After a short hiatus, overt racism is on the rise again. Increases in reported racially motivated crime and violence have been noted all over the country. In the wider U.S. society, identifiable racial incidents have been estimated to have increased 55 percent from 1986 to 1987. According to the Community Relations Service (CRS), African Americans comprised two-thirds of the victims in the cases reported in 1987. Although this racial violence has taken various forms ranging from name-calling, vandalism, and cross-burning to actual physical assaults that result in casualties and death, these have not been isolated incidents but have their basis in the racism that underlines U.S. institutions. This resurgence is due, in no small part, to the increasing level of conservatism that has swept the country, making racial intolerance and conflict the order of the day.

Racism has been a persistent problem in American society. Sociologists refer to racism as unfair treatment of an individual or a group solely on the basis of race. It may be covert or overt, and it may be expressed on an individual level when a person consciously or unconsciously discriminates against another person. Racism may also be expressed on an institutional level, when rules, policies and practices of organizations and/or institutions discriminate against an individual or a group.