Smedley & Smedley - Essay Example

Response to Smedley & Smedley’s Contention al Affiliation Response to Smedley & Smedley’s Contention One strongly agrees with Smedley& Smedley’s assertion that “racial distinctions fail on all three counts- that is, they are not genetically discrete, are not reliably measured, and are not scientifically meaningful” (Smedley & Smedley, 2005, p. 16). The contention that racial distinctions were not scientifically meaningful was actually corroborated by Lerman (2003) who disclosed that “the DNA inside people with different complexions and hair textures is 99.

9 percent alike, so the notion of race had no meaning in science” (par. 1). Likewise, the dramatic effect of focusing on racial disparities was revealed by Anderson, Clark & Williams (1999) to “play a role in the high rates of morbidity and mortality in (African American) population” (p. 805). The arguments were actually surprising and worth reflecting on, given that, on a personal note, one has always viewed race to be more of a divisive factor that categorizes one type, kind, classification of people with similar characteristics or traits to be manifested and to distinguish them from others.

The middlemen minorities theory proposed by Bonacich (1973) likewise emphasized that racial distinctions have caused chaos, conflict, hostility, and segregation to the these racial minorities, but majority populace continue to interact and interrelated with them in terms of benefitting from the goods and services they offer to society. All distinctions show racial segregation and distinctions were evident through social factors and continue to be contributory to diverse social dilemmas ranging from discrimination, stereotyping, bullying, among others.

But seeing racial distinctions through biological perspectives as unsubstantiated is believable, given than, as a whole, people belong to the human race share similarities in anatomical structure, and recently published DNA structure that affirms homogeneity, rather than heterogeneity. ReferencesBonacich, E. (1973). A theory of middleman majorities. American Sociological Review 38(5), 583-594.Clark, R., Anderson, N.B., Clark, V.R. & Williams, D.R. (1999). Racism as a stressor for African Americans: a biopsychosocial model.

American Psychologist, 54(10), 805-816.Lehrman, S. (2003, February). The reality of race. Scientific American . Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-reality-of-raceSmedley, A. & Smedley, B. D. (2005). Race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real: anthropological and historical perspectives on the social construction of race. American Psychologist, 60(1), 16-26.