Racism in America is alive and well, but some Americans think its nonexistent. What is racism? It is the act of discriminating against an individual and treating them unjustly based on their race profile. The individual who acts racist usually does so because they believe that their race is superior. Unfortunately, racism has been the foundation of our country since the colonial era until our current time period. This country was built on the racist belief that those of English bloodline was superior starting with the Native Americans and then moving on to enslavement of Africans.This essay will therefore focus on the cause of racism in America, a major concern.For centuries those of Caucasian decent have been given legal and social privileges that other races must fight in order to receive equal rights. White Americans are granted the coveted privileges in education, finance, immigration, voting, citizenship, businesses, land, and criminal justice. The slave trade has played a major role in the economic development of America and it has shaped the identity of those in hierarchy who has passed down their beliefs from generation to generation.“Hearing generalizations, even positive or neutral ones, contributes to the tendency to view the world through the lens of social stereotypes.”Humans naturally feel threatened when things we cherish most such as our culture, territory, family, and our identity are in danger of being harmed. Racism is what a human’s natural reaction in order to protect all of this. Anything that is not the same as one group of people is immediately perceived as inferior and prejudice (forming your own opinion on a person).Fear of loss and displacement (FEAR)- Humans naturally seek to protect their own kind, which means they fear for any loss of what makes them who they are; it can be anything including our jobs, status, territory, possessions, personal significance and even our own identity. Humans fear being replaced by anyone who is seen as more appealing and desirable than what they are. When someone is replaced by a person who is better than what they are which makes them feel unworthy. Fear is one of the biggest contributors of racism especially from loss, which causes a person to see difference between the two people and is seen as threatening of what as what they see as their rights.Ignorance (The condition of being uneducated, unaware or uniformed)- What continues racism is ignorance in the world. If a person grows up doing something their whole lives and everyone else around them does the same thing, it is seen to be right even if it is morally wrong it may be to another human being that does not share the same outlook on life. A group of people will not see anything wrong with their actions because they see their actions as correct. The only way to stop this ignorance is through education and awareness of their actions and what the consequences may be. Until a person’s ignorance is educated, it will continue to thrive racism.Lack of self-love, feeling of unworthiness and desire to feel superior- People who are the most racist tend to be people who lack confidence, self-esteem and most of all self-love. A racist person throws all their negative feelings onto others that are viewed as weak and vulnerable. When a person truly loves himself or herself and appreciates who they are as a person, they can appreciate others as well. Racism comes from the feeling of being worthless, being victimized, and lacking the opportunities others may have. These feelings of being a ‘failure’ means that person needs a scapegoat to make themselves feel better; usually this being a person that is weaker than the racist. Racist human beings tend to feel insignificant, isolated, wronged and unloved, and they feel comfort in blaming others. A cause of racism is not a social act but is an individual act. The causes of racism begin with an individual person and can only be fixed by addressing an individual’s actions.Racism is one of the most common issues in humanity. It haunts our past and can degrade our future. Many people on earth don’t know what causes racism, yet most of us are racist. To give racism a smaller effect we need to find the causes and fix them. These are six of many causes of racism.