They Aren't Mutually Exclusive; Sometimes, There's No Difference At All — Racism: the unfair treatment of people who belong to a different race; violent behavior towards them. Heritage: something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor: legacy, inheritance. Some people try to differentiate between racism and heritage, implying that if something can be claimed as heritage, it isn't racist. That can be true, but in almost every case where heritage is used as an excuse that a thing isn't racist, and it's damn sure racist.