Our Race Does Not Define Us

In the film, “Race: The Power of an Illusion, Volume 1,” microbiologist Pilar Ossorio, states “There’s as much more diversity and genetic difference within any racial group as there is between people of different racial groups”. Put differently, the genetic differences between people of the same racial group are just as diverse in comparison to those of different racial groups. In the film, the tests and experiments that the students had conducted using their blood and DNA provided evidence for the point that Ossorio made. These students came from different backgrounds: white, black, Hispanic, and Asian. The students assumed, prior to the experiment, that members of the same race would be most similar to them in concerns to their genetic code. However, the results showed that even students of completely different races can share similar genetic codes. In fact, the professor showed them that those who were of the same race had more differences than with those who were of different race. In the film, a geneticist stated that 85% of genetic differences are found among local populations which also support what Ossorio had to say.                     

I have always preferred identifying myself as an Asian American. Like many, I find it important to attach my heritage to being an American because it is a part of who I am. At times, there is a sense of not belonging to any of the two. Many people have told me for the longest time that if you are a citizen of the U.S.A, you are American. Despite being born here, I feel like I will always be seen as a foreigner because the first thing people will take notice of is my skin and other physical traits of an “average” Vietnamese person such as having brown hair, brown eyes, and being shorter than most Westerners. As a result, I feel like I do not have that spark of patriotism for the United States, but I do consider this country my home. I also consider Vietnam to be my home even though I may only be there for 2 months every few years.

Despite of everything, my own racial identity will not change. I would still identify myself as Asian American because race is simply a social construct, an idea that people build and organize their actions and thoughts around. Scientists were not able to find a connection between race and biology, showing that race is not rooted in biology. This is because people define race based off of what they “see.” Race is a human intervention according an interviewer in the film. It is created to categorize groups of people and served as a means to distinguish and justify domination. Whenever we meet people, we are quick to label them by their race and our society tends to be sensitive when it comes to race. We feel uncomfortable if we are not able to identify the race of someone we are with. We would not be able to say anything about that person for fear of them playing the race card so we oftentimes opt on taking the easy way out by not getting to know them. However, race is no more a part of who we are than our height, intelligence, or musical ability.

Sadly the idea of race still persists despite there not being a genetic difference because it is deeply ingrained in American values and beliefs. We have viewed other races as inferior for so long that race is deeply ingrained in our society; much so that it impacts everything! Most of us are not even aware of how our actions and responses are driven by racism. Although we have made great strides in equality, I know that we still make assumptions about people based on physical appearances, including race. After watching the first part of “Race: The Power of an Illusion,” I realized that everyone has similarities and differences no matter what race and that race does not define a person.