Racial stereotypes are defined as beliefs and expectations held by a society or an individual towards members of a specific race or ethnic group. Racial stereotypes are often centered around the intelligence, competence, and aggressiveness of the individuals within a specific group. They also often overlap with a person's perceived social class or their income status (rich or poor.) Racial stereotypes create unnecessary barriers between people that gets in the way of progress as well as collaboration. They can also lead to fear and sometimes violence.

The effects of racism are everywhere in society today. Clint Smith talks about the differences between growing up in America as a black man versus the experiences of his white friends in "How to Raise a Black Son in America." He talks about his parents telling him not to play with toy guns and never to wear a hoodie at night because they were afraid of him being killed by police or a racist person. Lessons like this, although unfortunately necessary in today's world, can be very damaging to a child's self image and parents should not have to fear for their children's lives just because of their race.

Racial stereotypes can also have short term effects on the performance of students in school, adults at work, and athletes when competing. In “The Generality and Consequences of Stereotype Threat” Matthew S. McGlone and R. Abigail Pfiester discuss several studies demonstrating this.

The first study was done by taking two groups of African America students with equal levels of intelligence and giving them a difficult test. One group was asked to identify their race at the beginning of the test and scored significantly lower than the group where this wasn't asked of them. This is because in America there is a stereotype that African American students are less intelligent than their white peers and identifying their race at the beginning of the test was enough to make them remember this stereotype. This put added pressure on them to not reinforce it, which in turn impaired their ability to take the test by taking away their focus. Similar results were recorded when two groups of African American students took another version of the same test with one group being told that the test would measure their intelligence and the other would not. The group that was told the test was not meant to measure their level of intelligence scored significantly higher.

The reaction recorded from the first group is called the Stereotype Threat Response which can effect individuals in short term decision making as well as impact long term goals. It can also lead to disengagement from activities or domains where the stereotype is relevant and in turn can impair intellectual development. Stereotypes can also effect the self esteem of an individual and can have a serious impact on an individual's mental health. Negative stereotypes have long and short terms effects and can be very dangerous.

According to "Are lower social class origins stigmatized at work?” by Anna M.Kallschmidt and Asia A.Eaton, Black and Latinx people are typically viewed as poor and low in SES (Socioeconomic Status) by the average American. Individuals who are themselves unemployed, incarcerated, or impoverished are also more likely to self-identify as Black and less likely to identify as White. In other words Black and Latinx people are more likely to be viewed as poor even if they are not. Social class is multifaceted construct including access to money, education, social status, and occupational and job prestige.

This is a problem because in the west, especially the United States, poor or low-income people are typically seen as warm towards others but lacking in competence. Because of this people who are perceived as poor are often overlooked for high level leadership and work positions. In other words even highly educated and high-income people of color are more likely to be seen as less competent than their white peers or coworkers and in turn are often passed up for promotions. This is a problem both for individuals who've been treated unfairly and have to fight this stereotype in order to achieve their professional goals, and for society as a whole because we miss out on many quality leaders that have been overlooked just because of their race.