Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Examination of long-standing history of American racism, beginning with institution of slavery, Jim Crow legislation, separate but equal doctrine, Brown versus Board of Education, Civil Rights legislation of 1960s, and Obama presidency. Focus on persistence over time of racist beliefs and mechanisms through which racism becomes passed on from one generation to next. Racism toward African Americans and harms it has inflicted on African American community, as well as on nation as whole. Examination of psychology and sociology of racism through video clips, social scientific texts, essays by prominent American humanists, and American literature that deals centrally with racism. P/NP or letter grading.