Race is a classification of modern humans based on visible physical characteristics. It is also a social concept, meaning that a person can identify with multiple racial groups. These racial groups can share similar cultural or ancestral affiliations and/or have certain health conditions in common. For example, some diseases, such as Sickle cell anemia, are more prevalent in certain races than others. Historically, a person’s racial background has often had significant impact on their socioeconomic status and opportunities in life.
Although genetic evidence has undermined the idea of a biological basis for race, society continues to categorize people into racial groups and to assign privilege and disadvantage to those categories. These societal structures are complex and long-lasting, and they can affect the lives of individuals in profound ways. It is therefore important to understand the complexities of how race influences our lived experiences and to use language carefully when talking about these issues.
The word “race” has many different definitions. It can refer to a person’s ancestry or origin, their cultural identity or nationality, or it can refer to particular inherited physical traits such as skin color, hair type, and eye shape. It can also be used to describe an event such as a competition or a sporting event. It can even be used to denote a group of people who are not a part of the dominant culture, such as a subculture or an ethnicity.
People can have differing opinions about whether it is appropriate to talk about race. Some people believe that it is best to avoid the word and to focus on a person’s individual qualities and abilities. Others feel that a discussion of race is essential to understanding our country’s history and how it has influenced current legal and social policies such as policing, incarceration, and housing.
For statistical purposes, the Census Bureau includes questions asking people to report their racial heritage and, optionally, their ethnicity. The Census Bureau defines these racial categories as social constructs rather than as anthropological or genetic, and does not attempt to define them scientifically or empirically. The racial categories include White, Black or African American, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. People may choose to identify with more than one racial group, and the Census Bureau will not count these as multiple races.
Although some people still use the term racially, it is better to use more specific terms when discussing a particular inherited physical trait or a group of individuals’ shared experiences. For example, when referring to skin color, it is more accurate to say that a person is “White” than to say they are of the “White race.” The word can also be confusing for those who hear it used in conjunction with a particular event or situation, such as discrimination, segregation, or affirmative action. In these cases, the word should be accompanied by a description of the situation to make it clear that it is not being discussed in a purely scientific or biological context.