Racist ideas and practices predate the modern term and European modernity.

Evidence

The term “racism” appeared in the interwar period, with reference to Nazism, but the ideas and practices to which it refers are much older and are not uniquely the outcome of the European experience. Thus, it is tempting to speak of racism, with no fear of anachronism, when talking about the ancient Greeks for whom the barbarians, outside the City, were human beings, of course, but distinctly inferior. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3117

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes that ‘racism’ the term dates to the interwar period even while the underlying phenomena are far older.