What is reverse racism?
Reverse racism is a response to racism. It is the act of discriminating in reverse, against the majority, racially. Nadra Kareem Nittle writes, Reverse racism refers to discrimination against whites, usually in the form of programs meant to advance ethnic minorities such as affirmative action. Anti-racist activists in the U.S. have largely deemed reverse racism to be impossible, as the power structure of the United States has historically benefited whites and continues to do so today, despite the election of a black president. 
Nittle explains that people are not entirely sure whether reverse racism exists or not. She writes, Because American institutions haven't traditionally been anti-white, the argument that whites can be truly victimized by reverse racism is difficult to make. Still, the assertion that reverse racism exists has persisted since the late 20th century when the government implemented widespread programs to make up for historic discrimination against ethnic minorities.  
It is an argument that people are having, a discourse that makes discrimination a little bit different (and a little more complex). Nittle says, If we include institutional power in the definition of racism, its virtually impossible to argue that reverse racism exists. But as institutions attempt to compensate ethnic minorities for the racism of the past via affirmative action programs and similar policies, whites have experienced discrimination. 
Furthermore, Nittle references a court case where reverse discrimination came into the forefront of a firefighter community. In June 2009, for instance, white firefighters from New Haven, Conn., won a reverse discriminationSupreme Court case. The suit stemmed from the fact that white firefighters who excelled on a qualifying test to receive promotions were prevented from moving up because their colleagues of color had not performed so well. Rather than allow the white firefighters to promote, the city of New Haven dismissed the test results for fear that minority firefighters would sue if they werent also promoted
The problem was that there was injustice in preventing the white firefighters from being promoted, obviously, because the decision was based on race. Yet, Nittle references Stanley Fish. Not all whites who find themselves excluded as institutions try to right past wrongs feel victimized. In a piece for The Atlantic called Reverse Racism, or How the Pot Got to Call the Kettle Black, legal scholar Stanley Fish described being ruled out of an administrative position at a university when the powers-that-be decided that a woman or ethnic minority would be a better candidate for the job.
Fish argues that whites who find themselves excluded when white institutions try to diversify mustnt protest. Exclusion when the goal is not racism but an attempt to level the playing field cant compare to the centuries of racial subjugation that people of color experienced in U.S. society. Ultimately, this kind of exclusion serves the greater good of eradicating racism and its legacy, Fish points out.
The question is whether reverse racism exists, Does reverse racism exist? Not according to the antiracist definition of racism. This definition includes institutional power and not just the prejudices of a lone individual. As institutions which have historically benefited whites attempt to diversify, however, they sometimes favor ethnic minorities over whites. Their purpose in doing so is to right the wrongs of the past and the present against minority groups.
