Eliminating Racial Categories the Concept

Eliminating Racial Categories

The concept of race has played a role in society for hundreds of years so much so that it appears a naturally understood concept despite its ambiguity. It is important for educators to look at the role that race has played throughout history and the purposes that it has served for human beings. Although race has become deeply embedded in our social and political ideals, there has been much false information that has led us to this point, including the establishment of racial categories.

Racial categories may not have always been intended to have a negative emphasis but overtime with the development of racism this has unfortunately been the case. While individuals who are of the same racial category have some similarities that put them into this grouping, they are also very unique members of the human species. At various points throughout our history, as well as presently in some cases, race has been identified through physical characteristics such as skin tone, facial features and hair type. However, these traits alone offer little insight into the notion of race or the person's genetic makeup. Further, there is no genetic identifier for race and no genetic differences that have been found between races. There are genetic variations in persons but they themselves do not combine to create a race.

Racial categories are a social construct that has allowed for not only discrimination, but also restricted access to many opportunities and resources (Fredrickson, 2003). Wade (1997) describes race as a societal concept that evolved through history as a manner in which one group of persons can claim superiority over another group. This social hierarchy is based upon observable, physical differences and has allowed for the social ranking of persons considered to be of a superior physical makeup.

What appeared to start out as a way to classify persons, possibly out of mere curiosity, has evolved into a societal construct that can have negative connotations and take away from a person's right to self-identify with their own culture, even if society would not place them in that grouping. Further, the expectations that can be set based upon racial categories can be detrimental to the individual even if they are not necessarily negative. For example, an individual of Asian descent is often expected to be of superior intelligence particularly in the areas of mathematics and science. Living up to these expectations can be difficult for people and it can make them feel as if they are not successful.

There are also arguments that can be made for the use of racial categories including situations where the use of these categories will assist in minimizing racial disparities. For example, in the educational field there have historically been racial inequalities. In this case racial categories can be utilized to ensure that equal opportunities are presented to all individuals regardless of racial category. Racial categories can also be useful in research situations to find ways to identify the causes of racial disparities, as well as how race structures human interactions. Since many state programs target areas that have underprivileged