What Racism Really Is: Roots, Reality, and Misunderstandings

I was just on social media when I came across a street interview that caught my attention. An interviewer walked up to a random Black girl, probably late teens to early 20s, and showed her a picture of a man. He didn’t give a name, just held up the image. For my generation, those of us in our mid-30s and up, the face was instantly recognizable: Tom from MySpace, the creator of the platform and everyone’s very first “friend” on the site back in the early 2000s.

But to someone her age? She had no idea. She looked at the picture and said, laughing, “I have no idea who that man is.” When the interviewer showed her and her friends the picture again, she added jokingly, “That’s a white man, that don’t have nothing to do with me.”

Somebody in the comments immediately jumped to call it “racist.” But here’s the truth: it wasn’t racist. It was humor, generational disconnect, and cultural reality all wrapped in one. She was pointing out, in a lighthearted way, that she didn’t know him, didn’t grow up in the MySpace era, and in her real life she didn’t have any close ties to white men. There was no hatred, no desire to demean, no exclusionary intent. Just a cultural joke and a reality: if there are no white men present in her personal circle, then this random man in a photo truly had nothing to do with her.

So the question is: why is this okay for a Black person to say, but not a white person? The answer is simple. White people do not have the cleanest track record when it comes to race. Their history, globally and in America, is deeply rooted in systemic, violent, and egregious racism. Because of that, they don’t have the space to make these kinds of statements without it carrying a heavier weight. When a white person makes similar remarks, it usually comes with a more hateful or degrading undertone, whether consciously or unconsciously. Context, history, and power make all the difference.

This moment, though small, exposes something bigger: too often, white people mislabel comments like this as racism because they don’t understand cultural nuance or context. Meanwhile, the real and dangerous weight of racism (systemic, historical, and intentional) gets ignored.

The Spiritual Roots of Racism

To understand racism, we must go beyond skin color and history books and look at its spiritual roots. Racism is not just a bad social habit or a tragic accident of history, it is a demonic plan. The Bible says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). That is exactly what colonization and racism did: it stole lands, it killed bodies and cultures, and it destroyed communities and destinies.

But let me be clear: Satan is not an all-powerful, mighty being on the same level as God. Scripture tells us, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath He given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16). God is sovereign; Satan creates nothing. What has happened is that men have given the earth over to Satan’s influence through sin, pride, greed, and rebellion. Because of that, “the god of this world [lowercase ‘g’] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is a usurper, not a creator.

This is why the world is so corrupt and chaotic. Satan uses people to carry out his plan. We see it throughout Scripture:

• Judas – the Gospels plainly say, “Then Satan entered Judas” (Luke 22:3), leading him to betray Christ for thirty pieces of silver. Judas didn’t just slip into temptation; he became a vessel for the devil himself.

  
  

In the same way, Satan perverts what God creates. Where God calls, Satan corrupts. Where God blesses, Satan curses. Where God builds, Satan destroys. But he only works through willing human vessels. In history, European powers became those vessels, not because they were stronger or chosen by God, but because they opened themselves to pride, greed, and deception. They carried out the plan of the thief: to kill, to steal, and to destroy.

This is not about bashing white people or elevating Black people as helpless victims. It is about naming reality: colonization and racism were not divine acts of destiny, but demonic acts of theft, murder, and destruction. They were a counterfeit kingdom, a dark mirror of God’s kingdom. And the effects of that counterfeit still shape our world today.

Racism vs. Racial Identifiers

There is nothing inherently wrong with using race as an identifier. Saying “that’s a Black woman” or “that’s an Asian man” is no different from saying “that’s a tall person” or “that’s someone with brown eyes.” The problem begins when an identifier carries with it stereotypes, disdain, or an undercurrent of hatred.

For example, when a white person identifies a Black person and their tone drips with fear, contempt, or superiority, that is not just naming a race; that is reinforcing a hierarchy. That is racism. When systems are designed to bar people from neighborhoods, schools, jobs, or even voting booths because of that racial identifier, that is systemic racism.

Why Black People Can Say Things White People Can’t

This is where historical context matters. Black people are often accused of using terms that would be considered “racist” if a white person said them. But the key difference is power and history. Black people do not have a centuries-long history of trying to wipe out, oppress, enslave, segregate, rape, or legally disadvantage white people as a group. There is no Black-authored Jim Crow for whites. There is no Black-run system of mass incarceration designed to target whites.

On the other hand, the historical record of white supremacy; colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade, lynching, segregation, redlining, voter suppression, medical experimentation, and generational wealth theft, is not abstract. It’s real and documented. It is harm that has shaped every aspect of Black life.

Because of that reality, there are words, images, and stereotypes that cannot be separated from the harm white systems inflicted. When white people use them, they don’t sound like jokes; they echo history. They reopen wounds. That is why the same comment from a Black person and a white person does not land the same way. When a Black woman says “that’s a white man,” there is no centuries-old campaign of oppression behind it. When a white person says “that’s a Black man” with contempt or dismissiveness, there is. Context and history make the difference.

Systemic Racism: The Invisible Machinery

Systemic racism is the kind that reshapes entire lives. It is when a Black family is denied a home loan despite being qualified, while a white family with less credit gets approved. It is when schools in Black neighborhoods are underfunded while schools across town flourish. It is when criminal justice, policing, healthcare, and even environmental policy consistently work against communities of color.

This form of racism is not about feelings. It’s about power. The majority, those who historically created and maintained these systems, hold the ability to impose real, tangible consequences on the minority. And that is why systemic racism remains so dangerous: because it is not about one person being “mean,” it is about structures designed to keep inequality alive.

Where We Stand Today

Racism is not just an artifact of history; it is alive and active in America. It has morphed, adapted, and hidden itself in polite language and subtle structures. Yet it remains the same at its root: a system of control born from colonization and sustained by the majority, inspired by the enemy of our souls.

When we name it honestly, we reclaim power. When we distinguish between prejudice, cultural commentary, and systemic oppression, we clear the fog. Racism is not every off-handed remark. Racism is the weaponization of race to demean, exclude, and destroy.

And until the majority acknowledges not just individual bias but systemic accountability, racism will continue to breathe. But as people of God, we also know Satan’s power is limited. Where he seeks to kill, steal, and destroy, Christ comes to bring life, truth, and freedom. That’s where our hope lies, not in denial of history but in confronting it with clarity and refusing to repeat it.