But it became increasingly violent. The struggle produced
angry, bitter memories. Yet it also produced some of the greatest words spoken in
American history made by Martin Luther King: “When we allow freedom to ring, when
we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will
be able to speed up that day when all of God's children - black men and white men, Jews
and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words
of the old Negro spiritual: „Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at
last!‟”
(Adapted from manythings.org)
V. VOCABULARY: Match each word in column A with its definition in column B.

A B
1. activism a. a punitive ban that forbids relations with certain groups,
cooperation with a policy, or the handling of goods.
2. riot b. a minor change in a document/ an article added to the US
Constitution.
3. amendment c. a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.
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Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD
4. compromise d. a public meeting or march protesting against something or
expressing views on a political issue.
5. demonstration e. a state of dissatisfaction, disturbance, and agitation in a group
of people, typically involving public demonstrations or
disorder.
6. tried f. a small settlement, generally one smaller than a village.
7. hamlet g. having complete power; omnipotent.
8. almighty h. subject (someone) to trial
9. unrest i. an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by
each side making concessions.
10. boycott j. the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring
about political or social change
VI. TABLE COMPLETION
Complete the table about events in the movement for civil rights for black Americans
with appropriate information from the given text above.
Year Events Causes Settlement
1951

1955

1957

1962

1964

1968

C – LISTENING COMPREHENSION
AGAINST RACISM
IX. Listen to an excerpt about a campaign against racism and decide if a-f are T
(true) or F (false).
T F
a Indians in Australia organized an eating-fest to protest against racist
attacks.
b Thousands of Australians ate out as a result of the eating-fest.
c Melbourne is famous as a peaceful and hospitable city.
d The eating-fest received little support from Australians living in other
countries.
e The murder of Nitin Garg damaged the Australia - India relations.
f Prime Minister Kevin Rudd believed the eating-fest could help repair ties
between Australia and India.
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Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD
(Adapted from breakingnewsenglish.com)
X. Listen to an excerpt about a trial to a former KKK leader to fill in the gap with no
more than THREE words.

An 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klan leader, Edgar Ray Killen, has been found (1)
_______ of triple manslaughter over the mob killings of three civil rights workers in
Mississippi, (2) _______. Although he escaped charges of murder, he faces a maximum
penalty of (3) _______, which means he will probably be incarcerated until his death. He
was (4) _______ arrested for the murders 41 years ago but was released because of
insufficient evidence. New evidence only recently came to light. The former white
supremacist, now wheelchair bound, sank his head as the (5) _______ was read and was
consoled by (6) _______. The victims‟ relatives waiting outside the court greeted the
ruling with cheers of jubilation that (7) _______ had finally been done.
Killen was convicted of organizing the lynch mob that (8) _______ and then beat
and (9) _______ Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, white New Yorkers, and
James Chaney, a black man from Mississippi. All were in their early (10) _______. Their
bodies were found at a Mississippi roadside (11) _______ after they were abducted. The
three were on a campaign to encourage black people to vote in (12) _______ in America‟s
southern states, which were deeply (13) _______ at the time. The brutal slayings shocked
America and galvanized the U.S. (14) _______ into fighting to end segregation. Their
story was dramatized in the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning.
(Adapted from breakingnewsenglish.com)
XI. Listen to an excerpt about Nelson Mandela to answer the following questions.

1. Why has the United Nations General Assembly created Nelson Mandela
International Day?
_______________________________________________
2. Why was Nelson Mandela celebrated?
_______________________________________________
3. How long was Mandela imprisoned?
_______________________________________________
4. When was Mandela freed?
_______________________________________________
5. Was Mandela first President of South Africa?
_______________________________________________

(Adapted from breakingnewsenglish.com)

D – SPEAKING
Work in groups of 5. Discuss to complete the following table about types of
discrimination: causes and solutions.
Discrimination Causes Solutions/
Recommendations
1 Racial discrimination
2 Sexual orientation
discrimination,
i.e. lesbian, gay
(homosexual), bisexual,
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Advanced English Dep’t of International Studies – UFLS – UD
asexual, pansexual, or
straight (heterosexual
3 Ageism
4 Religious discrimination

5 Disability
discrimination

E – WRITING
Watch the video on Racism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MYHBrJIIFU and
write a paragraph of around 150 words to answer the following questions:
1. Describe briefly the experiment and its result/finding.
2. Describe the American society in the 1960s.
3. Why don’t the people in majority position normally see there’s a problem with racism?

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