Talking About Prejudice and Racism, and Knowing the Differences

I am taking a contemporary American poetry course this quarter. It is my first class outside of the writing program, and the first class that I am mixed in with undergraduates. And while I strongly believe that many undergraduates are intelligent and capable of operating at a graduate level, it has come to my attention that both the graduate and undergraduate students many not understand the differences between “prejudice” and “racism.”

And I’ll say that sometimes, I muddle the definitions.

The OED defines “prejudice” as a preconceived notion not based in reality. The negative implications of prejudice can cause anger, frustration and irritation, among other things.But most prejudices do not result in the blocking of one person and a group of people’s abilities to operate in society.Many stereotypes result from prejudice.

On the other hand, racism is based in historical trends and involves a power dynamic. Racism blocks equal power from one or many groups based on race. For example, in America, Caucasian groups have used their power to unequally access resources. Racism further entails one or a group believing that a specific race (every single individual within the race) possess certain characteristics or abilities, and the race in power uses them to interfere and impede the “second class race” from achieving the same goals or accessing the same resources.
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That is my understanding of it. If you would like to add to this, please do so. I would also ask you to behave professionally.