Race is a myth. There is no such thing as race. It was created as a classification, to give power and dominance to white people. Race was and is used to rationalise the supposed superiority of the white population, and to justify social and economic inequalities.
So where did this all begin? The idea of race is unscientific, and relatively recent.
Samuel Morton, one of the most prominent scientists in the late 19th century, is one of the people who is thought to have introduced the idea of race.
He collected skulls, and divided them into 5 categories and ordered them in intelligence by filling the heads with pepper seeds. The skulls with the highest volume of pepper seeds were considered the most intelligent.
‘Whites’ or ‘Caucasians’ were ranked first, as most intelligent, then East Asians, or ‘Mongolians’ were next, then South Asians. Native Americans, and finally ‘Ethiopians’ or black people were at the bottom of the list. This was then used as a justification of slavery.
However, many scientific studies have proved that brain size does not equate to intelligence. So why do we not learn about this in school?
In History, you learn about the British empire, how we owned almost ¼ of the world at one point. What you do not learn about however, is the aftermath, the human cost to indeginous people, how statues were erected of the slave traders.
How the British government paid the slave owners £17bn for compensation after they brought the slaves from them. How this was only paid off in 2015, with taxpayer money.
Think about that. Your money went to the slave owners to compensate them for lost property. Human beings were traded, and seen as nothing more than commodities.
But people are not commodities, and should never be treated in that way. It is abhorrent that our ancestors did this, and that we don’t talk about it. This has to change.
I believe all people should be treated equally. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
However, this is not the case. We have systems and structures in place that deny people the basic rights to live freely and to be treated with dignity. This institutional racism has to be challenged.
As a young white person, I am only just beginning to understand these issues, highlighted after the horrendous murder of George Floyd and many others. I am learning so much that I’ve never been taught.
