Race is the way some people categorize and organize humans into groups based on physical traits, national origins or other social attributes. Using race to make decisions and policies can have serious consequences for people’s lives. It can lead to unfair treatment, lower opportunities, and poor health outcomes. It can even lead to systemic racism, a broader form of discrimination that affects many aspects of society.
Most experts agree that there is no biological basis for race. For example, geneticists can divide people into several categories based on their genes and find that these groups do not overlap in any meaningful way. This is because the variations we see between people are the result of a complex interplay of genetics, environment and culture.
But despite this evidence, race continues to play a significant role in our lives. It is used to determine eligibility for public benefits, inform judicial decisions and fuel stereotypes that influence our perception of others. It also helps shape our political choices and explains disparities in everything from job opportunities to crime rates to infant mortality.
Historically, the concept of race was developed to support European colonization and oppression of non-Europeans. It was also used to justify medical atrocities such as the forced sterilization of Black and Native Americans, the use of Henrietta Lacks’ cells without her consent for scientific research and the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study.
In recent years, there has been a growing consensus among anthropologists and geneticists that the traditional concept of race does not explain human variation at all. This is because most of the differences we see between groups are cultural and can change over time and place. The few differences that are not cultural or clinal (gradually variable over geography) can be explained by differences in the frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), a type of genetic marker.
A more accurate way to think about race is to view it as a social construct. But this is not a popular idea in the United States. A majority of whites still say that their racial background has helped them get ahead, while three-in-ten Hispanics and Asians report the same.
A new generation of leaders is challenging this paradigm and calling on the country to shift away from race as a factor in decision-making. But the debate about how to best move forward is complex. Ultimately, it will depend on what we believe about the causes and roots of racism and how we want to respond to it. This is why the Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference at Duke University is leading the Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation, a movement across the United States to address systemic racism. Jayne O. Ifekwunigwe is an associate director of engagement for the center. This article was originally published in the Winter issue of SSRI’s Perspectives on Disability and Inclusion magazine. For more, subscribe here.