AP Human Geography
Race – The Power of an Illusion
Go to pbs.org/race.
Click on the eye on the top left “Does everybody think about race in the same way?”
Click on the numbers on the bottom to learn quick facts about race and answer the following questions:
True or False?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Race has no genetic base.
America created race to help explain why some people could be denied rights and freedoms.
We are among the most similar of all species.
Black people don’t just share skin color. They all also have the same kind of hair and athletic abilities.
Pretending race doesn’t exist will help create equality.
List a few things the idea of race allowed us to do, justifying mistreatment:
On the right menu, click on “Sorting People.” Then click on “Begin Sorting.” Drag the photos into the racial box you think
fits. Click on next when you are done.
7) Until _________________, the census was completed similarly to what you just did.
8) Being able to choose your own classification is called:
9) How many pictures did you put in the right place?
Click on a few of the ones you missed. What surprises you?
10) What stereotypes do people have of these different categories? (Look at some of their quotes)
Click on conclusion, in the bottom right.
11) What thing can’t race tell you?
12) What things can it tell you?
Click on close. Then choose “Human Diversity” from the menu. Click Explore Diversity. Click Physical Appearance. Click
Skin Color.
13) Which continent has the widest range and greatest diversity of skin color?
14) What does skin color correlate with?
Click on close in the top right. Click on conclusion.
15) Does it make sense to talk about “group race characteristics?” Why or why not?
Click on the bottom close. Choose “Where Race Lives.” Choose “Uncle Sam Lends a Hand.”
16) Explain how a few federal government policies helped white families but not minorities.
Policy/event: _________________________________
Policy event: __________________________________
Click conclusion.
17) Residential segregation ___________________ happen by accident.
List a few statistics that show the reality of segregation.
18) ________% of white own their home, compared to ______% of African Americans. Black and Latino mortgage
applicants are _______% more likely than similarly qualified whites to be turned down for loans.
19) Explain how this affects future generations and life chances.
Exit Uncle Sam by exiting the window. Click on “A Tale of Two Families.” Begin the story. Read about Byron Green and
Max Holland, real people who work for PBS. Read the conclusion.
20) What is the wealth gap? Give 1995 statistics.
21) What does it mean for the future?
Click close. Choose “The Downward Spiral.” Begin “The Downward Spiral.”
22) What is white flight? Why does it occur?
23) List the following steps.
Read the conclusion.
24) What causes communities to decline?
25) What is the most important factor in the health of a community?