Mixed Racial Assumptions

The PBS series “Race: The Power of an Illusion” effectively works to expose race as a social construct and deconstructs the false notions that race is a biological marker. The series first discusses that all human beings originated from Africa but dispersed about 70,000 years ago to various places in the world. As a result of this migration, people were spread to different locations throughout the world with different environmental conditions that affected their physical traits. It was many years after the migration in which people began to display these new physical traits such as slanted eyes, fair skin, and differing hair textures. While the series notes the physical changes that occurred during the migration it also emphasizes that race while it may seem apparent in skin color and other physical features has no real biological basis.

In Sharon Begley’s article, “Three is not enough,” the author focuses her argument on the fact that race should not be defined by his or her body components, such as DNA, hair, eye, or skin color. In other words, race should be justified by their social interactions with others and build upon one’s behaviors and actions.That is to say, one’s skin color, physical appearance do not define who he or she is, nor does it impose a stereo type of that a certain group of people. The word race is often misunderstood, many believe that race is used to label one group of people, and make assumptions about a certain group of people. However, this is wrong according to Sharon Begley, author of “ Three Is Not Enough”. Begley cites a study done by biologist

“Think about race in its universality. Where is your measurement device? There is no way to measure race. We sometimes do it by skin color, other people may do it by hair texture - other people may have the dividing lines different in terms of skin color. What is black in the United States is not what 's black in Brazil or what 's black in South Africa.”-Dr.Goodman, Race: The Power of an Illusion

The idea of race in society is truly that; an idea. However, one of the first things one notices about another human is their perceived race. Often, incorrect assumptions are made about a person, based on his race. In addition, many believe race can be determined by biological factors. However, there is no biological basis to race. Without a doubt, genes play a role in our skin, hair, and eye color; however, there are not certain genes present in an entire race and not another. Race is not clear cut; if one were to travel from either pole to the equator, a specific location could not be identified to separate any two races.

We are still consumed with the notion that there is some possible generalization that can used to determine who belongs and who doesn’t, to a certain category of ethnicity. Throughout the process of natural selection, uninhibited love and the freedom of choice, we humans continue to cloud the reality for the concept of race. This social construction of race no longer holds as a scientific factor. Physical features such as skin color and eyes and hair have been proven scientifically to be components of the location of environment. These traits were

The meaning, significance, and definition of race have been debated for centuries. Historical race concepts have varied across time and cultures, creating scientific, social, and political controversy. Of course, today’s definition varies from the scientific racism of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that justified slavery and later, Jim Crow laws in the early twentieth. It is also different from the genetic inferiority argument that was present at the wake of the civil rights movement. However, despite the constantly shifting concepts, there seems to be one constant that has provided a foundation for ideas towards race: race is a matter of visually observable attributes such as skin color, facial features, and other self-evident

In the nineteenth century biologist attempted to create a science of racial differences that would support the view of racialism. “These traits and tendencies characteristic of a race constitute, on the racialist view, a sort of racial essence; and it is part of the content of racialism that the essential heritable characteristics of what the nineteenth century called the “Races of Man” account for more than the visible morphological characteristics—skin color, hair type, facial features—on the basis of which we make our informal classification (Appiah 394). As of today, most scientists working in these fields continue to reject racialism. The claims of racialism are not supported by science. Plausibly, Appiah states that racialism doesn’t necessarily have to be an ethical issue. An individual may possibly acknowledge racialism but still believe that constructive moral characteristics are equally disseminated across the different races. But, what is logically possible and what usually occurs are two different things. “I believe—and I have argued elsewhere—that racialism is false; but by itself it seems to be a cognitive rather than a moral problem” (Appiah 394).

It was difficult for slaves to prove their freedom at that time based on whom they were born to. The article continues to explain race as a social construct. Haney-Lopez references the case of Hudgins v. Wright to explain, “human fate still rides upon ancestry and appearance” (p. 3). Haney-Lopez imparts the argument that race is illusory. The article also exams race in relation to personal identity, which in turn leads to building social groups and close relationships between races in communities (p. 8).

The Office (US) is a documentary style reality TV show that encompasses many elements that express offensive, crude humor, which is intended to comically stereotype race, gender, sexual orientation, and influence other societal norms that stem from a discriminating viewpoint. "The Office represents a diverse cast, but the show still reinforces gender and class stereotypes for the sake of humor…it’s “mockumentary” style allows for the success of satire when touching on exaggerated ideas reflective of actual societal issues” (Birthisel). These “jokes” more often than not create an additional tension between the boss Michael Scott and his colleagues in the office, Especially Stanley Hudson, the token black man that works in the sales department. Michael and Stanley have a very weird relationship, and this is made very clear throughout the series. The question I would like to pose is “ How does Michaels relationship with Stanley affect Michael’s relationship with the other characters on the show? Does his behavior influence the rest of the black community on the show”?

Sociologists say race is a social construct, which is the way society can view a group, and their perception of the group. Race is a big example of this, as people could have the same genetic make-up, but be different races. Two people can have the same eye color, and even common DNA through blood. If two brothers had kids, one with someone of Asian descent, and the other brother having a child with someone of Native American descent, the kids who are cousins, are made up of different races. Race is more socially agreed upon, than being of a biological nature. A prime example of this, is most people will same someone is Asian, but they can be descendent of ant country in Asia, while being categorized as Asian. When we look at people from Europe,

Just because I am a son of a Muslim Man doesn’t mean I bombed the Twin Towers

This paper sets out to delineate how historians have debated the uses and misuses of racial concepts over the last five decades. Historians have approached the concept of race within the context of the history of the United States in various

Racial classification was the first topic discussed in our class and brought issues about how, and based on what, people should identify themselves and if skin color had any meaning. The Census, with a long and systematic biased system, always struggled to find the “appropriate” word and classification to place people of different color and ethnicity into groups. African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians all felt lost and trapped in a pattern of racial classification. Notwithstanding, there was also the issue of counting by race where the government only allowed a limited number of non-white Europeans to have access to certain types of programs, such as schooling and housing. The Civil Rights Movement was one that marked the overturn of many

The main point that really stuck out to me during the reading of “Two assumptions & one ideal” was to look beneath the surface of the racial iceberg. Some underlying factors that affect racial attitudes are often below the level of awareness. An example of an underlying issue that surrounds the racial iceberg is how racism and inequalities are evident in the U.S. public school systems. Institutions such as schools make up our everyday realities about our assumptions on race and ethnicity. Students of color (i.e. African-American, Hispanic, and Native American) experience disparities in head start programs, college readiness, disciplinary actions. Currently, in New York minorities tend to have less access to competitive math and science classes.

Whether you believe it or not, racial discrimination is not a controversial matter of the past and has a profound impact on society. Nowadays we still inherit unconsciously misconceptions and prejudices that happen to be unnoticed in our day by day. Consequently, in order to raise awareness upon the connotation of this matter, we must educate people on behalf of assertiveness and comprehension. Therefore, it is remarkably important to acknowledge: the negative impact of racial discrimination on the individual and society, the necessity of derogating misconceptions and the values of cultural diversity.