Lecture Notes: The Concept of Race

Introduction to Race

Question posed: How to prove your racial identity if someone disagrees?
Key point: Race influences social and political outcomes, but it's not a biological reality.

1776: First attempts to categorize humans by race by a German scientist.
- Based on physical appearance and geographic origins.
Late 1700s: European Americans embraced racial categorization.
- Helped reconcile the contradiction between natural rights and slavery.
- Whites viewed as a distinct category, justifying denial of freedom to blacks.

1929: People of Mexican birth/ancestry considered white.
1930: Census changes classification to non-white to curb immigration.
World War II: Need for labor changes classification back to white.
Variable Definitions of 'Black':
- Depending on state, definitions varied from one-quarter, one-sixteenth to the 'One Drop' rule.
- People could change race by crossing state lines.
2000: Introduction of multi-racial category in the census.
- Led to confusion; by 2010, 6.2% chose 'Some other race'.

The dissonance between appearance, self-identification, and societal labels.
- Example: Debates on racial identity of public figures like Karen Finney and President Obama.
Many people feel clear and permanent racial identities.
- However, the ability to change racial identity shows the concept's instability.

No race chromosome in DNA; race can't be pointed to in our genetic makeup.
Medical community uses race as a proxy for other factors (e.g., ancestors’ origins, shared group experiences).
- Example: Sickle-cell anemia linked more to malaria-prevalent regions than to race.

Racial categories, though constructed, have significant real-world effects:
- Influence experiences, political outcomes, and can be life-altering.
Understanding race as a construct offers perspective on its origins and on racism.