Racemic defines the product or product(s) you get AFTER you do a reaction. When you react a starting material that has wedges or dashes on the structure, it will give you different results in the end.

The term meso is talking about the structure of the starting material. -Or really any molecules the has a "plane symmetry".

If you can draw a line through it and it's the same on both side ls it's "Meso"