At the next level is interpersonal racism, which is the words and deeds of racist individuals. This is where that personal racism bubbles into the world in the form of bias, bigotry, or deliberate abuse. When racism is discussed, especially in the media, it is almost always at this level. When people say they aren’t racist, they usually mean interpersonal racism. This is racism at its most visible, so it’s not surprising that it gets the most attention – but if this is as far as our understanding goes, it won’t get anywhere near solving the problem.Four Levels of Racism: Personal, Interpersonal, Institutional, Structural. At the bottom of the pyramid we have personal racism, sometimes called internalized racism. institutional racism. This is where racial inequality gets locked into the processes of institutions, such as the police, schools or healthcare. It’s not expressed in words and actions here, but in policies or practices that treat people differently, even if that’s entirely unintentional. Racism at this level is more visible in statistics than in words or actions. Finally, all these inequalities, building up over time, result in structural racism or systemic racism. This is deeply embedded and multi-generational, patterns of exclusion that echo through society and reinforce disadvantage.
