Race is a touchy topic. In this day and age, race and racial difference have fueled political debates and have become the subject of conflict. Some may say that this generation has evolved to be more open and accepting of racial difference. Others may contend that really nothing has changed. Regardless, it is important to understand how we got here.
When did we begin to classify people based on the color of their skin?
Joel Sipress, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, first introduced the idea of race being a cultural construction.
He describes how in a classroom setting, race is taught as fixed categories.“Even when we know better, we find ourselves employing the language of “black” and “white” uncritically.”
In the classroom, there is rarely any discussion regarding how these categories came to be in the first place, nor how they have evolved over generations. Our textbooks fail to explain the historical processes that created the idea of racial identity. Instead, we are taught American history by categorizing people into color, predisposed to take it as given.
My studies on race and gender issues have lead me to this understanding: The modern idea of race does not have any known history before colonialism.
The beginning of history for the United States is closely linked to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, and the beginning of European colonization of the Americas.
We all know the story. The infamous Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, determined to find a direct route west from Europe to Asia, but instead, he stumbled upon the Americas. That’s the perceived story, right? He’s prized for discovering “new” land.
Except, this land had already been discovered. The land was already inhabited by a number of indigenous groups who had their own structure of society, language, and knowledge. Since their immediate arrival colonists began asserting themselves and their own values on the previous inhabitants of this land. With the belief of European superiority, colonialists then began forcibly importing African slaves to their colonies and across the world.
Why?
European colonists were highly opposed to difference. Any form of difference from the European norm was viewed as a deficiency. Aristotle was first to coin the term “natural slavery.” This was a theory of domination and subjugation, that explains the proposed "innate inferiority" of certain types of human beings in order to justify domination over them.
This idea transformed the mindset of European colonists and explains where their perceived superiority comes from. The enactment of the African slave trademarks the beginning of the creation of racial hierarchy.
European conquests and the colonization of America established Europeans as a model of power. The European model of power created the social classification of the world’s population around the idea of race. This classification next manifested into a structure of labor control, linking racial characteristics with certain forms of labor.
The differences among people then became associated with geographical and regional characteristics. Terms such as “Spanish” and “European”, not only describe a geographic region but also used as a racial connotation in reference to differing identities. Hence, the beginning of racial stereotyping.
Okay, so what?
We don't have to think this way. Race does not determine someone's character. Difference is what makes this country strong. Conquerors and colonialists constructed a hierarchy that allows racial stereotyping as we understand it today.
Whether we are aware or not, our daily lives are affected by race. We have been historically trained to see the world through a racial lens. How we are seen and how we see others affects various realms of our lives and the lives of other people.
From the types of jobs we have to the amount of money we make to the places we live to our social networks, these factors can be affected by our perceived race.
In present times, racial difference has been used to divide people.
Whether some may agree or not, The President of the United States sets an example for the rest of the country to follow. His significance makes his actions and words powerful, and most importantly, influential. His words can encourage peace or fuel hate.
I encourage you to reorient the way you understand and perceive race. The human race should be the only relevant category in judgment. As a society, our goal should be protecting the development of our human race regardless of color. We are all human first.
