I wouldn’t say racism persists in western societies, considering the progress we made in eradicating it. You would be cancelled immediately if you were to say something racist in this generation. That shows great progress. There’s more justice for minorities than ever before. However that doesn’t mean it’s GONE. It’s not uncommon to experience it in certain areas of the world. An example would be the news stories about discrimination against African Americans, Asians, or any other minority. But despite that, Western society has done a great job at combating racism. But one reason it can persist is mainly due to emotions of others, how society is built and the history behind racism,