There is what has been called, a “new” racism throughout our society, including within our schools (Romm, 2010).

Really, there is nothing new about it. It has always been there.  The difference between old racism and new racism is the difference between what is conscious and what is unconscious.

Unconscious racism (and other forms of discrimination) is more subtle but no less pernicious than overt discriminatory theories, utterances, and actions.

When we look at the ideas of people who identify themselves as racist, most of us are sure that we do not agree with them.  But our minds are complex.  We have ideas that we are aware of, but we also have feelings, associations, and intuitions which can be more difficult to identify.

If someone is consciously aware that he hates some group of people, then his unconscious associations may not matter.  But if someone believes that he does not hate that group, yet his associations are negative, he can act out of pejorative associations and not be aware of what is driving his actions.

Negative associations and the actions that flow from them, are what is called the “new” racism.  We all have negative associations, to some degree.

The racism of negative associations can be measured by a test called the Implicit Associations Test (IAT).  Anyone can go online to the Harvard University web site, find the IAT, and take it (www.implicit.harvard.edu, 2011).

The new racism, while not explicit like the “old” racism, is none-the-less destructive to its victims and corrosive to society.  We know little about how it affects individuals because the voices of those who suffer from it are seldom heard.