False Science Drives Race in America

Doug Anderson

September 21, 2016

For centuries there was long believed to be distinct and vast biological differences from one race to another. These supposed differences in the biological makeup was believed to have led to a difference in intelligence, appearance, and genes, amongst other characteristics. By the 21^st century, we now know that this is no longer true. Through the work of scientists and sociologists, it is now understood that race is by and large a socially constructed idea. As Pilar Ossorio says in the film Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode 1, there are “no genetic markers that are in everyone of a particular race, and in nobody in another race.” In fact, humans across all races are some of the most biologically similar species on earth, with just 1 in 1,000 humans being biologically different.

My racial identity is that of Caucasian, or white, status. This is also the race of everyone in my entire extended family. My hometown reflected this as well, and due to both my location and family tree, I experienced an upbringing that was very white. I was raised as a child in a way that fairly isolated from people of color, so it was not until I became an adult that I realized how much societal advantage there is for those that are white compared to people of color. Since birth, I have always identified as “white” and fortunately, I have never been confused about my identity or possibly seen as racially ambiguous from afar. This is a problem those of mixed race have told me that they have encountered in their life.

This evidence does not really change the way I perceive my own racial identity. I never subscribed to any ideals that suggested I was biologically superior to people of color because of my race, so when I learned about this evidence it did not change the way I viewed myself in the world in the same way I imagine it would for a white supremacist. What I would like to see from this evidence would be an acknowledgement of its existence from those who also identify racially in the same way that I do but attempt to use it to better them while creating plunder for others. This film and this evidence is essentially a debunking of the foundation of Nazism, white nationalism, and white supremacy – that those that are white are biologically superior and therefore it is ethical to treat those that are non-white lesser. As was stated in the film, some scientists openly believed that “the tendency of the negro race has been downward,” going as far as to suggest that they slowly be exterminated to extinction. It is also worth noting that these ideas have continually been used for political gain, and more importantly, are not limited to one political party. Racism persists across all political ideals. No political party has a monopoly on the mistreatment of people of color in America. White supremacy is ingrained in the history of this country. “It is a part of who we are,” said Ta-Nehisi Coates, when The Daily Beast asked if the GOP was racist. It's frustrating to think about the ways in which these different types of oppression have manifested themselves based largely on lies and false science. I always rejected the idea that certain races were biologically superior to others, but I lacked the proper proof, evidence, and facts to say so until now.

Works Cited

Templeton, A. R. (2013, May 16). Biological Races in Humans. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3737365

American Association of Physical Anthropologists. (1996). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://physanth.org/about/position-statements/biological-aspects-race/