Taking On Race as an Artificial Construction

Taking On Race as an Artificial Construction

 

Comparing and contrasting the skulls of various races

There is no real differentiation amongst human beings between races. Scientists have tried numerous times in the past to find a difference between the biological makeup of Blacks and Whites by comparing the size and structure of their skeletons and other body parts. According to episode one of “Race: The Power of an Illusion”, there have been experiments in scientific history that evaluated the brain size of African and European individuals. When gathering human remains for evaluation, the brains of African women and European males were compared and contrasted with one another. This resulted to an inaccurate conclusion that African individuals generally have a smaller brain and skull size than that of European individuals. The reasoning behind these experiments was to 'prove' why we, as a civilization, should treat people of color inferior to Whites (Omi and Winant 1994).

Several years later, it was proven that there is no real differentiation between the size of an African and a European individual's brain. Even after this error was rectified, racism and the dehumanization of African individuals has existed for several decades. Additionally, studies, and misinterpretations of the Bible were wrongfully used to justify the reasoning behind the exploitation and marginalization of people of color. When attempting to comprehend why racisms still exist, it is important to keep in mind that there have been many laws that were established in American history, which subject people of color to inequality. The idea of race and what it means to be a part of a racial group is deeply embedded in us as human beings. For several decades, we have been disciplined to judge other human beings based on their phenotype, which gives us more of a sense of (racial) organization.

In episode one of “Race: The Power of an Illusion”, students took samples of their Mitochondrial DNA, which could solely be inherited from their mother (Wilson and Hunt 2002).  In doing so, the students chose who they believed they were going to be more genetically similar, the person that they chose were often people of their own racial. Turns out the students whom were racially similar did not share as many genetic similarities with their own race as anticipated. Pertaining to the two examples above, and a combination of other facts that prove that race is solely a sociological term, no one can deny that Pilar Ossorio’s argument is valid.

After reflecting on the idea of race and its importance in today’s society, I believe it is imperative to inform ourselves about the history of race and what it means to be classified into a racial group. I am not ashamed to identify myself as an African American woman, whom has Caribbean roots. I have strong cultural pride and it continues to get stronger as I learn more about Black individuals and all that they have endured in the past. As I dig deeper into understanding the significance of race, it angers me to know that a single term, with the help of other aspects, could cause such an abominable effect on the human race.

  

Work Cited

Clark, B. A. (2013, April 06). Laws Designed to Disarm Slaves, Freedmen, and African-Americans. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.old-yankee.com/rkba/racial_laws.html

Omi, M., & Winant, H. (1994). Racial formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s (3RD ed.). New York: Routledge.

H. (2016, June 27). 

RACE: The Power Of An Illusion - Episode 1: The Difference Between Us (PBS Documentary). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7_YHur3G9g

Wilson, J. H., & Hunt, T. (2002). Molecular biology of the cell, 4th edition: A problems approach. New York: Garland Science.

URLs

http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-01-03.htm

http://sociology.about.com/od/R_Index/fl/Race.htm