In the society we know today, we often believe that it has evolved beyond racism and that everyone has grown up to look beyond race and seeing someone only as the person they are. However, in a society where racist messages have become institutionalized into the underlying morality of its inhabitants, there is no logic in believing in this archetype of society. Having been around since the 1970s, when it was coined by Chester M. Pierce, the term micoaggressions was seriously refined by Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D., a professor of counseling psychology at Columbia University. He solidified the definition of microaggressions as “…brief, mundane daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and slurs toward people of color” (Sue 271). Thanks to Sue's work to refine and reintroduce the term, "microaggressions" spread to college campuses and intellectuals who validated and even applied it to life. With its popularity has come a fervent spirit to be able to perceive microaggressions more accurately and combat them successfully, but even with a large audience, many have come to speak negatively and criticize the term because it only reinforces a mentality victimization in minority groups. However, this term hides real credibility and should absolutely not be dismissed. Microaggressions are a relevant aspect of racism that must be taken seriously because not only do they harm the victim's psyche by insinuating negative messages, but they are also often ignored, often unintentionally, by those who use them. The microaggressions are truly due to the work of Derald W...... middle of article ...... information about race. Are we born racists? Jason Marsh, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton and Jeremy Adam Smith. Boston: Beacon Press, 2010. 58-63. Print.DeAngelis, Tori. “Unmasking “racial microaggressions.” » Monitor on Psychology 40.2 (2009): 42. American Psychological Association. Internet. March 28, 2014. Ford, Richard Thompson. The race card. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. Print. Murray, Carolyn B. and Reginald M. Clark. “Targets of racism”. American School Board Journal. June 1990: 22.24. Researcher on SIRS issues. Internet. March 31, 2014. Sue, Derald et al. “Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice.” American Psychologist 62.4 (2007): 271-286. Fordham University website. Internet. March 24, 2014.Vega, Tanzina. “Students see many slights as ‘racial microaggressions’.” The New York Times. March 21, 2014: A1. New York Times. Internet. March 28 2014.