Part 1
Race in North America by Audrey Smedley and Brian Smedley is a text that traces the issue of racism more than three centuries back. According to the authors of this text, racism is not as a result of science/biology/genes but as a consequence of cultural inventions. It explains how the idea of race has evolved over time and the way differing views on the understanding of race has influenced North America. The text gives a continued worldwide exploration on the origin and roots of racism and how structural racism keeps disparities in the current world. Audley and Brian use the concepts of history to counter argue the widely held belief that race is a biological truth.
According to Audley, the case in which five police officers shot an African immigrant who wasn’t in possession of a weapon cannot be explained through biological or genetic means (Smedley & Smedley, 2012). Furthermore, according to the book, circumstances such as a case in which an employer prefers/favors white job applicants’ is discrimination based on race which cannot be explained from a human biological point of view (Smedley & Smedley, 2012). The text argues that history plays a major role in development of North America. Years back, race was believed to be as a result of science because much research was not conducted on this concept. According to Smedley, the belief that slavery began in the 1600s is a false one also.
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Part 2
There is no amount of research that can explain the actual truth of race in today’s society. Most scientists who have carried out studies on the issue of race have failed to understand this. Race is a component of every day’s life in the current world that we are living in. There are no solutions to it. However, despite the above stated, it does not mean that there is no research that can explain the concept of race and the interaction in races. In addition, this does not mean that the racism experienced does not create an impact on various cultural groups in the society. The agreement among scholars in this field is that racial differences fail in the following aspects: they are not genetically explainable, cannot be measured in a reliable manner and they are not scientifically constructive.
Most of the developed counterarguments in most cases fail to consider the roots and history of the concept of race and racism (Smedley & Smedley, 2012). History is important and there is a significant quantity of history that shows that race is actually a recent construct. The argument by the authors that the idea of race came into existence after various population groups from the various parts of the world came into contact and interacted with one another true (Smedley & Smedley, 2012). Previously, when people from the different continents of the world had not met, the concept of race and racism wasn’t there.
The authors support to the action by Ward Connerly and his colleagues to propose that authorities should avoid analyzing data associated with race of its citizens is valid and sensible. Information explained in terms of race or ethnic groups just causes more divisions. Furthermore, racial and ethnic disparities that exist are as a result of the socioeconomic variations that are there between the various races. There is significant evidence that shows that race matters in constructive ways. As long as the government authorities do not identify and assess racial inequality, scientific research that is race oriented will most likely try to look for solutions on racial hegemony from genetics and biology instead of looking into the social actions/attitudes and the institutions that promote and encourage the concept of race. In conclusion, could the answer/solution to the issue of race and the problem of racism lie in interventions focusing on our social attitudes and institutions? The text creates a new dimension of looking into the issue of race and more research is required to determine if the cause of the concept of race has root to our attitudes and institutions.
Reference
Smedley, A., & Smedley, B. D. (2012). Race in North America: Origin and evolution of a worldview . New York: Avalon Publishing, Pgs. 189-350
