Kayleena Faulkner

Anthropology 1020
April 25, 2016

Defining race

The civil rights movements in the 50s and 60s showed the just
how deep the crack of separation had gotten between two very distinct
groups: Whites and blacks. Of course the cracks of separation did not
start there, nor would they end there. They also did not just pertain to
these two groups in America, they are apparent in almost every
civilization on earth, and have been for some time. Defining groups by
the color of there skin is known worldwide and has been justification
for many horrendous acts upon certain groups throughout a large part
of human history. What started out as a 4 part geographical
categorization by the ancient Egyptians has over the years, formed
into discrimination and hatred among groups.

When the term race is brought up today, the subject tends to stir
mixed emotions. From what started as a seemingly harmless
organization systems it has led rise to some of the worst human
atrocities in history, the triangular slave trade to the Americas only
being one of them. From a biological standpoint race is determined as

species that have variation for 1 or more physical traits. Adhering to

this definition is makes sense to categorize people by their skin color,
since it is a very distinct physical trait that can immediately set people
apart. But the definition of race is not the issue when it comes to the
concept of race; the issue is just that, the social concept of race.

Skin tone is probably the easiest and fastest way to tell two
people apart, especially if the difference is very drastic. As humans
began to break into groups and some became more powerful than
others, it was easy to tell them apart when categorized by skin tone.
Along with categories based on skin color, another concept began to
arise that shows in some instances even in present day: biological
determinism.

In the 1950s scientist Carl Linnaeus came up with this term that
tied someones moral and virtue to there skin color, and the morals
and virtues would never change. What ever skin color you were born
with, you would have those particular morals and virtues that belong to
that group. This in my opinion started to give rise to stereotyping
certain behaviors to particular groups. Suddenly the color of your skin
did not represent where you were from, but who you were as a person.
In a journal co-authored by Elizabeth A. Segal and Keith M. Kilty, they
talk about how the use biological determinism as an explanation for

human problems, has resurfaced as of the last 20 years, and I cannot

help but agree with them. (Segal 61).

During the 1970s only about 12% of the population consisted of

African Americans, yet they made up 48% of the populations in prison
(Sidanius 274) Author Jim Sidanius goes on to quote However, what
has been and still is under dispute is whether or not race is merely
correlated with the results or whether race causes these result
(Sidanius 273). I think that this really shows just how serious people
thought race affected you as a person. Although there is no evidence
that a massive amount of the African Americans were in prison
because of a wrong verdict or to harsh of a punishment, solely based
on there skin color, I think it is safe to say prisons reflected the deep
crack of segregation and racism in our country.

Not only was this racism reflected in prisons during that time,
there is still an ongoing debate about the amount of African Americans
in prisons as well as police brutality being used in there arrests,
because of the color of there skin. The BBC claims that police killed
more unarmed African Americans than unarmed Caucasian people last
year. (source 3)

Although we have a biological definition of the biological concept

of race species that have variation for 1 or more physical traits that
does not mean that the definition adheres to the spin society puts on
it. In todays world the ethical issue of race has become a hot topic and
there are many ideas thrown out into the media on how to make
circumstances equal and how to treat people equally. In my opinion I
do not think there is a win with that argument. The minority groups
that have been oppressed for centurys will always carry the burden of
past offenses to there people, but nothing anyone does will ever be
able to make up for that.
I think that the division of people by the color of there skin will always
be a touchy subject, but the more we try to understand one another
and be aware of the flaw in biological determinism, we will be able to
grow better as a society.

Work cited.
1. Sidanius, Jim. Race and Sentence Severity: The Case of
American Justice. Journal of Black Studies 18.3 (1988): 273281.
Web...
2. Segal, Elizabeth A., and Keith M. Kilty. The Resurgence of
Biological Determinism. Race, Gender & Class 5.3 (1998): 61
75. Web...
3. "Why Do US Police Keep Killing Unarmed Black Men?" BBC News.
Web. 27 Apr. 2016.