The Human Race

"There's  as much or more diversity and genetic difference within any racial groups as there is between people of different racial groups." - Pilar Ossorio

Whenever I think of or the subject about race comes up it is disconcerting, because race is a concept that has different interpretations in different context and to different people. Although, it is commonly interpreted as fixed characteristics in populations, in reality it is just a social construction that society has given too much meaning to. Race has been socially developed throughout institutions and social practices that it is a difficult concept to overcome even though the human race has advanced greatly. There has been scientists that had shown that race is not biologically real, that humans are all alike and it is just a concept. Pilar Ossorio's quote says it all: "There's as much or more diversity and genetic difference within any racial groups as there is between people of different racial groups."

We are all the same on the inside- MLK

Moreover, in the film, Race: The Power of an Illusion, illustrated a workshop where the students did genetic testing comparisons of each other. The conclusion it showed was that older complex traits can be found in all the populations given that the first humans migrated from Africa to other parts of the world and interbreeding occurred. It also provide evidence that there is no genetic markers that show variations between races. Nevertheless, there will always be individuals that will find biological differences given that their views are biased. Regardless of race not being biologically real, it affects everyone especially the minorities and interracial people. Race is used to divide and categorize populations in a social-hierarchy and maintain the "privilege" on top. The concept not only categorizes by 'race' but it also base those racial groups into false misconceptions that affects how others judge and conduct themselves around others.

Prior to coming to college, I did not think much of race nor had enough knowledge of what I was taught during my younger years. All I knew was that I am a U.S. citizen that grew up in mostly Latino community with a combination of Latino and American culture. It was not until I got to college that my perspective about race began to form because I began to acknowledge of how race shapes our everyday lives. Through taking courses and unfortunate life experiences I have learned that race plays a major role in our lives and that it will affects every individual especially those who are classified as the minority groups. In addition, when it comes to my racial identity I get confuse, because of how the concept of race is defined by others. Do they mean it as  geographically, linguistically, by ethnicity, or by my heritage. For this reason, every now and then I hear myself answering the question as a question, or I joke by saying that 'I am from the human race,' or just simply I prefer not to answer. In either case, I see myself as an American with multiple categories in where I fit: Mexican-American, Hispanic, Latina, and a Chicana with a distinct American-Latino culture.

All things considered, Ossorio's comment is intriguing and inspirational to me because it is straightforward and challenging. It is something that is out there that is helping us go the direction of overcoming the negative impact of the concept of race. It makes me content that hopefully in the near future, I do not have to be confuse of who society wants me to be base on my characteristics or my who my ancestors were. It is important to challenge each other to think and talk about race, to be critical conscious about race.

Admittedly, race is a modern concept that was developed from Europeans' justification for power. It started with the separation of white servants and black slaves during the 1700s, due to fear that the rich upper class colonizers would be overthrown. The rich elites passed laws to keep poor white servants from having relations of any type with black slaves, besides master and slave, in order to keep themselves in supremacy. As a result blacks became the only ones who were enslaved with little power which was a division between blacks and whites. In addition, the laws led to viewing blacks and Native Americans negatively in where the idea of "racial differences" emerged along with "scientifically" proving the differences among races.

The concept of race persist for the reason that it has been implemented in our society throughout generations consequently making it difficult to stop reinforcing the concept. In addition, because of generations of this concept there is hierarchy of people, generally wealthy white males, who get the benefits of there being a categories of races and maintaining them in power. Furthermore, we still see the benefits and privileges given to white males. For instance, research has shown that white males with a criminal record tend to have a higher possibility of getting a job than a black person with no criminal record. There's a lot of studies and records that show these types of disadvantages between whites and other racial groups. Race is a powerful and a real concept that people has given too much meaning creating disadvantages towards groups of people yet giving advantages and opportunities to one group.