RACE: Are We So Different?

[Music] race what is race what do we really know about race here's what we do know race is a short word with a long history in the United States of America think of the history of America and our ideas of race together mixed up and Ever Changing just like this painting race was created it is a powerful idea that was invented by Society race is an enduring concept that has molded our nation's economy laws and social institutions it is a complex notion that has shaped each of our Destinies many of the ideas we now associate

with race originated during the European era of exploration Europeans like for Columbus traveled overseas and encountered and then colonized or conquered peoples in Africa Asia and the Americas who looked talked and acted much differently from them naturalists and scientists then classified these differences into systems that became the foundation for the notion of race as we know it today in the American colonies the first laborers were European indentured servants when African laborers were forcibly brought to Virginia beginning in 1619 status was defined by wealth and religion not by physical characteristics such as skin color but this

would change over time physical difference mattered and with the development of the transatlantic slave trade land owners began replacing their temporary European laborers with enslaved Africans who were held in permanent bondage soon a new social structure emerged based primarily on skin color with those of English ancestry at the top and African slaves and American Indians at the bottom by 1776 when all men are created equal was written into the Declaration of Independence by a slaveholder named Thomas Jeff a democratic nation was born with a major contradiction about race at its core as our new nation

asserted its independence from European tyranny blacks and American Indians were viewed as less than human and not deserving of the same Liberties as whites in the 19th and 20th centuries the notion of race continued to shape life in the United States the rise of race s science supported the common belief that people who were not white were biologically [Music] inferior the removal of Native Americans from their lands legalized segregation and the interment of Japanese Americans during World War II are legacies of where this thinking [Music] LED today science tells us that all humans share a

common ancestry and while there are differences among us we're also very much alike changing demographics in the United States and across the globe are resulting in new patterns of marriage housing education employment and new thinking about race despite these advances the legacy of race continues to affect us in a variety of ways deeply held assumptions about race and enduring stereotypes make us think that gaps in wealth Health housing education employment or physical ability in sports are natural and we fail to see the Privileges that some have been granted and others denied because of skin [Music]

color this creation called race has fostered inequality and discrimination for centuries it has influenced how we relate to each other as human beings the American anthropological Association has developed this exhibit to share the complicated story of race to unravel fiction from fact and to encourage meaningful discussions about race in schools in the workplace within families and communities consider how your view of a painting can change as you examine it more [Music] closely we invite you to do the same with race examine and reexamine your thoughts and beliefs about [Music] race