What Is Racial Oppression?

By Staff WriterLast Updated December 08, 2023

Racial oppression is burdening a specific race with unjust or cruel restraints or impositions. Racial oppression may be social, systematic, institutionalized or internalized.

Social forms of racial oppression include exploitation and mistreatment that is socially supported. Systematic oppression of a race means that the law or police work to oppress a certain race. Institutionalized oppression refers to establishing laws, practices and customs that produce inequities based on race. Internalized oppression involves an oppressed group using the oppression they experience and using it against themselves and fellow members of their race. Examples of internalized oppression include internalized racism, sexism and homophobia.