Definitions from my Multicultural Competency in Student Affairs class instuctors:

• Discrimination : The differential allocation of goods, resources, and services and the limitation of access to full participation in society based on individual membership in a particular social group.
• Race : A social construct that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on characteristics such as physical appearance (particularly color), ancestral heritage, cultural affiliation, cultural history, ethnic classification, and the social, economic, and political needs of a society at a given period of time. Racial categories subsume ethnic groups.
• Ethnicity : A social construct which divides people into smaller social groups based on characteristics such as shared sense of group membership, values, behavioral patterns, language, political and economic interests, history and ancestral geographical base. Examples of different ethnic groups are Cape Verdean, Haitian, African, African American (Black); Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese (Asian); Cherokee, Mohawk, Navajo (Native American); Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican (Latino); Polish, Irish, and French (White).
• Racism : The systematic subordination of members of targeted racial groups who have relatively little social power in the United States (Blacks, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asians), by the members of the agent racial group who have relatively more social power (Whites). This subordination is supported by the actions of individuals, cultural norms and values, and the institutional structures and practices of society.
• Sexism : The cultural, institutional, and individual set of beliefs and practices that privilege men, subordinate women, and denigrate values and practices associated with women.
• Social Power : Access to resources that enhance one’s chances of getting what one needs in order to lead a comfortable, productive, and safe life.
• Right : A resource or state of being that everyone has equal access to, regardless of their social group membership.
• Privilege : A resource or state of being that is only readily available to some people because of their social group membership.
• Prejudice : A set of negative personal beliefs about a social group that leads individuals to prejudge people from that group or the group in general, regardless of individual differences among members of that group.
• Oppression : A systemic social phenomenon based on the perceived and real differences among social groups that involve ideological domination, institutional control, and the promulgation of the oppressor’s ideology, logic system, and culture to the oppressed group. The result is the exploitation of one social group by another for the benefit of the oppressor group.
• Ally : A member of the agent group who rejects the dominant ideology and takes action against oppression out of a belief that eliminating oppression will benefit both agents and targets.
• Homophobia : The fear, hatred, or intolerance of lesbians and gay men or any behavior that falls outside of traditional gender roles. Homophobic acts can range from name-calling to violence targeting lesbian or gay people.

Adams, M., Bell, L.A., and Griffin, P. (1997). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.