This fiction of race was implemented in the United States to prevent races from marrying, and even the concept of "mixed race" was abolished making race an all-or-none division, and it was not until the 200 census that respondents were able to mark two racial identities. In Central and South American countries where phenotypic missing from native and European ancestry made strict racial divisions difficult, the practice still developed in the form of racial gradients based on factors such as skin color, with those supposedly evidencing greater amounts of European ancestry becoming dominant over other identified groups. These ideas of "folk race" were being matched by the scientific notions of race. These developments arose out of social observations, but grew increasingly technical under the minds of many scientific thinkers. The advent of genetics in the twentieth century only propelled this further.

The lack of true empirical evidence supporting the genetic basis of race, combined with the various and evolving concept of race, suggests that race is not at all biological or genetic in origin. The social concept of race is still highly prevalent and influential in society, however, and it would be imprudent for policymakers and officials to ignore the concept now that it is so engrained in various other social outcomes and influences....

Historical racism in the United States has left a "lasting residue" despite the overt and conscious abhorrence of racism in most of the country. Home mortgage lending still shows very clear racial biases in terms of availability and rates, and other measurable and practical instances of racism are also common occurrences even in the present day. Especially noticeable is the distinct difference in the level of healthcare services available to and received by various social races in this country, which also indicates and leads to other social and economic disparities between race classes.
In fact, effective controls for socioeconomic factors in some studies have virtually eliminated many of the perceived racial bias in healthcare. This does not mean that the problem is solved, however, but actually that it is more engrained and more profound than the simple healthcare demographics suggest. And most studies still see a racial bias in healthcare even after controlling for economic factors. Lack of access to the same quality care is only one of many ways that the notion of racial differences self-perpetuates, as concepts of health and well-being among different races are reinforced by apparent health standards. In summary, though race is not a biogenetic reality, public policy cannot ignore the obvious effects of the perception of…