Race..How is it that one word can have so much power? A word so strong that it has power over life and death. How is it that this small, one syllable term brought upon so much hurt? It's ironic because this word did not appear until about 1508 in a poem about a line of kings written by William Dunbar. Now I've given reasons as to why the word is so powerful, but what exactly is race? This concept was not always around, however we allow this term to designate how we live our lives. Prior to the 19th century, the concept of race was not fully developed. In the early days race was just an opinion. So now we have to ask ourselves, does this idea still exist today?
Even though the concept of race was not fully developed,John Cheng says that the racial attitude has always existed. This attitude is responsible for what we think of race today. In earlier days race was defined by hair texture, nose span, skin color, etc. In other words, race was primarily based on the exterior. Evelynn Hammonds, a professor, says we have developed this sort of attitude of "I know it when I see it". Meaning that we declare a person's race by looking at them. During the 19th century, scientists began to push their personal ideas of race off onto the society. Some of these ideas still remain today.
In all "race" is just a concept developed by society. There is no scientific reasoning behind the concept. There is not a way to look at a person and determine their race. And even scientists have admitted that there is no accurate way to track race by DNA. So if we can't determine race by our DNA, genetics, or looks, why are we all obsessed with it?
Works Cited Smedley, A. (November 1997)
"Origin of the Idea of Race" http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-02-09.htm
Date Visited: November 25, 2010
Cheng, J.
"Africans, Slavery, and Race" http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-02-03.htm
Date Visited: November 25,2010
Hammonds, E.
"Interview with Evelyn Hammonds" http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-01.htm Date Visited: November 25,2010
