Racialism is rooted in European civilization itself, not a single era

Evidence

What concerns us is that we understand that racialism and its permutations persisted, rooted not in a particular era but in the civilization itself. And though our era might seem a particularly fitting one for depositing the origins of racism, that judgment merely reflects how resistant the idea is to examination and how powerful and natural its specifications have become. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 213

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Robinson’s core thesis — racism is constitutive of European civilization rather than a modern aberration — risks the classic origins myth it critiques and rewards sustained unpacking.
• SEED: Article angle: ‘Why blaming racism on the modern era is itself a form of mystification’ — the contemporary reflex to locate racism’s origin in one period as a way of managing its persistence.
• XREF: connects to: European historicism made racial difference explain subordination instead of colonial power. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 263