A Limited Definition of Racism

Years ago I was watching a daytime talk show which focused on interracial romantic relationships. On this show, the father of a white woman did not approve of his daughter’s engagement to a black man. Yet when members of the audience called him a racist, he objected.

From his point of view he was not a racist because even though he did not like blacks, he would not use the n word. Because he defined a racist as a person who used a particular racial insult, he felt free from the charge of racism. His limited definition of racist (voicing racial epithets) led to a limited solution (only…