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Iago first demonstrates his racism when he and Roderigo awake Brabantio to tell him that his daughter has eloped with Othello.
“ Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe”
In this metaphor, Iago expresses his feelings of racism towards Othello by referring to him as an “old black ram”. This is, obviously, a reference to his skin colour. He also portrays Desdemona as a “white ewe”. This creates the illusion that Desdemona is helpless as an ewe up against a “black ram”. When Iago calls Desdemona “white” not only is he referring to her skin colour, but he is also referring to her “pureness”. So Iago is making Brabantio feel perhaps more threatened than he should by his “perfect” daughter’s disappearance, since Othello is not really a dangerous person nor is he forcing her to live with him against her will.
Emilia remains a neutral character until the very end, where she refers to Othello as “the blacker devil”.
“O, the more angel she,
And you the blacker devil!”
Emilia is outraged to find her mistress killed by Othello, and is furious with him. After not speaking her mind for the whole play, her temper gets the better of her and she insults Othello by comparing him to the devil. Ordinarily, out of respect, Emilia would never address Othello in that manner, but due to the circumstances, she is in a rush to inform Othello of his mistake. She confirms Desdemona’s claim to a guiltless death; “A guiltless death I die”, by comparing her to an angel, and he to the opposite. This racist comment contributes to planting the seed of suspicion in Othello’s head by demonstrating the direness of the situation. Emilia’s attitude towards him starts to make him wonder if he had been too hasty in his conclusion.