The Hope of the Elimination of the Concept of Race - Essay Example

The concept of race is purely a sociocultural construct in which differences in physical appearance are used to create classifications. The truth is, the concept of race has been a damaging concept within Western society and the way in which we define race is an irrational foundation for the different experiences that people have within the United States. Therefore, the concept of indicating a ‘race’ on a public forum such as a census form, college application, student loan, or scholarship application is a continuation of an antiquated and unenlightened form of thinking which depreciates the overall value of society.

The basis for defining race is founded on the color of skin. There are a variety of other factors that contribute to creating indicators of race, but the basic concept is defined by the color of a person’s skin. In an expanded capacity, the color of the skin is then combined with physical attributes that are associated with regional ethnic markers that create physically similar characteristics. From the point of view of social standing, the race is further defined by similar ancestral backgrounds, such as African founded heritages that form the group that is called African American, or Black.

However, the race is a complicated concept because of the multi-racial aspects of heritage that make up the history of most people within the United States. Therefore, because a skin color appears to be of one race or another, that becomes the founding principle on which race is determined. This has no foundation within true reality. As a nation, the race is constructed and has cultural importance, but this has led to terrible discriminatory practices and deep divisions between different social groups. There is no advantage to continuing this categorization on public records and every advantage to eliminating the concept

The race is not a real concept. This false concept has defined identities, divided people, and created disharmony with official distinctions that have been thus far sanctioned by the state. This needs to come to an end, the recognition of race eliminated and all members of the human race being recognized for what is the same. There are no separate species of human beings, thus the construction of divisions is pure fantasy, created so that one group of people could assert superiority over another. There was an episode of Star Trek that addressed this issue - a race of beings was white on one half of the body and black on the other - one race subjugated the other simply because one was black on the right, while the other was black on the left (Bernardi 26). This is a poignant display of the ignorance that the continued consideration of race categorization promotes. Simply judging a person on skin color has no real value.

The race has become a complicated concept, but the indefinability of the concept is precise proof that it is only a social construct and has no real meaning in regard to humans. Skin color is not a valid way in which to divide human beings. There is only a singular human species, thus the race is a social concept that has caused problems throughout history.