Race discrimination

Racial discrimination differentiates between individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial differences, and has been official government policy in several countries, such as South Africa in the apartheid era, and the USA. However, it does not appear to be entirely dead, yet, as evidenced by a rather recent news article on a website called NowPublic.com concerning alleged YMCA discrimination and a Federal Court Case in Texas.

An African-American child at a segregated drinking fountain on a courthouse lawn, North Carolina, 1938.

In the United States, racial profiling of minorities by law enforcement officials has been called racial discrimination.^[2] As early as 1865, the Civil Rights Actprovided a remedy for intentional race discrimination in employment by private employers and state and local public employers. The Civil Rights Act of 1871 applies to public employment or employment involving state action prohibiting deprivation of rights secured by the federal constitution or federal laws through action under color of law. Title VII is the principal federal statute with regard to employment discrimination prohibiting unlawful employment discrimination by public and private employers, labor organizations, training programs and employment agencies based on race or color, religion, gender, and national origin.

Title VII also prohibits retaliation against any person for opposing any practice forbidden by statute, or for making a charge, testifying, assisting, or participating in a proceeding under the statute. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 expanded the damages available in Title VII cases and granted Title VII plaintiffs the right to a jury trial. Title VII also provides that race and color discrimination against every race and color is prohibited.

In the UK the inquiry following the murder of Stephen Lawrence accused the police of institutional racism.

• Weaver v NATFHE (now part of the UCU) Race/sex discrimination case. An Industrial (Employment) Tribunal in the UK in 1987 decided that a trade union was justified in not assisting a Black woman member, complaining of racist/sexist harassment, regardless of the merits of the case, because the accused male would lose his job. The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the decision, which still stands today as the definitive legal precedent in this field. Also known as the Bournville College Racial Harassment issue.
• Gingerism is a form of discrimination which is sometimes considered to be racism.

Within the criminal justice system in some Western countries, minorities are convicted and imprisoned disproportionately when compared with whites.^[3][4] In 1998, nearly one out of three black men between the ages of 20-29 were in prison or jail, on probation or parole on any given day in the United States.^[5] First Nations make up about 2% of Canada's population, but account for 18% of the federal prison population as of 2000.^[6] According to the Australian government's June 2006 publication of prison statistics, indigenous peoples make up 24% of the overall prison population in Australia. ^[7] ("Indigenous" meaning those identifying themselves as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin^[8]) In 2004, Maori made up just 15% of the total population of New Zealand but 49.5% of prisoners. Maori were entering prison at 8 times the rate of non-Maori.^[9]