The Term Race and Racism - Essay Example

? Race and Racism The term race is closely related to history, anthropology and sociology. When this term is superimposed to the context of history, one can easily identify that it is interconnected with the evolution of human history and human society. Human race can be divided into four (American, European, Asian and African) and this division does not prove that one race is better than other. Within this scenario, the evolution of race to racism is interesting and fascinating. Race can be defined as the division among human beings which carries unique identity and individuality. The historical relation between race and racism is interconnected with the origin, growth and development of human society. Thesis statement: An investigation by exploring the factors, historical evolution, and ways that changed the meaning of race to racism. I. The factors that change the meaning of race throughout history The factors that change the meaning of race mainly include phenotypic /geographic features, cultural characteristics, ethnic characteristics, and socio-economic status. A. Phenotypic /geographic features: One can easily identify that the phenotypic characteristics of human race is closely related to its physiological properties which deeply influence behaviour traits and genetic characteristics. To be specific, the phenotypic characteristics of a race differentiate the same from other races. But the phenotypic features that can be seen among different races are not based upon scientific foundation (Rattansi, 2007, p.75). Still, the physical features that can be seen among the members of different human groups are different. From a different angle of view, the phenotypic characteristics of a specific race are forwarded to the next generation by the means of inheritance. Besides, this continuation of genetic peculiarities undergoes modification and deeply influenced hereditary and environmental factors in general. The geographic features that can be seen among different races are closely related to their surroundings. These geographic features are helpful to differentiate and identify the similarities and differences among different races with innumerable numbers of genetic features. B. Cultural characteristics: The cultural characteristics acquired by different races are indebted to its origin, growth and development. Besides, the term/concept of culture was originated in Europe (18th and 19th Centuries) and is related to the sphere of improvement in different fields of human development. The concept of cultural characteristics within the evolution of different races can be defined as the development through education, by means of folklore culture or literature. Ethnic groups can be defined on the basis of specific cultural characteristics (Ritzer, 2009, p.439). To be specific, the people who share certain genetic and cultural characteristics can be termed under a specific ethnic group. Within this scenario, cultural characteristics of the evolution of race transformed itself into national aspirations. Later in 20th century, the term culture acquired importance in the field of anthropology. The importance of cultural characteristics of a specific race can be evaluated as the human capacity to encompass almost all the experiences and to act according basic instincts and to transfer it into imagination and creativity. In addition, the cultural characteristics are closely related to the living condition of different races. After the World War II, the term cultural characteristics acquired a different meaning and importance by connecting it with the development of human race as a whole. C. Ethnic characteristics: The ethnic feature of different races within human race is an important factor that did change the meaning of race throughout history. For instance, one’s ethnic feature helps one to differentiate oneself from other races or to find similarities within one’s own race. Besides, the ethnic feature helps different races to create cohesiveness within a specific ethnic group. Racism denies the ethnic characteristics of a specific group and ultimately leads to prejudice and discrimination based on ethnicity (Corlett, 2003, p.66). One can easily identify that racism denies one’s ethnic identity and limits the cooperation among different racial groups within the society. To be specific, sharing common heritage, culture and ancestry leads the members of a race to identify their ethnic characteristics. Later, this feeling underwent gradual change because the development of nation state was interrupted by racial and cultural amalgamation. In short, grouping human beings in the modern world into distinct ethnic groups is a difficult task because migration, racial and cultural amalgamation within different races and ethnic groups is high. D. Socio-economic status: The socio-economic status is an important factor which did change the meaning of race throughout history. One can easily identify that some races are far ahead of other races and are capable to acquire socio-economic status within the mainstream society. The socioeconomic disparity that is visible between white people and non-white people in America and South Africa originates from racial segregation (Steptoe, 2010, p.329). From a different angle of view, socioeconomic backwardness of a specific race is related to the denial of opportunity in the society. But one must be realize that high socio-economic status of a specific race is not related to genetic features. At the same time, socio-economic status is interconnected with geographic features or the development in the field of culture. Within the scenario of world history, the races which show hesitation to accept innovation proved less successful in the field of socio-economic development. To be specific, the capability of a specific race to move towards development and to accept innovative ideas proves its success in sustaining socio-economic status. II. Historical evolution of the meaning of race throughout history Earlier, the term race was used to denote animal breeding, not the racial difference among human beings (Memmi, 2000, p.184). As pointed out, the term race is used to denote the classification of human beings into different groups by considering the ethnic characteristics shared by the members of each race. But this classification underwent gradual change and the term race is now denoted to point out human race as a whole. As the human race developed from nomadic life to modern life, its origin, growth and development proved to be fatal for some races that are considered as low esteemed. For instance, the historical evolution of the meaning of race throughout the human history is interconnected with slavery, forced labour, racial segregation and marginalization. The people who are in favour of the ideology of white supremacy believe that they need to have superior position in the society and the members of other races are inferior to them (Paddison, 2001, p.177). So, the historical development of human race through ages was also the evolution of the meaning of race to racism. A. Slavery: Historically, renaissance that originated in Europe ignited the spirit of questioning everything and it resulted in geographical discoveries. The geographical discoveries helped the European nations to explore the sea and to discover unexplored lands. At the end of 18th century, the influx of African slaves to Britain reached its highest point (Drescher, 2010, p.25). During and after Renaissance, the European nations developed into industrialized nations. The impact of industrialization forced these nations to find out new markets, raw materials and workforce. This resulted in the influx of slaves from the African continent to Europe and America. B. Forced labour: The impact of slave trade was so high because it resulted in forced labour. But the Emancipation Act of 1883 reduced the scope of forced labour and slavery in most of the British colonies (Miers, 2003, p.5). The slaves who are enslaved from different areas of the African continent were forced to work in vast farmlands and factories in America and Europe. Besides, the European colonizers established colonies in every nook and corner of the world. These colonies in the American continent, Africa and Asia resulted in forced labour and related problems. C. Racial segregation: One can identify that slavery and forced labour resulted in racial segregation. For instance, the slaves that are enslaved from different parts of the African continent were not treated equally. But racial segregation is still evident in American context (Kendall, 2008, p.402). After the World War II, most of the African nations became independent and the slaves who were working in different parts of America and Europe became free. But this freedom did not help them much to acquire equal status with their masters, but they were forced to face racial segregation. D. Marginalization: The later generations of the slaves were forced to undergo marginalization in the mainstream society. As the colonies became independent, most of the salves became free. But this freedom did not help them because their ability to gain upward mobility was so low. Within this scenario, most of the racial groups in the past colonies were totally marginalized. The Black community members in Britain does not consider themselves as marginalized because they consider themselves as equal members of the society (Brandt, 1987, p.122). The marginalization faced by certain racial groups reduced the scope of their socio-economic and political development. In short, the historical evolution of the meaning of race throughout history is interconnected with slavery, forced labour, racial segregation and marginalization. Today, the scope of racial purity is too low because more and more racial groups are forced to undergo amalgamation and it results in the change in the meaning of race to racism. III. The ways in which the meaning of race changed throughout history As pointed out, racial purity is not so important in this modern world because social and cultural amalgamation is gaining momentum. Within this scenario, the meaning of race which differentiates a particular racial group from other groups underwent rapid change. The freedom gained by the people in Brazil, South Africa and the US from the European settlers was helpful to abolish slavery and to attain nationhood (Hamilton, 2001, p.2). So, one can easily identify that gaining freedom is interconnected with the change in the meaning of race to racism. When more racial groups are forced to share resources, some prominent races acquired supremacy and considered other races as low esteemed. This resulted in the change in the meaning of race to racism. Some of the ways in which the meaning of race changed throughout history are pointed out below. A. Denial of rights: The races which believed in racial supremacy believed that some other races cannot be treated equally. This injustice resulted in the denial of basic human rights to certain racial groups that are considered as low esteemed. The NATO intervention in Serbia in the year 1999 was against the human rights violation faced by Albanians in Kosovo (Freeman, 2011, p.54). This intervention proves that ethnic minorities in this modern age face a number of problems related to the denial of human rights. This denial of rights forced the oppressed races to believe that they were the victims of racism and their racial identity is behind this injustice. B. Prejudice: Some racial groups show less progress because they were not ready to change their attitude towards other races. Besides, this leads to prejudice against other racial groups. The low esteemed races consider other races as elite class. This creates prejudice against the members of other races and results in racism. The immigrants from Asia faced a number of race related problems in USA. Earlier, the immigrants from China in America were not treated well and they were forced to undergo racial discrimination and prejudice. The Chinese community members living in California faced a number of problems related to racial prejudice (Kleg, 1993, p.108). The racial groups that are forced to undergo racial prejudice show less progress because prejudice acts as a barrier. C. Violence: As pointed out, some races to consider that they are the supreme race and it leads to racial supremacy and tension among different races. The younger women population (minorities or immigrant population) are forced to be the victims of racism related violence (Ramberg, 2001, p.49). In fact, some races were able to acquire higher positions in the mainstream society because they were able to change according to situations. On the other side, some other races believe in racial purity and are not ready to change according to situations. Gradually, the races that were ready to change proved to be successful. This resulted in tension among different races. D. Ethnic nationalism: As culture and ethnicity binds the members of a specific racial group together, the same leads to ethnic nationalism. The ideology of ethnic purity gained influence among the people and accelerated the prejudice and hatred towards the members of Jew community (Leerssen, 2006, p.213). The hatred towards a specific racial group is one of the most important drawbacks of ethnic nationalism. This is highly dangerous because it allows less scope for co-operation among different races. When a specific ethnic group consider that they are not similar to other races, there exists high scope for the origin of ethnic nationalism. This ideology leads the leaders to consider the term nationalism as closely connected to their ethnic identity. This ideology of self-determination leads the members towards racism. In short, denial of rights, prejudice, violence and ethnic nationalism can be considered as the ways in which the meaning of race changed throughout history. In addition, the scope of racial amalgamation is high in this modern world because the whole world is shrinking into a single village, giving less importance to time and space. Summing, the exploration to unveil the circumstances that changed the meaning of race to racism proves the importance of historical evolution of race to racism through centuries. Because of migration and racial amalgamation, the scope of racial purity is only a myth in this modern world. The historical evolution of the meaning of race throughout history is connected with slavery and related issues like forced labour, segregation and marginalization. To be specific, the denial of basic human rights, racial prejudice, violence and aggressive nationalism based on ethnic purity changed the meaning of race to racism. But the future scope of racial amalgamation cannot be denied because it can demolish the wall of racism among different racial groups within human race. As a well knit group, human race will prove that racial differences are unimportant and similarities are important to accelerate development in future. References Brandt, GL 1987, The realization of anti-racist teaching, Routledge, East Sussex. Corlett, JA 2003, Race, racism, and reparations, Cornell University Press, New York. Drescher, S 2010, Econocide: British slavery in the era of abolition, 2 nd edn, UNC Press Books, USA. Freeman, MA 2011, Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach, 2 nd edn, Polity, Cornwall. Hamilton, CV 2001, Beyond racism: race and inequality in Brazil, South Africa, and the United States, Lynne Rienner Publishers, London. Kleg, M 1993, Hate, prejudice, and racism, SUNY Press, Albany. Kendall, D 2008, Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials, 7 th edn, Cengage Learning, Belmont. Leerssen, JT 2006, National thought in Europe: a cultural history, 2 nd edn, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam. 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