Racism is deeply rooted in our culture and history. It is the belief that another person is less than human because of the color of their skin, language, customs, or place of birth. Racism is visible throughout history and around the world, it has influenced wars and the formation of nations. In the novel “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, the author explores the theme of the cynical nature of racism and its effects on society. In the novel, it is made clear that racism is used as a form of control by Caucasians over African Americans and other minorities. In our culture and in the novel, racism is used as a form of control to dominate and oppress minorities. The oppression and domination of minorities is made possible by the use of certain tools such as xenophobia, the law and different branches of racism. Xenophobia is an unreasonable fear or hatred of strangers, foreigners, or that which is foreign or strange. In the novel ''The Color Purple'' Caucasians fear African-Americans, more specifically the African-American male, thinking that he is an emotionless brute, their fear of the black male fuels their acts of oppression towards a different breed. Xenophobia is used as a means to oppress and dominate a race. To understand racism, we must understand its origins. There is no evidence to suggest when racism began, but rather it has been a part of history for as long as we know. For example, the ancient Greeks believed that some tribes were better than others, and in the 13th and 14th centuries, popular belief was that Jews were involved in witchcraft and associated with the Devil. It was the first sign of racism as we know it today. . It is also present during the Renaissance period...... middle of paper ...... racism is used as a means to oppress and dominate minorities. Oppression and domination is a major problem that we still see today. Oppression is not always easy to spot or always intentional, but it is always there. It is true that enormous progress has been made to end this problem, but there is still work to be done. The domination and oppression of minorities is present in our daily lives through xenophobia, our legal system and the use of different forms of racism. As in the novel "The Color Purple", the characters do not fight racism but they understand that the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their gender or their sexual orientation do not affect their worth. This is a lesson that our society has yet to learn or even understand, to be able to have a future that we will be proud of, we must understand that everyone is equal in all forms..