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Racism encompasses the structural foundations of our social systems, the cultural processes of dominant ideology, and a socialized psychological phenomenon. As the epitome of "wicked" problems, racism presents complex issues that are highly resistant to resolution and involves substantial disagreement about its' nature, causes, and potential solutions.

One of the most perplexing aspects of racism is that its oppressive structure and systemic impacts can persist and permeate communities of all types – familial, institutional, municipal, organizational, social, etc. – even without individuals exhibiting explicitly racially-biased behaviors. In essence, racism primarily functions and spreads as a passive system, upheld by colorblind values, reductionist beliefs, and racial apathy.

Isabel Wilkerson, reflecting on the role of implicitly socialized biases in perpetuating our enduring racial caste system, observes:

"Caste is insidious and therefore powerful because it is not hatred, it is not necessarily personal. It is the worn grooves of comforting routines and unthinking expectations, patterns of a social order that have been in place for so long that it looks like the natural order of things." (p. 70)

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How implicit bias perpetuates structural racism - Information from the National Equity Project

In this context, the term 'racist' can be understood as a descriptor of behaviors and actions—explicit or implicit, overt or covert, active or passive, conscious or unconscious—that contribute to the perpetuation and evolution of structural and systemic racism.