In society today, the term “race” solicits a socially predetermined judgement. Race refers to the division of people into certain groups based on physical differences. There is a debate among anthropologists as to whether or not races truly exists. In other words, are there true biological differences amongst humans to separate them into distinct groups, or races. The American Association of Physical Anthropologists, also known as the AAPA, states, “All humans living today belong to a single species, Homo sapiens, and share a common descent.” Although anthropologists differ in their opinions of  how this happened and where it happened, the AAPA states they can all agree on the fact that, “all living populations in each of the earth’s geographic areas have evolved from that ancestral group over the same amount of time” (American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1996).

     How then has the concept of different races evolved?  I would argue that the idea of race is a convenient way for people to be classified within our society. Race is socially constructed in our society to  classify people in terms of the way they look based on skin color, eye formation, facial features etc. Another convenient way for our society to classify people into races is by geography.  It is common to hear people speak about “Europeans”, “Africans”, or “Asians”. We also categorize people based on their religions. For example you may hear someone who practices judaism be referred to as part of the “Jewish” race.  There are many ways that we as a society, tend to categorize or separate people into groups or races.

     I believe that it is hard to overlook the idea of race because it has been ingrained into our society as a factual way to categorize humans. As a social work major, I have always had the opinion that regardless of skin color, religious beliefs, values, geographical origins each and every human should be treated equally.  Ather this week’s readings and videos, I now realize the power of societal influences to create a false reality about the concept of race. According to AAPA, “the peoples of the world today appear to possess equal biological potential for assimilating any human culture. Racist political doctrines find no foundation in scientific knowledge concerning modern or  past populations” (American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1996). Anthropologists look at race as a cultural and social phenomenon rather than biological.  

     In our modern world, anthropologists are a small group who do not believe in the use of race to categorize people.  Children grow up with the idea that people are inherently different and are classified into these groups called races.  Children are not taught in school that every single human has evolved “from that ancestral group over the same amount of time”.  This leads kids to perpetuate the idea of race and racism. In order for our world to ever rid society of their concept of race and racism, it is necessary for everyone to learn that all human beings share a common descent.