For the past several weeks, we have been discussing the idea of race in my introduction to cultural anthropology class. We have talked about multiple different topics within the category of race, including: the connection between human variation and race, the idea of “whiteness”, and the history of race in American society. We watched three episodes of a series called Race: The Power of an Illusion to learn more about race and the consequences of race policies. We also read from different books that dealt with race, so I decided to write a letter and tell you more about it because I found it very intriguing and I thought you would too!
The first episode of Race: The Power of an Illusion discusses the idea of race and how most of us have the definition all wrong. Most people today understand that specific races can be classified through external characteristics. For example, someone’s skin color or eye shape can define their race. True, right? False! It is not proven that any so-called “race” can all have the same genetic markers. People from the same parts of the world are all exceptionally diverse in various ways.
In the reading Race: Are We So Different by Alan Goodman, he talks about how race and human biological variation are in fact, not the same. “This does not mean that races are real. Human variation is real. Race is an explanation for that variation.” Human variation is defined in this reading as “patterns of differences and similarities from one person to another and from one group to another”. The problem with using the term “race” to classify a group of people is that it is a distinct unit and reduces variation to specific categories. For example, classifying things into a group means you have to use the same criteria on all of them. With that being said, grouping things by physical features such as hair color and skin color would cause you to get different groupings, meaning that you cannot classify them together by using this method. Therefore, outward physical appearance differences like skin color and face shape are human variations, not race. Race and human variation can both be real, but they have exquisite differences and are not the same thing.
127 our experts are availableright now
The three key terms we talked about in class dealing with human variations were gradual variation, genetic non-concordance, and within group vs between group variation. First, gradual variation: the idea of genetic traits being so mixed that they cannot be traced back to where they specifically started. This, to me, means that we cannot exactly point to where one race ends, and the next race begins because we have no way to identify its beginning. Next, genetic non-concordance: when one trait rarely co-varies with another, meaning that two people with the same color skin can be from completely different parts of the globe, yet still look alike. Finally, within group and between-group variation: this term means that although members may be of the same group, there can be more variation between them than between members of a different group. Between groups show how groups are different within each other and within groups show how two subjects are the same within the same group, not correlating with other groups.
When considering the term “race” and how to classify between different races, most of us today automatically assume that skin color is the primary way to do so. Before taking this class, I definitely thought that was true. If someone was of a different skin color, that must’ve assumed they were of a different race. However, after reading the article Race: Are We So Different I learned that skin color has nothing scientifically to do with race. The reading explains how skin color varies as a result of selection for ability to process vitamin D versus protect against the degradation of folate. Many dark-skinned individuals vary greatly in other traits rather than just having the same skin color. In reality, specific populations could be divided into so many subcategories that each of us could individually have our own race.
The aspect of “race” has always been a prevalent issue in American society. Smedley’s reading “Race” and the Construction of Human Identity talk about the historical construction of racism. It states that human identity existed, however, the idea of racial groups was absent from these different forms of identity. There is no talk of racial differences or differences in skin color in ancient literature. Throughout history, people of all origins interacted with each other. Artifacts have been found that show that multiple countries interacted in the ancient world through trade and even war. It is stated in “Race” and the Construction of Human Identity that ancient writers rarely ever touched on the physical differences between different groups of people. When race was brought about in human history, it brought about a powerful transformation in the world’s perception of human differences. Since that time many people in the West have continued to link human identity to external features. We have been socialized that race is based on the idea of skin color and physical differences and this idea was clearly unknown to man in ancient times.
Race: The Power of an Illusion talked a lot about the idea of “whiteness” stating that it not only dealt with skin color but was the key to gaining the full rewards of American citizenship. In 1970, the Congress passed a law that gave clear access for white people to vote, sit in on juries, get elected to public office, and hold more accountable jobs. In order to be naturalized, you had to be categorized as white or black, so everyone was trying to categorize as white, so a line had to be drawn about who was actually white and who was not. However, when trying to confer who was black and who was white, different states had different ideas.
For example, Virginia law defined a black person as a person with one sixteenth African ancestry and Alabama said no, any black at all defines you as a black person. People were being turned from their citizenship because they were not by certain specified meanings of the term “white” although they had the lifestyle of an American and did everything they were supposed to do. When trying to give scientific evidence as to how they were indeed white, the court ruled that it didn’t matter what science said. This being said, the court decided who was and who was not white and you had no choice but to hope for the best. Overall, whiteness was not fair and not only dealt with skin color, but opportunities given to those who lived in America.
Although many laws regarding racism have been passed, there is still an inequality between blacks and whites today. 50 years after the Jim Crow Laws have been passed, we still have segregated schools and a segregated housing market because of how we are located geographically. We learned that today, the average black family only has one eighth of the net worth of a white family, and this difference has grown since the 1960’s. This means that because of past generations racial inequality, it will continue through many generations to come whether we want it to or not.
Another example of racism still occurring today is from a film we watched called True Colors. In the film, there were two males, one black and one white, who did the exact same thing and got completely different results. When going into the jewelry store, the white man was greeted almost immediately and was asked several times if he needed any assistance. When the black male went into the store, the worker stood close by, not saying anything and watching him like a hawk. Why is this?
In conclusion, there is not one characteristic or gene that can distinguish one group of people of a certain “race” from another particular “race”. We as humans are some of the most genetically similar of all species, although we look externally different. Race does not exist in individuals’ minds, it is cultural and social. I believe that we as Americans need to take a stand and not consider the term “race” as a defining factor for different individuals, especially because of a difference in skin color.
