I have been reading many of the posts and I feel compelled to dispel some myths. First and foremost, there is no such thing as race. From both a scientific and anthropological perspective, we are all Homo sapien sapien. The are no subspecies of humans. The difference we see in each other is mostly a result of geographic isolation and natural selection. The difference between us can be likened to the difference between black cats, white cats, calilico cats, etc.
Second, race is a socially constructed concept. The concept of race was developed to justify the subjugation of certain groups of people. The idea of it predates the science that now refutes it, but is a relatively recent occurence in the history of humans. As a matter of fact, science was used to try and defend the concept. That is where Eugenics came from. American society was developed using these concepts although now we know they were in error.
Third, the legacy of this mistaken notion continues to affect people today. The common assumption that racism ended with the Civil Rights Act is sadly in error. Because you can't legislate morality, people found other ways to maintain the status quo. One of the most universal methods for doing this in America is through home ownership and redlining. People of color own homes at a lower percentage rate than whites. They are relegated to certain areas through redlining and mortgage acquisition. When an area's residents are 12-16% people of color, white flight is triggered. As whites leave, the property values fall because the ability to secure mortgages for the area tightens and people have to sell their homes for less than their assessed value. Since schools are funded based on property taxes, white flight also affects the amount of money available to local schools to educate children. This condition affects a family's net wealth and the amount of money they have to pass down to the next generation. With each passing generation, whites are able to hand down eight times more weath than the average family of color, creating an ever-widening gap. What many people of color don't understand is that many whites don't leave because they dislike people of color. They leave because they want to protect the value of their investment, their home. What many white people don't understand is they are getting the benefit of a racist system without ever having to be racist.
Now before I say anything more, I suspect you are saying, "Why haven't I heard any of this before?" My reply would be, "In whose best interest would it be for you to be made aware of these things?" Society exists to reproduce itself. If too many people knew all this maybe those in power would loose their grip on power and why would they want to do that? If all the contentions we make about each other based on race were based in something we could scientifically prove, why haven't you seen a discussion of it in any biology schoolbook? Over fifty years ago, scientists and anthropologists largely and publicly discarded the notion of race in humans. Why didn't they tell you? Simply to keep us focused on fighting each other so we don't wake up and ask some hard questions of the power elite.
Now just so you don't think I have made this all up, like any good Ac, I will cite my sources by giving you some of my favorite websites on the topic:
Race: The Power of an Illusion (http://newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0149) is the single most comprehensive video resource on the concept of race. It has was produced through PBS and was aired again this spring. I suggest you borrow it from the library because it will cost you $300. to buy. It is extremely entertaining, engaging and compelling and won't at all feel like you are stuck in class. If you want to explore it more now, you can click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNb4pjWpboI) and see a 10 minute excerpt or you can click here (http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm) and go to PBS' companion website. It includes some entertaining games on the subject, too. To see the American Anthropological Association Webby nominated take on the concept of race, you can click here (http://www.understandingrace.org/home.html) and if you want their official statement on it, you can click here (http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm).
This doesn't have to be a continuing American paradigm. Let's keep talking. We have the ability to change the world!
Posted By: Dr. S. Maxwell Hines
Tuesday, July 29th 2008 at 8:02PM
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