All throughout history people have been categorized by their race to decide how they fit within society. People with white skin tend to be placed in the upper class full of wealth but someone with darker skin will be placed in the lower class where they may have a hard time getting a job. What people do not understand is that the race they are does not define their personality, it stands for the fight for survival. As we learned in lecture this week, peoples race is actually beautiful in a way because it is a giveaway of where someone came from. 

            Even though evidence has shown that majority of human beings have derived from Africa, that is not where people stayed leaving the need for their bodies to adapt and change to fit into the new environments. People who live closer to the equator have darker skin to protect them from the harsh UV Rays. The reason behind this is that the sun can lead to sun poisoning which can hinder the ability to sweat effectively. Then there is the other side of the spectrum where people who are further from the equator have lighter skin, this is to make sure that people get enough vitamin D for the bones in their body. Somewhere along the lines in history these changes became a bad thing. One thing I found very interesting in the AAA article was where it explained that there is a 94% variation within each racial group but between them it is only 6% genetically. As much as the skin color changes where someone is geographically, their actual traits do not change. Any human can have blue or hazel eyes, thick or thin hair, big or small noses. This is the kind of thing that links us all together. The article also went on and explained how race has no meaning, only the meanings that we put on it. It was the leaders of the European Americans that created these such linkages with skin color. 

            Earlier in this course we learned about the concept of evolution, how all human begins were nothing but apes at one point. Well how did it get started that African Americans were the closest ones to apes based on their race? If anything, those racial accusations just make those people sound uneducated. As a psychology major I have learned that genetics determine what we look like but our environment shapes who we are. Growing up I was always told by my mom that it does not matter what clothes you have, it is what you are on the inside that really matters well isn’t that the same thing? The ugliest people can be the ones that look the prettiest. As it has gotten better throughout the years, people need to continue to keep in mind that race is not a decision, it is science working at its best to make sure we continue to adapt and survive.