Well, I think the misconception here is that racism is so often confused with
color-ism. I think that's wrong. When we look at one's race, we look at his/her way of life and culture, and his/her skin color is only an initial indicator of that race.
For instance, we see so many whites who are actually of the black race per se e.g. Eminem and those suburban white kids who listen to rap and speak ebonics. We also see many blacks who are of the white race e.g. those who live in suburbs surrounded by stereotypical white folk.
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Quote by: Cephus  I'm not afraid of anyone because of the amout [sic] of melanin in their skin, if I'm afraid at all, it's because of how they act, not how they look. |
This stance can thus be considered racist if the conception of the black ghetto culture is that it is criminally violent and sadistic. You would probably be scared because of your preconceived notions of the black race and not actually the black skin color. Of course, you associate all these feelings with the color because of dominance of visual sense perception and your neuronic associations.
So, when Martin Luther King said people shouldn't be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, in a sense he still left the avenue open for racism.