Julia Limb

Anth. 1020

Concept of Race
The meaning of race changed throughout the ages as many words do and will continue to
do as the world changes. Sometimes this is not a bad thing, but other times a completely innocent
word can turn into something that stands for an extreme version of the word and turn it bad.
There are many examples but I am going to talk about race, and the concept as it changed over
time.
Race:1: a breeding stock of animals. 2: a: a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to
the same stock. b: a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics.
3: a: an actually or potentially interbreeding group within a species; also: a taxonomic category
(as a subspecies) representing such a group. b: BREED. c: a category of humankind that shares
certain distinctive traits. 4: obsolete: inherited temperament or disposition. 5: distinctive flavor,
taste, or strength. 1
Race from a biological standpoint looks like breeding animals and the breed. Race is another
word for breed. Breed means a group of usually domesticated animals or plants presumably
related by descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most characteristics, a number
of persons of the same stock, and class or kind2. This means that a person is also a member of a
breed of humans by what they look like. Humans usually take offence if you do anything that
they see as racist or against them because of what they look like or do.

1 Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/race>.

2 Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/breed>.

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Socially race is a big issue. People look at race and what people have said and done about
race a lot. Some races were considered inferior because of what they looked like, where they
lived, or what they believed. Genocides happened, and usually to more than one race at a time.
Slavery was viewed as ok because the slaves were inferior and meant to serve. The nation or
class that are unified are a part of race. These are separating and describing not by what
somebody looks like, but what they like to do or what they believe in. Race is a word with a wide
range of use. Today, sadly, people usually only use race to say the color of skin a person has. You
are considered racist if you say anything that they take offense to, even if it has nothing to do
with what they look like.
The use of the word race has changed throughout history. Many argue that the word is
recent and used mostly as a social realty. Some view it as a worldwide view of how we see others
that was culturally created in the 18th century.3Slavery was not always a factor of race but race is
often identified with it. Many slaves at first were Irish, poor people, and Indians. The slaves were
usually treated the same no matter what they looked like because they were property and not
viewed as real people. In the 17th century the tide changed and many black slaves were brought
in to hold back the poor, free whites who had come from being indentured servants, and because
Indians and Irish men did not make very good slaves. The colonists liked the Africans as slaves
for many reasons. They were good at what they did and they didnt have anywhere to go once
they became slaves. They were also strong and immune to old world diseases. The colonists then
convinced themselves that the Africans were heathens and they didnt have the same rights as
civilized man and their souls needed to be saved. 4

3 PBS. PBS. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background02-09.htm>.

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The image of Africans came with the antislavery movement in the late 18th century. Many
who wanted the slaves had to come up with new reasons as to why they needed slaves. The
reasons usually took the form of how the Africans were inferior and how the life of a slave suited
them very well. This is where race and racism started to hit a high point and stay around to today.
This is the time it changed from a generic sorting to mean where you were from and what you
looked like. This is also the time of superiority if you were a white person from European decent.
The status of what you owned and how much you made also fell into this time. You were the best
of the best if you were rich. The proslavery supporters said that you had to be this way and the
way you were born was unalterable. They wanted to transform people into property, and to do
this you have to take away what makes a person human and turn them into savages who did not
want to improve, and who could not improve.
The Africans were turned into a lower level of human who was either a
degeneration or came from something else entirely. Many intellects at this time continued to
make the categories more rigid and in need of separation and help from the superior of them all.
The idea had spread and set so firmly that owners of slaves kept them without much of a fight.
Race is used to help as that we are unequal social groups.5
Over time this idea continued to spread to not just color but religion, sexuality, and
gender. The holocaust and other genocides have happened because of how we view ourselves
and others. Time has helped heal some of the problems race has caused, but there are still many

4 PBS. PBS. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background02-09.htm>.

5 PBS. PBS. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background02-09.htm>.

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problems today with how some people are looked at by what they may do or what they believe
in. 6
There are many ethical concerns because of what we see now and what we can learn from
the past. To keep the human race together we need to stop and think. Should race be used for
anything? Is race good for anything? All people are equal so we need to think, if we stop saying
that minorities get a say or not. Race is all encompassing. Either we use it all or not at all, either
way we will offend someone.
Race has changed a lot over time. People have used it and changed it to fit their needs. It
will most likely continue to change and grow into another broader and harsher definition as time
goes on. The concept of how we see race and how we get along with others will change as well.
All we can hope is that it is for the better.7

6 Younge, Gary. Who Are We - and Should It Matter in the 21st Century? London: Viking,
2010. Print.
7 Langwith, Jacqueline. Discrimination. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. Print.

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Reference Page
Langwith, Jacqueline. Discrimination. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2008. Print.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/race>.
PBS. PBS. Web. 27 Apr. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-0209.htm>.

Younge, Gary. Who Are We - and Should It Matter in the 21st Century? London: Viking, 2010.
Print.
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