Racism in martial arts has been a common allegation.
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Media portrayal
Some of this can be attributed to media portrayal of minority groups while giving the majority a primary role. Television shows such as The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers have been called racist but, in the case of the Rangers show, a minority actor on the show attributes it to coincidence. Quite often the media would portray Asians as being proficient in martial arts. Ethnic groups and ethnic martial arts would be merged into one although they might be quite distinct.
Alleged instances
Bruce Lee stated that racism was widely practiced in martial arts in Hong Kong. Ron Duncan (an Afro-Panamanian), a founder of ninjitsu in America, discussed in detail the problems of racism in martial arts as he saw them. Duncan explained how he believes he was denied recognition by Black Belt Magazine in favor of Steven K Hayes (who was white). The Black Karate Federation was formed by Steve Sanders and others seeking to have equal treatment of black fighters in Karate tournaments. This included allegations of biased officiating in martial arts tournaments.
Current times
Fighters such as Maurice Smith and Kevin Randleman were amongst the first black champions in MMA, but neither have received the media attention that fighters of other races have.Joe Rogan of the UFC, has suggested that Jon Jones, a UFC light heavyweight champion, isn't as popular as he could be due in large part to racism.