Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is

Hear the words of Alex Haley, the chronicler of ancestry and memory, who declared: “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” These words strike like a clarion call, reminding us that hatred is not born with the child, but planted by the hand of culture, nurtured by the voices of ignorance, and passed down like a poison masquerading as tradition. Haley, who traced his own roots from Africa to America in his monumental work Roots, spoke with authority, for he had studied both the wound and the chain of its transmission.

The meaning is profound. A newborn sees not skin, nor hair, nor eyes as barriers. To the infant, all hands that cradle are hands of comfort, all faces are mirrors of humanity. It is only through society, through words whispered at the table, through laws written in prejudice, through stories told with venom, that the innocent heart is taught to divide. Racism is not of nature, but of nurture; not a fact of blood, but a corruption of the spirit passed on through generations.

History testifies to this truth. In Nazi Germany, children were schooled not only in arithmetic and language, but in learned behavior that dehumanized Jews, Roma, and others. Posters, textbooks, and lessons carved racism into their minds until they saw neighbors not as fellow humans, but as enemies of the state. Here we see Haley’s point revealed with tragic clarity: hatred was not automatic—it was taught, reinforced, drilled into the bones of a generation. And when teaching poisons the soul, a nation can descend into unspeakable cruelty.

But the opposite is also true. When teaching uplifts, healing is possible. Consider the story of the American Civil Rights Movement. In the face of centuries of learned racism, new lessons were sown—lessons of dignity, equality, and love. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and taught a different vision: that people should not be judged by physical characteristics, but by the content of their character. Schools were desegregated, though not without struggle, and a new generation began to learn another way of seeing. Here we see the power of education not to corrupt, but to liberate.

Haley’s words are both indictment and hope. They indict us because they reveal the complicity of society in perpetuating injustice; no one may wash their hands and claim innocence while the seeds of hatred are sown in plain sight. But they also give hope, for what is learned can be unlearned, and what is taught can be untaught. If racism is not automatic, then neither is it eternal. It can be uprooted, replaced with the teaching of empathy, respect, and unity.

The lesson for us is clear: guard what you teach, for every word shapes the soul of the next generation. Parents, examine the seeds you plant in your children’s hearts. Teachers, know that every story, every example, carries weight. Leaders, recognize that laws and policies either nurture division or strengthen harmony. And every citizen, by deed and by silence, participates in the education of the culture around them. Racism survives only when it is taught; if it is starved of teachers, it dies.

What, then, must we do? Speak against prejudice when you hear it. Teach children to see difference not as danger, but as richness. Celebrate diversity as a strength, not a threat. Seek out the humanity in every face, regardless of its physical characteristics. And remember always that to remain silent is to allow the lesson of hatred to continue unchallenged.

Thus remember: no child is born hating. The heart is taught to close, but it can also be taught to open. Alex Haley’s words are a call across the ages—tear down the false teachings of division, and build instead a society where the only lessons are those of love, justice, and the recognition that beneath our differences, we are all one human family.