100+ Unique Racism Topics for Your Excellent Essay

[Post information was updated in January, 2024]

Among the issues that appear in society and seem unbelievably brutal and cruel, racism always stood out. This is one of the most poignantly discussed problems that has not gone anywhere through the years despite the progress and fast development of the world. Racism is a subject of investigation for many sciences, such as sociology, psychology, politology, culture, neuroscience, etc. All these sciences look for answers on how to beat racism in the world but still do not have evident salvation.

Creating an essay on such a controversial topic is challenging, so we want to help you out with the ultimate list of the best racism topic ideas. We divided the list into various subsections and included some useful links. We hope that you will find a perfect idea for your forthcoming paper on our list.

Racism in America: topic ideas

Racism in the United States and the UK has a long and rich history, as there were many significant events in recent years in these countries. Here is a selection of the most exciting issues and topic ideas in this area of study:

1. George Floyd’s death was a trigger for society.
2. How do the corporations in the USA fight racism?
3. Did Barack Obama’s legacy improve the situation with racism in the USA?
4. Race and politics in the 19th century in the UK.
5. Compare and contrast the level of racism in the USA and UK.
6. The history of the BAME group in the UK.
7. Structural racism in America.
8. Racism in the streets in the USA.
9. The history of racism in the USA.
10. The place of racism among hate crimes in the United States.

Racism essay topics on history

Although racism is a painful problem of the modern age, it was built a long time ago. Why “built”? Racism is a creation of human beings, as it does not exist biologically. Learn more about the origins of racism and the first fight against it with our historical racism essay topics:

1. How did the politics of colonialism shape aboriginal racism in Australia?
2. Did the women’s movement of the 1960s manage to unite white and black women? Why or why not?
3. Why did Mexican American racism in the US intensify in the 20th century?
4. Do anthropological researches help or hinder the fight against racism?
5. How did racial prejudice affect black workers in the 1950s?
6. Was the Harlem Renaissance a social revolt against racism or an art movement?
7. Was Malcolm X racist?
8. The most influential historical figures who fought against racism.
9. Black Power movement: background, history, and leaders.
10. The major consequences of the civil rights movement.
11. Interconnection between racism and black poverty in the 20th century.
12. From a historical point of view, is racism responsible for the lack of social progress?
13. What historical circumstances caused the creation of the original and the second Ku Klux Klans?
14. Was European colonialism the main reason for the spread of racism?
15. Anti-discrimination laws by Fidel Castro in Cuba.
16. Can we call the ancient Greeks racists?
17. Were antislavery ideas the main reason for the Civil War?
18. How did apartheid influence the progress in the Republic of South Africa?
19. Did Charles Darwin develop racist ideas in his works?
20. The reactions on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Argumentative racism paper topics

Racism frequently becomes a subject of controversy and disputes. If you want to participate in such discussions, you had better prepare yourself. The following 30 questions are debatable and need to be studied thoroughly.

1. What was the main reason for building racism?
2. Why is racism immoral?
3. Is the issue of racism painful even today?
4. Why are the movements like Black Lives Matter important for the fight against racism?
5. Is the rise of racism connected with hate crimes in the USA?
6. Does the racism against women differ from the racism against men?
7. Can racism be regarded as a mental illness?
8. Will racism ever disappear?
9. Can an individual fight against racism in everyday life?
10. Should Islamophobia be considered as racism?
11. Is the expression “third world” rooted in racism?
12. Do religions cause racism?
13. Does antisemitism still exist in the USA?
14. Does race serve any purpose in society?
15. Why is racism an artificial concept?
16. Is racism similar to homophobia?
17. For whom was racism beneficial in the past?
18. Is it possible to be truly post-racial?
19. Why is racism irrational?
20. Did the rise of racism in the USA help Trump to win the presidential election?
21. Why should “Irishness” be considered a display of racism?
22. Can Confucianism solve the problem of racism?
23. Is the differentiation of cultural identities always racist?
24. Can racism be justified sometimes?
25. Is prejudice towards women in hijabs baseless?
26. Does the US criminal justice system treat the representatives of all the races equally?
27. Is racism rooted in fear?
28. What countries are the most racist and why?
29. Are laws against racial discrimination always applicable to sports?
30. Are prejudice and stereotypes the same things?

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Analytical racism paper topics

“Why?” “How?” and “What’s next?” – only curious and thoughtful individuals tend to ask these questions. To understand the nature of racism, you have to dig deep. What are the effects and consequences of discrimination? Find out with our analytical racism paper topics:

1. How to decrease racial discrimination in the educational system?
2. Racial prejudices in Hollywood and the Oscars boycott.
3. How did racism influence the formation of the English language?
4. Why do people prefer same-race partners for romantic relationships?
5. How can educators dispel myths about ethnic groups?
6. Racial discrimination among sex workers.
7. What educational and career barriers does racism cause?
8. How does racism affect the life of prisoners in the US?
9. What effects does Islamophobia have on the Arab-American population in the USA?
10. What forms of racism exist in Latin America?
11. How does racism affect the mental health of racial minorities?
12. The consequences of aboriginal racism in Australia.
13. The interconnection between racial discrimination and police brutality.
14. How does racism affect the sports industry?
15. The effect of institutional racism on the health care system.
16. The use of anti-racist ideas in commercials.
17. How does ageism differ from racism?
18. The portrayal of racism and racists in American pop-culture.
19. Positive and negative effects of social media on the fight against racism.
20. How can managers deal with racism in the workplace?

Racism essay topics: definitions

Improving your vocabulary is essential for composing well-written papers. Using terms helps you to be precise, concise, and sound smarter! Check out the following racism topics ideas:

1. What kinds of racism exist?
2. What is national cultural identity? How is it connected with racism?
3. What is a conflict theory concerning racial discrimination?
4. What is institutional racism and why is it difficult to fight it?
5. What is the scapegoat theory about? Does it always explain racism?
6. How does personality theory explain racism?
7. What is a culture theory with regard to racism?
8. What is environmental racism and how can society fight against it?
9. How can internalized racism be defined?
10. Explicit and implicit racial biases.
11. Authoritarian theory of prejudice.
12. What is the social distance scale?
13. Explain the concept of “cultural racism.”
14. Four types of racial group interactions: pluralism, assimilation, segregation, and genocide.
15. What does “post-racial” mean?

Racism paper topic ideas: psychology and social studies

Did you know that racism causes not only physical influence but also psychological? If you like psychology and social studies, there are various topics you can discuss regarding racism. We have made up a list of different topics you can choose from:

1. The psychological backgrounds of racism.
2. Why is it difficult to talk about racism?
3. Are racist predispositions connected to family traditions?
4. The influence of interracial heritage on people’s views about racism.
5. The social processes that maintain racism.
6. How can interracial contact prevent racism in schools?
7. How to make people more empathetic to other ethnic groups?
8. How does the experience of racism influence the human brain?
9. Does the area of living correlate with people’s bias against other races?
10. The roots of the Black Lives Matter movement.
11. The prerequisites for racism in prisons.
12. Levels of racism in different social groups.
13. The importance of racial and ethnic socialization.
14. How to prevent the increase of racism in modern society?
15. How does race-related stress influence social life?
16. How do psychological lessons help to prevent racism in schools?
17. Why does racial discrimination disfigure society?
18. Can race be the main factor of hate crimes?
19. How does ignoring racism influence society?
20. Can racism be recognized as a sign of poor mental health?

Racism topic ideas: literature, art, and movies

Artists and writers can’t stand aside from universal human problems. They internalize sufferings and troubles and then create the masterpieces that amaze readers, listeners, and spectators. Every human being has every right to express his or her personal opinion and to be heard. However, artists do it in such a beautiful and elegant manner that it is impossible to ignore their ideas. Take a closer look at the novels, movies, plays, and short stories that develop the theme of racial discrimination. If racism topic ideas aren’t enough for you, you can pick a work of art from the list at the end of our article.

1. The moral edge between economic discrimination and genocide in the movie “Schindler’s List.”
2. Black nationalism in the novel “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison.
3. Segregation in the novel “Sula” by Tula Morrison.
4. How are racism and the American Dream connected in the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry?
5. Why was the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee important for the understanding of racism?
6. How does the movie “The Shape of Water” directed by Guillermo del Toro display the problem of racism?
7. What ideas does Lee Mun Wah share in his documentary “The Color of Fear”?
8. Ethnic prejudices among the Afghan people in the novel “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.
9. Can we call the Shakespearean play “Othello” racist?
10. Would the movie “Hidden Figures” directed by Theodore Melfi change the attitude toward black women if it was released in the 1960s?
11. How does the play “Fences” by August Wilson represent the problem of racism in sports? Does this problem exist today?
12. Do Ernest Hemingway’s literary works advocate racism?
13. Institutional racism in the novel “The Hate You Give” by Angie Thomas.
14. How did Kate Chopin depict miscegenation in her short story “Desiree’s Baby”?
15. How does Dr. Suess’ book “The Sneetches” teach race tolerance?
16. Are detective fiction stereotypes often racist?
17. How does homophobic hip-hop music affect the social attitude towards black people and the LGBT community?
18. Racial inequality in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston.
19. How is racism depicted in the literature of colonialism?
20. Is art able to fight against racism?
21. Internalized racism in the movie “Crash” directed by Paul Haggis.
22. Compare and contrast the movies “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Driving Miss Daisy” keeping in mind how these films show racism.
23. The conflict of love and racism in the movie “Snow Falling on Cedars” directed by Scott Hicks.
24. Is the novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain racist or anti-racist?
25. Does racial identity affect the life of the main hero in the novel “Trumpet” by Jackie Kay?
26. Xenophobia in the novel “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad.
27. “Gangster” rap as a form of institutionalized racism in the music industry.
28. Different points of view on racial inequality in the novel “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett.
29. What makes Derek Vinyard change his beliefs in the movie “American History X”?
30. Can comic books be considered discriminatory towards people of color?

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Racism essay samples

Discussing racism issues may be tricky, especially when discussing this topic for the first time. To help you, we have collected sample papers on racism topics that are mostly discussed. Take attention to the sample content, structure, and how the author attempted to disclose the issue. Besides, you can use the sources used in samples and accompany your research with new information.

Preventing Racism Problem Solution Essay

In this sample, the author touches on the prevention of racism. Building a community free from racism and prejudice is possible if people follow several steps. Learn the example to see how the author discloses the topic step-by-step and inserts references to the research’s sources. Also, look through the work cited list for further investigation.

Useful sources for racism essay writing

If you haven’t found any interesting racism topic for your writing in the list above, we also recommend to check other books, articles and movies that touch on this issue:

Literature:

“Devil in a Blue Dress” by Walter Mosley
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe
“I Spit on Your Graves” by Boris Vian
“Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell
“Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism” by Bell Hooks
“Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor
“All American Boys” by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds
“Go Tell It on the Mountain” by James Baldwin
“A Gathering of Old Men” by Ernest J. Gaines
“Intruder in the Dust” by William Faulkner
“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
“Cry, the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton
“Tyler Johnson Was Here” by Jay Coles
“Light in August” by William Faulkner
“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd
“Place Called Estherville” by Erskine Caldwell
“The Time of Our Singing” by Richard Powers
“Blues for Mister Charlie” by James Baldwin
“Spinning Into Butter” by Rebecca Gilman
“The Whipping Man” by Matthew Lopez

Scientific articles:

Racism is a subject of study for many authorities that aim to influence this phenomenon by understanding issues and core particularities. Here is a selection of the best scientific materials on racism:

The Ideology of Racism: Misusing Science to Justify Racial Discrimination by William H. Tucker.
Black in X Addresses Long-Standing Inequity in STEM by Lisa Winter.
Opinion: Zoology’s Racism Problem by David Bainbridge.
Opinion: The Politics of Science and Racism by Sadye Paez and Erich D. Jarvis.
Systemic Racism Persists in the Sciences by Adia Harvey Wingfield.
Science, Pseudo-Science, and Racism by Albert Jacquard.
How to Fight Racism Using Science by Adam Rutherford.
Social Darwinism, Scientific Racism, and the Metaphysics of Race by Rutledge M. Dennis.
The Disturbing Resilience of Scientific Racism by Ramin Skibba.
Scientific Racism and the American Indian in the Mid-Nineteenth Century by Reginald Horsman.

Movies:

“The Green Mile” directed by Frank Darabont
“The Pianist” directed by Roman Polanski
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” directed by Mark Herman
“Inglourious Basterds” directed by Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth
“Django Unchained” directed by Quentin Tarantino
“Mudbound” directed by Dee Rees
“Get Out” directed by Jordan Haworth Peele
“The Butler” directed by Lee Daniels
“Remember the Titans” directed by Boaz Yakin
“The Color Purple” directed by Steven Spielberg
“Malcolm X” directed by Spike Lee
“Ghosts of Mississippi” directed by Rob Reiner
“The Long Walk Home” directed by Richard Pierce
“In the Heat of the Night” directed by Norman Jewison
“The Birth of a Nation” by D. W. Griffith
“Amistad” directed by Steven Spielberg
“Free State of Jones” directed by Gary Ross
“Belle” directed by Amma Asante

Now you have lots of things to think about and many more things to learn. Don’t hesitate to select the most interesting racism topic for you and start broadening your intellectual horizons! Remember that to solve the problem, we have to understand it in the first place.

If your instructor assigns you to write an essay or research paper on any topic, you can always apply to us. EssayShark is a team of professionals who are ready to accept any homework challenge. We’re available 24/7! Request write my essay help and get more free time for your family, work, or sleep!

Moreover, here is a scientific YouTube movie on racism that explains how our brain works in terms of discrimination issues.

How we can help with racism topics

We hope this article will help you select the perfect racism topics for your paper. The EssayShark team believes that students need help from time to time, and it is entirely natural to get assistance from skilled authors. Some topics are not easy to understand, making it almost impossible to fit into strict deadlines set by the teacher.

You need to know that we can do much more for you except providing topics on racism. First, you need to read other articles and samples on our blog. For example, racism essay sample on religion. Second, you can always count on the helping hand of our writers. They are ready to create any paper in terms of your task requirements. Just reach out to our essay writing service and provide the details of your assignment. We are waiting for requests from students 24/7 and can answer any question you might address us!

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