Yes, the enslavement of africans by europeans and americans, was racist. It was racist because the enslavers believed that africans were an inferior race that should be treated as property, not people. But something a lot of people seem to forget is that slavery was widely practiced in Africa. Tribes often took slaves in raids on other tribes. Africans that were shipped as slaves to the Americas, were more often than not sold to the slavers by their fellow africans.
The history of mankind is full of instances of slavery. In fact, the first real idea that slavery was bad came from europeans. It wasn't until the 17th century that this idea started to grow. So slavery has been an accepted institution for a lot longer than it has been demeaned.
The word racist is a hot button word. In its pure sense, it means the belief tha one race of homo sapiens is superior to another. In that sense, the enslavement of africans was racist. But too often racist is used interchangeably with bigot (someone who is intolerant and feels hatred toward a specific race). The planatation owners, slave traders, of early american history were rarely bigots. They simply viewed their slaves as property not humans. Many slave owners, genuinely and accurately felt, they were improving the quality of life for their slaves.
