Defining Race
Definitions and Ideologies
Class Exercise: Definitions
 Write a definition of race. Be as precise as you can.
Try to distinguish from related concepts, such as
ethnicity and culture.
 Compare your definition of race with person on your
left and right
 Decide with each person if the definitions are
essentially similar or different. If different, note in
what ways.
Defining Race
A local geographic or global human
population distinguished as a distinct
group by genetically transmitted physical
characteristics. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2007)
Defining Race
(American Heritage Dictionary, 2007)
A local geographic or global human
population distinguished as a more or
less distinct group by genetically
transmitted physical characteristics.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
skin color (primary)
hair texture, color, and distribution
stature
musculature
blood type
Defining Race (other dictionaries)
A division of mankind possessing traits that are
transmissible by descent and sufficient to characterize it
as a distinct human type.
~ Mirriam-Webster, 2005
A category of humankind that shares certain distinctive
physical traits.
~ Mirriam-Webster online, 2008
A group, especially of people, with particular similar
physical characteristics, who are considered as
belonging to the same type, or the fact of belonging to
such a group. ~ Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dict., 2008
Two Questions:
Did your definition resemble these?
Is anything wrong with these definitions?
Common unwritten (and incorrect)
assumptions
1. Biological subspecies (i.e., races) exist
2. The rules about transmission of racial essence
in inter-racial unions are consistent across groups
3. Racial differences imply cultural differences (real
or imagined)
4. Social stratification exists and ought to exist
5. Subjective and objective identity are consistent
6. Definitions of race are stable across time, space,
and ideology
Unwritten assumptions (cont.)
1. Biological subspecies:
Assumption: Ancestry defines genetically distinct and
isolated breeding populations
Biological evidence: Inconsistent with assumption

DNA sequencing indicates remarkable similarity across groups
(fails test for biological subspecies)

While physical group differences exist, they appear to be
dimensional (and clinal!) rather than categorical and
continental. Height is a good analogy.

Most traits are nonconcordant (e.g., blood type, skin tone, hair
texture)

Racial classification is not stable across space and time
“There are no races, there are only clines”
Every time we plot the distribution
of a trait possessing a survival
value that is greater under some
circumstances than under others,
it will have a different pattern of
geographical variation, and no two
such patterns will coincide. Nose
form, tooth size, relative arm and
leg length, and a whole series of
other traits are distributed each in
accordance with its particular
controlling selective force. The
gradient of the distribution of each
is called a "cline" and those clines
are completely independent of one
another…. "There are no races,
there are only clines."
-- Dr. C. Loring Brace
The illusion of race
http://www.pbs.org/race/002_SortingPeople/002_00-home.htm
From http://allrelated.syr.edu/index.html
Play the
sorting
game here
Unwritten assumptions (cont.)
1. Biological subspecies:
Assumption: Ancestry defines genetically distinct and
isolated breeding populations
Biological evidence (NO!)

DNA sequencing indicates remarkable similarity across groups
(fails test for biological subspecies)

While physical group differences exist, they appear to be
dimensional (and clinal!) rather than categorical and
continental. Height is a good analogy.

Most traits are nonconcordant (e.g., blood type, skin tone, hair
texture)

Racial classification is not stable across space and time
Race timeline
http://www.pbs.org/race/003_RaceTimeline/003_00-home.htm
Common unwritten (and incorrect)
assumptions
1. Biological subspecies (i.e., races) exist
2. The rules about transmission of racial essence
in inter-racial unions are consistent across groups
3. Racial differences imply cultural differences (real
or imagined)
4. Social stratification exists and ought to exist
5. Subjective and objective identity are consistent
6. Definitions of race are stable across time, space,
and ideology
Unwritten assumptions (cont.)
2. Strict rules about transmission of racial essence in
inter-racial unions are consistent across groups
Evidence: Not true

Americans (historically): by either
hypodescent or the "one drop" rule

Americans (contemporary):
transitioning from hypodescent to
multiculturalism (biracial, multiracial)

Jews, Cherokees, etc: by mother

Malians, the Inuit, etc: by father
Unwritten assumptions (cont.)
3. Racial differences imply cultural
differences (real or imagined)




food, music, clothes
religion
levels of intelligence and "civilization"
values, virtues and vices
Sneetches clip
But… race ≠ culture
From C. Jaret’s Contemporary Racial and Ethnic Relations
 Ethnic groups can be
racial sub-categories
 Racial groups can be
ethnic sub-categories
 Racial and ethnic groups
are two kinds of groups
Evidence: Not true, racial groups
contain multiple cultural
groups…but perceptions count!
Common unwritten (and incorrect)
assumptions
1. Biological subspecies (i.e., races) exist
2. The rules about transmission of racial essence
in inter-racial unions are consistent across groups
3. Racial differences imply cultural differences (real
or imagined)
4. Social stratification exists and ought to exist
5. Subjective and objective identity are consistent
6. Definitions of race are stable across time, space,
and ideology
Unwritten assumptions (cont.)
4a.
Perceived social stratification: Races are
arranged in social hierarchy of power,
privilege, and prestige (Christian "great
chain of being")
4b.
Normative social stratification: that the
races ought to be arranged in a social
hierarchy
Great Chain of Being
Robert Fludd, from Utriusque
Cosmi Maioris, 1617
From Didacus Valades,
Rhetorica Christiana (1579)
Unwritten assumptions (cont.)
5. Subjective identity: Individuals' conception of
themselves is consistent with objective
identity.
6. Definitions of race are stable across time,
space, and ideology
see Webster’s 1913 Definition:
So, given that …
1. Biological subspecies (i.e., races) do not exist
2. The rules about transmission of racial essence
in inter-racial unions are not consistent across group
3. Racial differences do not imply cultural differences
4. Racial hierarchies were socially created and need not exist
5. Subjective and objective identity are not consistent
6. Definitions of race are not stable across time, space, and ideology
does “race” exist?
Does “race” exist?
 Biologically and Anthropologically: NO!
“The notion of race is nearly as problematic from a scientific point
of view as it is from a social one. European physical
anthropologists of the 17th and 18th centuries proposed various
systems of racial classifications based on such observable
characteristics as skin color, hair type, body proportions, and skull
measurements, essentially codifying the perceived differences
among broad geographic populations of humans. The traditional
terms for these populations—Caucasoid (or Caucasian),
Mongoloid, Negroid, and in some systems Australoid—are now
controversial in both technical and nontechnical usage, and in
some cases they may well be considered offensive….Many cultural
anthropologists now consider race to be more a social or mental
construct than an objective biological fact.”
(American Heritage Dictionary, 2013, usage note)
Does “race” exist?
 Socioculturally: YES!

Characteristics attributed to race are associated with a
variety of structural constraints on behavior
1. access to education
2. access to employment
3. availability of housing
4. treatment by police, media, and courts of law

Characteristics attributed to race are associated with a
variety of interpersonal constraints on behavior
1. interpersonal prejudice and discrimination
2. availability of marital/sex partners
3. racial slur database
Is there a definition that captures this
meaning?
Dictionary.com does a nice job (click on link)
Here’s a more concise version that would be
accepted by most scientists who study race:
A socially constructed system of classifying
individuals according to arbitrary phenotypical
characteristics that are genetically determined
but not always consistent.
The sociopolitical argument
Race does not exist in a political vacuum

First mention of “race” in English language in 1508

Racial categories fluid across time and place



South African case-study (population registration act)
U.S. case study (the census)
Racial categories frequently used to advance
various political agenda and public policy
•
•
•
•
Access to human rights
Citizenship status
Access to voting rights
Jim Crow discrimination
• Affirmative action
• Environmental laws
• “Tough on crime” laws
Defining race (socio-political def.)
“A concept which signifies and symbolizes
social conflicts and interests by referring to
different types of human bodies.”
(Omi & Winant)
A politically-motivated and maintained, socially
constructed system of classifying individuals
according to arbitrary phenotypical characteristics
that are genetically determined but not always
consistent.
Racial ideology
Left
Right
Where do you think you are?
Where do you think “liberals” are?
Where do you think “conservatives” are?
Where do you think your organization(s) is/are?
Racial ideology
Mainstream U.S. ideology
Multicultural
Left
Right
Radical
Liberal Neo-lib. Neo-con. Conservative
Fascist
Racial Ideology (Fascist)






Race is divinely determined
Racial inequality exists due to God-given race differences in personal
characteristics (e.g, intelligence, postponement of gratification)
These God-given differences make the White (or specified other)
race superior to all other racial groups
Since God created the racial hierarchy, racial inequality is not only
normal and desirable, it is God’s will
Cross-group understanding is irrelevant
Group equality is undesirable and is counter to God’s will
Our world is hierarchical. Each of us is a member of the Aryan (or European) race,
which, like the other races, developed its special characteristics over many
thousands of years….Consequently, the races vary today in their capabilities to build
and sustain a civilized society….Our acceptance of this hierarchy…is in contrast to
the attitude of the individualists, who do not recognize a responsibility to anyone but
themselves; and to that of the humanists, who eschew their racial responsibility.
(National Alliance, General Principles)
“hate” is relative
Active Hate Groups in the
United States (2015)
Interactive Map Compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center:
Racial Ideology (Conservative)

Race is biologically determined

Racial inequality exists due to innate biological race-group differences in
personal characteristics (e.g, work ethic, IQ)

Everyone is equal in the eyes of God but people generally get what they
deserve (i.e., a “just world”)
Just World Scale (JWS) sample items
 I believe that, by and large, people get what they fairly deserve.
 I firmly believe that injustices in all areas of life (e.g., professional,
family, politics) are the exception rather than the rule.
 I think people try to be fair when making important decisions
 Students almost always deserve the grades they receive in school
 It is rare for an innocent person to be sent to jail or prison
Racial Ideology (Neo-Conservative)




Race is socially constructed
Racial inequality used to exist due to institutional & scientific racism
Cross group understanding is desirable (and neocons have it)
Path to equality: A color-blind society in which everyone
pursues the “American” dream by “lifting themselves up by the
bootstraps” (i.e., a “just world” belief system)
“My proposal for dealing with the racial issue in social welfare is to repeal every bit of
legislation and reverse every court decision that in any way requires, recommends, or
awards differential treatment according to race…We may argue about the appropriate limits
of government intervention in trying to enforce the ideal, but at least it should be possible to
identity the ideal: Race is not a morally admissible reason for treating one person differently
from another. Period.” (Charles Murray, Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980)
"With their infernal racial set-asides, racial quotas, and race norming, liberals share many of
the Klan's premises. The Klan sees the world in terms of race and ethnicity. So do liberals!
Indeed, liberals and white supremacists are the only people left in America who are
neurotically obsessed with race. Conservatives champion a color-blind society." (Ann
Coulter, P. 26
Racial Ideology (Neo-Liberal)




Race is socially constructed
Racial inequality exists due to past institutional & scientific racism
Cross-group understanding is desirable (and neo-liberal have it)
Path to equality is a social agenda that provides assistance
based on need, not race or some other group status.
The welfare reform that Bill Clinton endorsed and signed into law is a good
example.
Racial Ideology (Liberal)




Race is socially constructed
Racial inequality exists and is due to historical and current
environmental disparities
Cross-group understanding is desirable (and liberals have it)
Path to equality is to even the “playing field” by remedying
past injustices, which requires treating some groups
differently.
“A profound difference separates governmental actions that
themselves are racist and governmental actions that seek to
remedy the effects or prior racism or to prevent neutral government
activity from perpetuating the effects of such racism.”
Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall
Racial Ideology (Radical)



Race is a socio-political construction
Racial inequality exists and is due to social oppression (i.e., white
supremacy)
Cross-group understanding and equality are not attainable in
today’s society
The white race is a historically constructed social formation… a social formation because it is a
fact of society corresponding to no classification recognized by natural science. The white race
consists of those who partake of the privileges of the white skin in this society. Its most wretched
members share a status higher, in certain respects, than that of the most exalted persons
excluded from it, in return for which they give their support to the system that degrades them.
The key to solving the social problems of our age is to abolish the white race. Until that task is
accomplished, even partial reform will prove elusive, because white influence permeates every
issue in U.S. society, whether domestic or foreign. Advocating the abolition of the white race is
distinct from what is called "anti-racism." …. Anti-racism admits the natural existence of "races"
even while opposing social distinctions among them…. [However] race itself is a product of social
discrimination; so long as the white race exists, all movements against racism are doomed to fail.
(racetraitor.org)
Definition of multiculturalism
“A social-intellectual movement that promotes the value
of diversity as a core principle and insists that all
cultural groups be treated with respect and as equals.”
(Fowers and Richardson, 1996, “Why is Multiculturalism good?”)
 Racial ideology of multiculturalism:
 Race is socially constructed
 But genetic descent may be important to a group’s self-identity
 Racial inequality exists (due to historical & current environmental disparity)
 Cross-group understanding is usually not present, but, along with equality,
is attainable via a way of being that is non-judgmental and open to different
perspectives.
Assumptions of multiculturalism
 Diversity (of all sorts) is valuable and should be
pursued
 Group differences should be recognized
 A group’s cultural behaviors/practices should be
understood from the perspectives of the group’s
own members (a hermeneutic approach)
Legitimate criticism of Multiculturalism
 Conservative
 Multiculturalism is a form of cultural relativism, and some cultural
practices are morally repugnant
 Multiculturalism is a rejection of majority culture
 Multiculturalism encourages cultural separatism
 Neo-Conservative
 We are really all fundamentally the same
 We are all fundamentally different
 Liberal
 Multiculturalism is a form of cultural relativism, and some cultural
practices are morally repugnant (same as conservatism)
 Multiculturalism is a rejection of majority culture (same as conserv.)
 Radical
 Multiculturalism does not acknowledge power dynamics
 True multiculturalism is unattainable because of power differential
 Multiculturalism may threaten the “authenticity” of a group through
contact with other cultures.
Intersectionality
 Crenshaw (1989): Legal cases revealed Black
women plaintiffs…
 Three permutations
Similar experiences
 Additive (or multiplicative) effects
 Group-specific experiences
 Applies to both disadvantage and privilege

Three vital intersectional questions
What are the implications?
Mainstream U.S. ideology
Intersectional
Multicultural
Left
Right
Radical
Liberal Neo-lib. Neo-con. Conservative
Final ideological thoughts: Racist people vs racist acts
Fascist