Race In Christopher Dunn's The African Diaspora

The concept of “race” has continuously evolved from where it stood 200 years before. Many approach race as dynamic instead of static currently, however I believe this changing perception and advancements in the philosophy of what “race” is hasn’t necessarily changed society’s hierarchal view of the largest social construct to exist.
Christopher Dunn author of The African Diaspora: A History Through Race described race as the essence within us that makes each group different (Dunn 12); meaning that commonly color is used to distinguish amongst races i.e. black, and white. However the idea of race is much deeper than that there are many other ways in which to define race which include phenotype (physical characteristics of a people), lineage (purity of blood, i.e. jewish people/ Israelites), and lastly in culture (religious preferences, dress, food). The main problem that lies within these four definitions of race is that it separates people into two categories “us” and “others” ( Dunn 13). It is from these judgments and beliefs of the ideas of “us” and “other” that stems racism. Additionally this idea of hierarchy and the prolonged affects

of slavery post emancipation are why racial hierarchies are engrained in our society and why although race is dynamic in definition it is still very much static in the way in which humans approach and interact with it.
The idea of racial hierarchy and the division into the groups of us and other still exists despite findings that all human life originated in Africa and spread throughout the world (Dunn 329).

Humans do not differ because there are inherent genetic differences amongst the races as once was believed, the visual differences, nose construction, skin color, body type are a result of evolution from the initial spread from Africa. This discovery was made in 1985 yet “race” and the idea that the largest differences exist amongst races instead of within (as it was proved) is still currently as much a social construct as it was in slavery. One of the key characteristics as how we define ourselves is the color we see in the mirror whether that be white or black, it is still a way by which employers, colleges, and governments identify

us.
Despite emancipation and liberation from slavery and oppressive matters of segregation like Jim Crow and Apartheid world wide, the system of hierarchy is still present, society still praises the european or western influence as best this can be seen in media with hair and skin color in particular. The painting that we went over in class picturing the grandmother as a dark slave, her daughter a lighter shade, and the baby the lightest speaks to the idea of redemption of “the children of Cain” by the achievement of the lighter tones in skin color, or “the whitening of the black race”. This idea of white is right, and the subliminal conditioning of wanting lighter skin originates from slave times. The fact that black people experience colorism amongst their own peers and claim to be light skin in hopes of being looked upon as better is the continuation of Willie Lynch’s teachings to slave owners to keep rebellion down and control the slaves.
Despite the books overarching theme of race as transforming from static to dynamic, Race has improved only in philosophy because we still use it to promote differences that have proven to be non existent, there is still and upholding of the us and the other, and despite efforts people of African descent are still perceived as lower on the racial hierarchy. There might not be slavery anymore but the construct of race and of people of African descent being solidified within a lower position still very much exists.