“How did the idea of race begin in America?”  The video provided below offers the answer.  It is resources like this that inform my understanding of race and its designation as socially constructed.  It is important to know and repeat again and again that race is not divinely inspired.  The father of race is not God but Johann Blumenbach, who created a race- based classification of human beings.  Race was and is not a part of the plan of God but in this video, you can see how the idea came into being, how scientists and politicians encouraged its life and maturity in the United States for economic and political reasons.  Race was “discovered” not because it was true but because it was profitable.

Do not just accept race without understanding it, without questioning it.  Don’t give it that much of your faith.  When it comes to our identity and society’s offerings to support it, it is important to question, to critically interrogate what gives our lives their meaning, worth, dignity and purpose.