Racism is a broad subject and can be discussed in many different contexts. Stemming from the view of the concept of racism presented by Jan Jämte, the aim of this research paper is to analyze how civics textbooks for children in grades 4-6 portray racism. 

The research will be performed through the use of a discourse analysis with a ‘what’s the problem represented to be’ strategy. This will be done in order to draw a conclusion on how these textbooks problematize the concept of racism, what is left seen as being unproblematic and what potential effect these factors may have on the pupils. The results show that the textbooks produce a one-sided depiction where individual racism is given a predominant representation and structural racism is nearly completely overlooked. The textbooks do not use the word racism explicitly but instead problematize the concept in sections, where human rights and freedom of speech are discussed. The literature problematizes racism through a juristic perspective were racism is associated with judgements. By problematizing the concept of racism in this way, the student may not fully comprehend what racism is, which in turn creates a risk that they will reproduce racism unwillingly.