Bigotry is stubborn, unreasonable hostility toward people who are different from you. A bigot forms negative opinions about entire groups of people based on characteristics like their race, religion, nationality, or background, and refuses to change their mind even when shown they're wrong.

Today, bigotry means clinging to prejudiced views and treating people unfairly because of what group they belong to, not because of anything they've actually done.

Bigotry is different from simply disagreeing with someone or having preferences. You might prefer chocolate ice cream over vanilla, or think one sports team is better than another. That's not bigotry. Bigotry means disliking or mistreating people just because they're part of a certain group, without giving them a fair chance as individuals.

A bigoted person might refuse to be friends with someone because of where their family came from, or assume negative things about a student before even meeting them. Throughout history, bigotry has caused tremendous harm, from schoolyard exclusion to persecution and violence. Fighting bigotry means judging people by their character and actions rather than making assumptions about them based on what group they belong to.