Systemic Oppression Of Internalized Racism

Internalized racism refers to the acceptance, by marginalized racial populations, of the negative societal beliefs and stereotypes about themselves—beliefs which reinforce the superiority of Whites and devalue people of color, and which can lead to the perception of oneself as worthless and powerless(Jones, 2001). Guided by this insight, racism, I think, is a systemic oppression, it must be distinguished from general human wounds such as self-hatred or "low self esteem," to which all people are susceptible. With internalized racial oppression, this restricted sense of self-evaluation can undermine people of color’s belief in their full humanity and disrupt their understanding of their valuable life. This manifests in a number of ways,