Racism has two broad meanings. First and most commonly, racism refers to the belief that there exist biologically defined races, or categories of human beings in which membership is determined by the possession of certain biological characteristics within the human species, and that some of these races are superior to others. This position is also known as psychological racism, because it describes an individual's beliefs. Some argue that racism in this sense also implies a certain degree of antagonism toward those of different races. According to this view, a racist does not merely believe that some races are superior to others, but positively disdains or at the least disrespects in important ways those races she or he believes to be inferior.

Second, racism can also refer to institutional racism, which is the notion that even if no individuals hold racist beliefs, the practices of existing institutions can have...