Racism innate or taught

As many of you know I am a foster parent. I have four children  in my care two caucasian and two African American. Well, I took the 4 year old Caucasian boy with his 18 mos. little sister to the Physician. The little boy turned to my mother and asked can he go with the White lady? My mother flabbergasted asked why do you want to go with the white lady? His response, "because white people are nice people. I like to talk to white people". My mother surprised then asked him, "---- what am I ? He responded brown. She asked him, "----" what are you? His response was I am white. WTF? What are people teaching their kids?  So, this has me processing is racism not only taught in the home but innate. Are we as humans or some of us born with the innate ability to discriminate against others?  The baby cries whenever a dark skinned person is near her but if someone brown skinned like myself is around or lighter she will smile and go to them. 

to notice the difference between the way different people look is innate.

to take those differences and assign "good" and "bad" labels is definitely learned.

Man, its really sad! My mom explained to him that whenever you see Black, White, or Asian people it is okay to say hello. He only greets Caucasian people and asks can he go home with them. He thinks that another Caucasian person might take him back home to his family. We suspect which side of the family all of this is coming from-the labeling that is.

Hi there,
I think that much of it is innate. I say this from a spiritual belief perspective. I used to do fostercare also and I remember having a baby boy who's mother had no pre-natal care and did not want him. Infact she sold him leading to her losing him and her other children. (long story) Anyway that baby had what I called a spirit of abandonment. He could not be left alone or else I payed the piper. I would have to pull his pen or walker to where ever I was in the house otherwise he would cry such a gut wrenching hurt cry that it would almost make me cry. He wasn't spoiled either, he came to me at 1 month and was not into spoiling babies. Yes I held him and gave him love but the reaction to being left alone didn't fit the bill so I knew that it was just deep in him and so I took that into account and would not traumatize him by leaving him alone.

I said all of that to say that perhaps the same concept stands true in other areas of life. If the parents of these children are racially prejudiced then during pregnancy the mother could've possibly displayed her hatred which rubbed off in the womb, like how parents read to their children in the womb and they become good readers in life.

Okay I am rambling and overstepping my explaination but I'm sure that you get the gist of what I am saying

Pink I think that it may not be racisim as much as it is familiarity.  up until this point they wre raised and around people that looked like them.  I think is more prejudice (prejudement) which we all do as oppose to racisim.  He wants to with the person that looks like him regardless of how nice you guys are that lil boy isn't "home". It also could be there experience (or lack of) with other rraces.

I do think you and your family will really teach these children a lot about race relations.

in short...i think it's both Pink...

Yes it is birdman

Racism isn't inate.  It's taught.  In this society, we are innundated with the notion of white being right, pure, saintly, good...black being evil, wicked, etc.  Look at the words and phrases in the English language like : Blackmail, blackball, or "It was a dark day".  

In televsion, film, etc, we still see an inordinate amount of negative black images (never mind the fact that most of the images we are beaten over the head with on a daily basis are European images / notions of beauty). 

Even on an unconscious level we are taught that to some extent.  The sad thing is that, we, as black ppl, often fall into that trap ourselves.  We look at some of our darker brothers and sisters sometimes and often turn our collective noses up at them or give them derrogatory nicknames, like "Spooky" or "Blue" or "Black" or whatever. 

That the baby cries may have more to do with lack of familiarity than skin color, babe. 

D...if racism is "totally" taught...why would there even be racism at all then???  (I guess I'm kinda asking...who was the first "teacher".)

Doug,
Honestly, I think it comes from a need to feel superior.  if it isn't "my nation/tribe" is better than yours, or my "class" is better, or my religion is superior to yours, as turned into my color is better than urs..  Discrimination based on color is relatively new, within the last 300 plus years, or with the advent of slavery in the Western Hemisphere. 

If you look back, the Moors (who pretty much had their way in Spain) were a powerful people, as were many African nations way back in the days.  Slavery, then, was based on the spoils of wars...if you lost, chances are, you were made the victor's slave.