Race isn't real biologically, but it is very real as a way that society has been structured. As real ono the effects of race as a social construct are real. The reason we can't stop talking about it is because we can predict wealth distribution, police killing and all kinds of other life expectancy factors based on race.
For much of human history, people viewed themselves as members of tribes or nations but had no notion of “race.” Today, science deems race biologically meaningless. Who invented race as we know it, and why? By John Biewen, with guest Chenjerai Kumanyika.
Photo: The Monument to the Discoveries, Lisbon, Portugal. The highlighted figure in the center is an effigy of Gomes Eanes de Zurara. The figure at the top right is Prince Henry the Navigator. Photo by Harvey Barrison.