Informative Response

I need a 300 words informative response about “Ten things everyone should know about race”.

Check attachment. 

copyright 2003 California Newsreel / ITVS

TEN THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT RACE

Our eyes tell us that people look different. No one has trouble distinguishing a Czech from a
Chinese, but what do those differences mean? Are they biological? Has race always been with
us? How does race affect people today? There’s less – and more – to race than meets the eye:

1. Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide people according to
physical distinctions, but according to religion, status, class, even language. The English
language didn’t even have the word ‘race’ until it turns up in 1508 in a poem by William
Dunbar referring to a line of kings.

2. Race has no genetic basis. Not one characteristic, trait or even gene distinguishes all the
members of one so-called race from all the members of another so-called race.

3. Human subspecies don’t exist. Unlike many animals, modern humans simply haven’t been
around long enough or isolated enough to evolve into separate subspecies or races. Despite
surface appearances, we are one of the most similar of all species.

4. Skin color really is only skin deep. Most traits are inherited independently from one
another. The genes influencing skin color have nothing to do with the genes influencing hair
form, eye shape, blood type, musical talent, athletic ability or forms of intelligence.
Knowing someone’s skin color doesn’t necessarily tell you anything else about him or her.

5. Most variation is within, not between, “races.” Of the small amount of total human
variation, 85% exists within any local population, be they Italians, Kurds, Koreans or
Cherokees. About 94% can be found within any continent. That means two random Koreans
may be as genetically different as a Korean and an Italian.

6. Slavery predates race. Throughout much of human history, societies have enslaved others,
often as a result of conquest or war, even debt, but not because of physical characteristics or
a belief in natural inferiority. Due to a unique set of historical circumstances, ours was the
first slave system where all the slaves shared similar physical characteristics.

copyright 2003 California Newsreel / ITVS

7. Race and freedom evolved together. The U.S. was founded on the radical new principle
that “All men are created equal.” But our early economy was based largely on slavery. How
could this anomaly be rationalized? The new idea of race helped explain why some people
could be denied the rights and freedoms that others took for granted.

8. Race justified social inequalities as natural. As the race idea evolved, white superiority
became “common sense” in America. It justified not only slavery but also the extermination
of Indians, exclusion of Asian immigrants, and the taking of Mexican lands by a nation that
professed a belief in democracy. Racial practices were institutionalized within American
government, laws, and society.

9. Race isn’t biological, but racism is still real. Race is a powerful social idea that gives
people different access to opportunities and resources. Our government and social institutions
have created advantages that disproportionately channel wealth, power, and resources to
white people. This affects everyone, whether we are aware of it or not.

10. Colorblindness will not end racism. Pretending race doesn’t exist is not the same as
creating equality. Race is more than stereotypes and individual prejudice. To combat racism,
we need to identify and remedy social policies and institutional practices that advantage
some groups at the expense of others.