Race Is A Social Construct | 2nd Annual Digital Black History Month Education Campaign (FINAL DAY)

We are pleased to share the final day of 540’s 2nd Annual Digital Black History Month Education Campaign

Racism

Definition: A set of attitudes, behaviors, and social structures that differentiates on race, ethnicity or culture.

• It is not racist to talk about racism.
• And it is not racist to talk about racism just because some white people are uncomfortable in conversations about racism. Period.

What is Race?

Race is a social concept; it’s not part of our DNA, we learn it as we grow up. Our mind is race agnostic until society teaches us that not all skin colors are equal.

Back in the 1820–30’s  Philadelphia physician, Samuel Morton collected and measured hundreds of human skulls to confirm that there were differences among the races — in particular, a difference in brain size.

Morton assigned the highest brain capacity to Europeans — with the English highest of all. Second was the Chinese, third was Southeast Asians and Polynesians, fourth was American Indians. The smallest brain capacity was assigned to Africans and Australian aborigines.

In the decades before the American Civil War, Morton’s ideas were used to justify slavery. Also, his belief that Native Americans could not integrate into modern industrial society was central to Andrew Jackson’s policy of Indian Removal.

Modern science has debunked the myth that certain races have more gifted brains than others. However, many people still take that belief as true. Our society is still paying a high price for it.

“The concept of race has no genetic or scientific basis.”

About the Campaign

Every day throughout the month of February 540Blog will devote space to sharing Little Known Facts About Black Americans Throughout History. For us every month is Black History Month but we recognize and support the continuous need to take time and space to put a special spotlight on the accomplishments of Black and brown Americans from all ethnicities that have literally changed the course of history and yet have legacies that are not know by the masses.

Sources

1. The Root 
2. Medium 

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