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Racial shock

Adam Trumbo was warned in advance of the racism he'd encounter in China.

Nevertheless, the 31-year-old decided to take a break from his studies at Thunderbird Business School in Glendale, Arizona, to spend his summer in Shanghai.

"I was told before I came that basically, the Chinese don't like black people," Trumbo said. "And that it's going to be twice as hard for me to get a job and do daily things because I'm African-American."

Trumbo says that every time he eats in a restaurant in China, he is always served last, regardless of what he orders.

"Whether I order something that's difficult to prepare or simple, it always comes last," Trumbo said.

Other African American students at Fudan University's International Cultural Exchange School have experienced even more distressing incidents around China. Two Pennsylvania college students said local Chinese would grab at their hair and skin, asking them if their skin was so dark because they didn't wash themselves.

The two say their experiences have tainted their two-month stay in China, and they are more than ready to go home.

Though home is not always so great, either.

Trumbo says he's experienced incidents of racism back home that are not unlike those he faces in China.

"Depending on where you go in the states, it's the same way," he said. "Sometimes walking down the street in America is just like walking down the street in China."

It's no secret that racism exists in every country and in every culture - perhaps just in different degrees and expressed in different contexts. In America, the effect is usually subtle - we rarely if ever have minority lead characters in movies or as anchors on television. Political leaders are generally white, and diversity is still uncommon in most parts of the country.

But the blatant nature of the racism many African and African-American students have encountered in China is staggering.

Trumbo says he often travels around China with his white roommate, and says he rarely experiences racism on these occasions.

"I'm sure if I was by myself I'd get more of it," he said.

Clearly, China is still a developing country on many levels. But unraveling the knot of racism, and figuring out where and how it all begins in every country, is the first step toward ending it.

There are common threads among the racial views of different nations. In China, India and other parts of Asia, fair skin is a sign of beauty, dark skin is looked down upon. Superstition in China equates anything dark with evil.

But the chief reason for racism anywhere is lack of diversity. Unlike the United States, China and most other countries are not exposed to people of various races.

Unlike the United States, a country built by immigrants, these nations are not culturally bound to welcoming foreigners.

But since China is trying to move up the international trade ladder, its mindset better shift quickly. The country has proven its commitment to improving business relations (if a Chinese person hurts or kills an American, she or he is automatically sentenced to death).

"It's like that because they don't want to ruin business relations," said Trumbo, who will soon graduate with his MBA from Thunderbird.

But treating all foreigners with respect, regardless of their race, is equally important for business relations. Economic development in China is inevitable. Hopefully China's cultural mindset will expand along with its economy.

"There are very few people of color in China," Trumbo said. "The country needs to experience people of many different races and creeds in order to gain an understanding, in order for it to change. It's going to be a slow process."

Sheila Bapat can be reached at Sheila.Bapat@wildcat.arizona.edu.