Column / "Race"

Each of us has our own notions of what “race” is and what it tells us about ourselves and others. Our roots as humans are tangled, and our complex histories and social constructs make race impossibly difficult to define. This blog explores the factors that make race such a fractious concept and points us toward new ways of understanding its meaning in our lives.

"Race"

Why Do We Keep Using the Word “Caucasian”?
1 Feb 2017
When a term signifies something that does not exist, we need to examine our use of it.
"Race"

Is the Term “People of Color” Acceptable in This Day and Age?
7 Dec 2016
The words we use to describe groups of people say a lot about what we’re grappling with as a society.
"Race"

Racial Realities
10 Mar 2016
When I tell my students that there is no such thing as “race” (meaning biological race), I wait for the blowback. I know it is coming. “Well if there is no such thing as race,” one of them will say, “then why do we look different, like our skin color?” Or another will say, “If there is no such thing as race, then why do we continue to …
"Race"

Why We Must Talk About Race
17 Feb 2016
I grew up a black woman in urban Los Angeles during the age of the civil rights movement. “Race” was all around me, woven into the fabric of my personal life, my community, my country. Perhaps it was inevitable that I would become a cultural anthropologist who studies how race works in the world. I’ve always wanted to know why. Why do we live in this community, and …

Why Do We Keep Using the Word “Caucasian”?

Is the Term “People of Color” Acceptable in This Day and Age?

Racial Realities

Why We Must Talk About Race