First I read the statement of race from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. The first part that stuck out to me was when it said, “These old racial categories were based on externally visible traits, primarily skin color”. I think it’s a great point to open with because I feel like sometimes we, as a society, forget about our roots of today’s racial differences and discrimination. I liked how this article was split up into different positions. The first position that stuck out to me was the first one. A quote I really liked from it was, “All humans living today belong to a single species, homo sapiens, and share common descent”. I think it’s another great way to show that even though we are all so different in the world, when it comes down to it we are all humans. I think in today’s society people forget that we are all humans. I also liked how this article used biology to talk about how we as humans are so diverse. I liked where it was talking about mating and how mating between different human groups diminishes the differences between them.

 The second statement I read was from the American Anthropological Association. A part of it that really stuck out to me was when it said, “This means that there is greater variation within “racial” groups than between them”. I thought it was interesting because most people, including myself, see people that look different than them and think they are much different. This shows, once again, how similar the human race really is to each other. I love how these statements use genetic facts to back up all the things they say. Another statement I really thought was striking was when it said that race as a human ideology is basically a way to divide and rank people used by colonial powers. It was interesting to read that hitler was the cause of the even more widespread idea of race and racial ideals. I think this was so striking because the word ‘race’ gets thrown around so often and most people don’t even know the true meaning behind it. I also thought it was interesting when it said, “It is a basic tenet of anthropological knowledge that all normal human beings have the capacity to learn any cultural behavior”. It shows that we are all human beings and capable of many things. 

Based on what I have learned in this course, if I had to explain to someone the non-existence of biological race I would start by saying that we are all a single species, homo sapiens. Then I would say that we are all more similar than we think. I would also say that the term “race” is a made up term created by humans to try and separate and rank us. I would also say that genetically there is a greater variation within “racial” groups than between them, that really stuck out to me. I really enjoyed this chapter of anthropology.