The Concept of Race¹

Abstract

N THIS paper I desire to examine the concepts of race as they are used I with reference to man. I shall first deal with the use of this term by biologists and anthropologists, and then with its use by the man-on-the-street, the socalled layman-so-called, no doubt, from the lines in Sir Philip Sidney's sonnet: I shall endeavor to show that all those who continue to use the term "race" with reference to man, whether they be laymen or scientists, are "for sacred rites unfit.'' Once more, I shall, as irritatingly as the sound of a clanging door heard in the distance in a wind that will not be shut out, raise the question as to whether, with reference to man, it would not be better if the term "race" were altogether abandoned.At the outset it should, perhaps, be made clear that I believe, with most biologists, that evolutionary factors, similar to those that have been operative in producing raciation in other animal species, have also been operative in the human species-but with a significant added difference, namely, the consequences which have resulted from man's entry into that unique zone of adaptation in which he excels beyond all other creatures, namely culture, that is to say, the man-made part of the environment.On the evidence it would seem clear that man's cultural activities have introduced elements into the processes of human raciation which have so substantially modified the end-products that one can no longer equate the processes of raciation in lower animals with those which have occurred in the evolution of man. The factors of mutation, natural selection, drift, isolation, have all been operative in the evolution of man. But so have such factors as ever-increasing degrees of mobility, hybridization, and social selection, and it is the effects of these and similar factors which, a t least so it has always seemed to me, makes the employment of the term "race" inapplicable to most human populations as we find them today.Of course there exist differences, but we want a term by which to describe the existence of these differences. We do not want a prejudiced term which injects meanings which are not there into the differences. We want a term which as nearly mirrors the conditions as a term can, not one which falsifies and obfuscates the issue. 919

Challenges and Considerations Related to Studying Dementia in Blacks/African Americans

“…Within these definitions, it is important to note the lack of clarity and consensus-based implications of the term “race” across various fields of study [41, 45, 47–49]. It has been noted that historic viewpoints of the biological construct of race were not grounded in firm scientific discovery [45, 49, 50] but based on early 19th/20th century racist scientific studies, such as comparing “physiognomy” of Blacks/African Americans and Whites [15, 41, 45, 46, 51]. It has now been well-established that race is, in many senses, a social construct with categories that change over time due to social policy, cultural beliefs, and political practices [47–49].…”

White Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry The Racial Project in Explaining Mass Shootings

“…Today, the terms race and ethnicity are often used interchangeably in common vernacular. In fact, some argue that race is so historically laden with inaccurate and persistent implications that we should do away with the term altogether (Fields 1990;; Montagu 1962).…”

What Next?

“…During the 1950s, physical anthropologists suggested it be replaced by the term major group as a more neutral expression. Montagu ( 1972a), in particular, proposed the term ethnic group because this raises certain questions (What does it mean? What does the user have in mind?)…”