For thousands of years scientist from all fields have been trying to
explain the differences between people of different skin colors. As of today
they have failed in that mission. All of their work has not been in vain, we
know today that biologically the differences between us humans are so minuscule
that race should not be an issue, but we know that race is an issue. Some people
will say, with the election of President Obama, we now live in a post racist
society-but statistics tell us different. In fact, it seems as though racial
tension after the 2008 election grew thicker than before the election. We live
in a society where racism was not only tolerated, but was rewarded, and this
racism was not simply prosecuted by ordinary citizens, but also by a government
that claimed to be by and for the people. This same government shaped the way
we deal with race today. Race and ethnicity is a very dense subject, and this
subject crosses disciplines like no other. We see historians, anthropologists,
sociologists, biologists, and political scientists studying the effects of race on
our society. It is no easy task. People who never had to deal with being
anything other than white can never know what it is like to be anything other
than that. This is not to say that other races should give up the study of each
other, this is to say there is a difference between learning and
being.
Race as we know it today is the culmination of hundreds of years of
practice. Today people of color are still labeled by what they look like. Whites
regardless of their ethnicity will still be classified as white, and with this
label they will be exempt from those issues that people of color will have to
face head on. Early scientists relied specifically on physical traits because
they had no knowledge of genetic principles. However, even after geneticists
explained that the differences between humans were smaller than that of house
flies and fruit flies, people were sold on early scientists’ product. We can
think of this in the terms of global warming. We have scientists on both sides of
the debate with each side preaching a different science. It is simply easier to
explain why blacks are more prevalent in physical sports (less hockey), and
Hispanic or Latin Americans are more prevalent in baseball, if one believes
there is a physical difference. What this does is it gives people a false since
of reality. There are physical differences between individuals. Some can be
tall, short, fat, skinny, etc. But there is no (logical) evidence that supports
early scientific findings of a physical difference between
races.
Now that we have dispelled the myth of a physical difference between
races, let us look at other early classifications of race. The problem with the
classifications of race is, there were only three; Caucasoid, Mongoloids, and
Negroid. Since we know today that every race of people on the planet originated
from Africa, the question is; how did they come to such a conclusion? As I see
it, they wanted to explain why people were different colors; also they wanted to
set a hierarchy within the races. So, regardless of what your color was a person
would still fit into one category or another. These categories have in some
form persisted to this day. If we look at the U.S. census, the three major
categories are still White, Black, and Asian, which if explained by early
scientist would be explained as Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Negroid, all other
races fall under sub categories. That was a simple way to explain race, but
what about the fact that there is no pure race of people? It is simply
impossible to classify people into certain categories by the color of their
skin. Let’s take India for example. If a person is from Northern India, they
will look, talk, and possibly be built different from a person who originated in
Middle or Southern India. Native Americans are even more different, and Arabs,
although often confused are not Persians. The concept of three major races, as
misrepresentative as it is, is still with us
today.
Misrepresentation of a person’s race is as easy today, as it was hundreds
of years ago. If people did not tell others what their race was they would not
know. However, let’s not make the mistake of thinking that any person of color
is white. If a person checks the other box on an application, that person will
be put in a category other than white. If a person checks the mixed race box,
what other category could they be put in? It is for sure they will not be put in
the white category. Some of our favorite actors, singers, athletes, are of these
categories, and no matter how much they are loved by the masses, that are not
considered white. I recall someone asking would Tiger Woods be bringing “Collard
greens and chicken” to a tournament. Although it’s hard to classify people of
mixed race, it is not impossible. We can classify them as
people.
The problem we have with classifying people as such is society has burned
in our psyche that we are different, and with that gave some a feeling of
superiority over others. The genocide in Rwanda was created by such
classifications. As stated above, mixed race people will not be included in that
dominant race of people, and this is why slave masters made it that the child
follows the race of the (slave) mother-so that the child regardless of who the
father was would still be black. As I have two children of mixed race, I am
proud that my children will be considered black, even though they spend a fair
amount of time with the white side of their family. I often find myself
wondering what their life will be like when they get
older.
I have heard that race effects ones personality, behavior, and their
ability to learn. Is this true? We have people who say, the only reason why
blacks or Hispanics are in high positions is because affirmative action, but
what is quickly left out of that conversation is, affirmative action has helped
more white women than people of color. That stereo type is just one of many. The
stereo type of lazy black and Mexicans is never followed by, but they built this
very nation. The stereotype of blacks committing all the crime is never followed
by, but there are no meth labs in the black community. These stereotypes are not
the product of individuals, but the product of groupthink; the prejudice of a
group that is sometimes carried out on an individual level, but shaped by a
society that is immersed in racist propaganda. One only need watch cops, bait
car, or any television show that portrays violence. Since television is the
medium of the day, this is what is taught, and so these stereotypes will
continue. This is not the only reason these stereotypes persist. People are
taught what they know; we are not born with any preconceived notions of anyone
else. However, if this is what a person hears day in and out, this is what they
will know. If a child is raised with parents who say “Nigger” or “Spic” you can
bet that child will say the same. It does not matter if they understand what
they say, it is what they know. These stereotypes are the seeds of
racism.
Race is a uniquely North American, but not confined to North America. In
South America race is fluid, meaning that, whiteness depends on richness. The
richer you are the whiter you are. In North America regardless of one’s wealth
they are still their race. South America, and let’s include Mexico had a
different type of slavery then in North America. It was not forbidden to have
contact with whites in the Spanish colonies, so it was inevitable to have
several mixed races of people. In Brazil, Africans were allowed to hold on to
their culture, now not only do you have mixed races, but also mixed religions.
African religions now mix with Catholic religions, so they have hybrid
religions.
Here in the U.S. we do not classify people by religion first; we are
programed to classify people by their race first. Race is systemic in the U.S.,
built into a system of systems. These systems span the spectrum of our
government; the justice system, educational system, economic system, and even
our system of government, are all committed to a system of racial hierarchy. It
took a hundred years after the end of the Civil War for the federal government
to implement the rights of men, and yet blacks continued to be lynched, and
those that were caught could not be charged by the federal government for
murder, only for violating the lynched civil rights. The South Bend school
corporation did not implement Brown V. Board of education until the early
eighties. We can argue these points with vigor, but until the government take
these disparities into account there will be change, but it will change very
slowly.