• They impede or prevent the victim of racism from achieving his or her full potential as a human being.
• They impede or prevent the victim of racism from making his or her fullest contribution to society.
• They impede or prevent the person or group engaging in racist actions from benefiting from the potential
contributions of their victim, as a result, they weaken the community as a whole.
• They increase the present or eventual likelihood of retaliation by the victim of racist actions.
• They go against many of the democratic ideals upon which the United States and other democracies were
founded.
• Racism is illegal, in many cases.
