DOCSLIB.ORG

The Impact of Racial Microaggressions on Black Athletes: Implications for Counseling and Sport Psychology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Impact of Racial Microaggressions on Black Athletes: Implications for Counseling and Sport Psychology View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Georgia Southern University: Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Spring 2010 The Impact of Racial Microaggressions on Black Athletes: Implications for Counseling and Sport Psychology Terrence A. Jordan Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Jordan, Terrence A., "The Impact of Racial Microaggressions on Black Athletes: Implications for Counseling and Sport Psychology" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 110. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/110 This thesis (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS ON BLACK ATHLETES: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELING AND SPORT PSYCHOLOGY by TERRENCE A. JORDAN II (Under the Direction of Leon E. Spencer) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore Black collegiate athletes experiences with racial microaggressions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Black student athletes regarding their experiences of subtle forms of racism within sport and academia. Findings of the analysis indicated that eight primary these emerged which included ascription of intelligence/status, assumed superiority of White cultural values and communication styles, exoticism, second class citizenship, assumed universality, denial of individual racism, coping strategies, and underdeveloped incidents and responses dealing with racial microaggressions. INDEX WORDS: Racial Microaggressions, Black Athletes, Racism, Discrimination, Stereotypes, Prejudice, Sport, Experience, Sport Psychology, Counseling THE IMPACT OF RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS ON BLACK ATHLETES: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELING AND SPORT PSYCHOLOGY by TERRENCE A. JORDAN II B.S., University of Minnesota, 2008 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 Terrence A. Jordan II All Rights Reserved iii THE IMPACT OF RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS ON BLACK ATHLETES: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELING AND SPORT PSYCHOLOGY by TERRENCE A. JORDAN II Major Professor: Leon Spencer Committee: Patricia Stewart Daniel Czech Electronic Version Approved: May 2010 iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the person who introduced me to the concept of racial microaggressions, my best friend and brother, Charles A. Helm. Our many conversations over the years served as a catalyst in attempting to truly understand this phenomenon. Thanks for bringing this piece of research to its fruition. Continue to be the change you want to see in the world Dr. Helm. v ACKNOWLDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank God for helping me find out who I am and what I am living for. To my advisor and mentor, Dr. Leon E. Spencer…Your vision, passion, and invested interest in personal and professional growth have truly transcended my walk of life. Thanks for instilling important lessons and taking me under your wing. To my committee members Dr. Patricia Stewart and Dr. Czech, without your support, guidance and supervision, this piece would not be complete. I wish to thank family, especially my grandparents and parents, who have been an integral part of my success. Giving your last even when you do not have it has always been appreciated and I will continue to live in a way that reflects your teachings. I wish to acknowledge my colleagues within the Georgia Southern Sport Psychology and Counselor Education programs. Lastly and far from the least, special gratitude is extended to my friend and companion, Cierra, whose unconditional love has meant more than I can express herein. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………………… ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………. 1 Purpose of Study …………………………………………………………...………... 7 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………………………………….. 8 III. METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………………….. 16 IV. FINDINGS ...…………………………………………………………………………... 27 Theme #1 – Ascription of Intelligence/Status ………………….………………….. 28 Theme #2 – Assumed Superiority of White Cultural Values/Communication Style..31 Theme #3 – Exoticism of Black Athletes ………………………………………….. 35 Theme #4 – Second Class Citizen …………………………………………………. 37 Theme #5 – Assumed Universality ……………..………………………………….. 42 Theme #6 – Denial of Individual Racism ………………………………………….. 43 Theme #7 – Coping Strategies ………………………………….………………….. 44 Theme #8 – Underdeveloped Responses/Incidents …………………………………48 V. DISCUSSION ………………………………………………………………………….. 51 Implications for Future Study …………………………………………………….... 58 Limitations …………………………………………………………………………. 59 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………… 59 vii Table of Contents (continued) Page VI. REFERENES …………………………………………………………….…………….. 61 VII. APPENDICIES A. Research Questions, Limitations, Assumptions and Definitions………………. 67 B. Informed Consent ……………………...……………………………………..... 72 C. Semi-Structured Interview Guide ……………………………………………… 75 D. IRB Approval Letter …………………………..……………………………….. 79 viii LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Description of Participants …………………………………………………………….. 27 2. Emergent Themes …………........……………………...…………...………...…........... 28 ix 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The impact of racism begins early as we are exposed to misinformation about people different from ourselves. Poverty disproportionately affects minorities, school segregation exists, and there are huge disparities in wealth, education, and healthcare. However, before themes around racism can be approached, one must first develop an understanding of what is meant by the term race. Winant (2006) contends that there is a deepening and worldwide contradiction in the meaning and structure of race and racism. In discussing race we must maneuver between something that is objective and fixed, to something being a mere illusion or ideology (Winant, 1998). The distortion of historical information about people of color leads people to make assumptions that may go unchallenged (Tatum, 1997). Tatum (1997) makes the distinction that racism cannot be entirely explained as a form of prejudice alone and must be looked at as a system of advantage based on race. This definition allows us to see that: “Racism, like other forms of oppression, is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a system involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of individuals” (Tatum, 1997, p. 7). There is no question that differences exist among racial and ethnic populations as our eyes and ears confirm this daily. “Human diversity is a fact of life, and people throughout history have always categorized one other, often using physical appearance and cultural characteristics to do so” such as skin color, body shape, hair color, and eye form (Coakley, 2007). The first impressions of attitudes toward Blacks date back to the sixteenth century where Englishmen found the natives of Africa very different from themselves. Upon sight, Africans were distinguished most notably for the characteristic of their skin color (Jordan, 1968). Historically, 2 the color black was an exaggeration associated with Africans complexion and had a powerful impact upon Englishmen perceptions (Jordan, 1968). During the seventeenth century, Europeans developed the idea of distinct races. As they settled and colonized land, categorization systems were developed to distinguish the populations they encountered. Europeans used the term race to refer to people with particular national origins (Chinese), ethnic practices (Basque people in Spain), religious beliefs (Hindus), and social status (the poor people) (Coakley, 2007). For hundreds of years, these differences have been used to categorize people into groups called races. The idea of race assumes that simple external differences rooted in biology are linked to more complex internal differences like athletic ability, musical aptitude, and intelligence (California newsreel, 2003). The notion of this belief is based on the premise that race is biologically real. Hammonds (2003) asserts if we take a look at African Americans, we will see that every single body part of theirs has been subjected to the analysis for the sake of searching for a biological basis to race. When a racial population is identified, it infers that a classification system is in place and divides human beings into different categories. However, from a biological standpoint, there are not any genetic markers that define races, as human beings are more similar than dissimilar. To understand why the idea of race is a biological myth requires a major paradigm shift. Goodman (2003) understands this shift by relating it to how the world must of not been flat. Race is not based on biology rather it is an idea that we ascribe to biology (California newsreel, 2003). If race does not exist biologically, then what is it? Race is an illusion yet profoundly real. Attached to the characteristics of darker or lighter skin, straight, curly or coiled
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal 2018
    The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal 2018 Through subtle shades of color, the cover design represents the layers of richness and diversity that flourish within minority communities. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal 2018 A collection of scholarly research by fellows of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program Preface We are proud to present to you the 2018 edition of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal. For more than 30 years, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program has endeavored to promote diversity in the faculty of higher education, specifically by supporting thousands of students from underrepresented minority groups in their goal of obtaining PhDs. With the MMUF Journal, we provide an additional opportunity for students to experience academia through exposure to the publishing process. In addition to providing an audience for student work, the journal offers an introduction to the publishing process, including peer review and editor-guided revision of scholarly work. For the majority of students, the MMUF Journal is their first experience in publishing a scholarly article. The 2018 Journal features writing by 27 authors from 22 colleges and universities that are part of the program’s member institutions. The scholarship represented in the journal ranges from research conducted under the MMUF program, introductions to senior theses, and papers written for university courses. The work presented here includes scholarship from a wide range of disciples, from history to linguistics to political science. The papers presented here will take the reader on a journey. Readers will travel across the U.S., from Texas to South Carolina to California, and to countries ranging from Brazil and Nicaragua to Germany and South Korea, as they learn about theater, race relations, and the refugee experience.
    [Show full text]
  • The Portrayal of Black Female Athletes in Children's Picturebooks
    Strides Toward Equality: The Portrayal of Black Female Athletes in Children’s Picturebooks Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Rebekah May Bruce, M.A. Graduate Program in Education: Teaching and Learning The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee: Michelle Ann Abate, Advisor Patricia Enciso Ruth Lowery Alia Dietsch Copyright by Rebekah May Bruce 2018 Abstract This dissertation examines nine narrative non-fiction picturebooks about Black American female athletes. Contextualized within the history of children’s literature and American sport as inequitable institutions, this project highlights texts that provide insights into the past and present dominant cultural perceptions of Black female athletes. I begin by discussing an eighteen-month ethnographic study conducted with racially minoritized middle school girls where participants analyzed picturebooks about Black female athletes. This chapter recognizes Black girls as readers and intellectuals, as well as highlights how this project serves as an example of a white scholar conducting crossover scholarship. Throughout the remaining chapters, I rely on cultural studies, critical race theory, visual theory, Black feminist theory, and Marxist theory to provide critical textual and visual analysis of the focal picturebooks. Applying these methodologies, I analyze the authors and illustrators’ representations of gender, race, and class. Chapter Two discusses the ways in which the portrayals of track star Wilma Rudolph in Wilma Unlimited and The Quickest Kid in Clarksville demonstrate shifting cultural understandings of Black female athletes. Chapter Three argues that Nothing but Trouble and Playing to Win draw on stereotypes of Black Americans as “deviant” in order to construe tennis player Althea Gibson as a “wild child.” Chapter Four discusses the role of family support in the representations of Alice Coachman in Queen of the Track and Touch the Sky.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Black Racism and the Foreign Black Other: Constructing Blackness and the Sporting Migrant
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository ANTI-BLACK RACISM AND THE FOREIGN BLACK OTHER: CONSTRUCTING BLACKNESS AND THE SPORTING MIGRANT BY MUNENE FRANJO MWANIKI DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Margaret Kelley, Chair Professor Tim Liao Associate Professor Moon-Kie Jung Associate Professor Monica McDermott ABSTRACT The popularity and globalization of sport has led to an ever-increasing black athletic labor migration from the global South to, primarily, the U.S. and Western European countries. While the hegemonic ideology surrounding sport is that it brings different people together and ameliorates social boundaries, sociologists of sport have shown this to be a gross simplification. Instead, sport is often seen to reinforce and recreate social stereotypes and boundaries, especially as it regards race and the black athlete in body and culture. At best we can think of sport as a contested terrain for both maintaining and challenging racial norms and boundaries. The mediated black athlete has thus always, for better or worse, impacted popular white perceptions of blackness broadly and globally. While much work has been done to expose the workings of race and racism in sport, studies have tended to homogenize black populations and have not taken into account the varying histories and complexities of, specifically, black African migrant athletes.
    [Show full text]
  • Fractured Circles of Race: a Heuristic Model for Teaching About Racial Categorization in Anthropological and Historical Perspective
    Fractured Circles of Race 1 Fractured Circles of Race: A Heuristic Model for Teaching about Racial Categorization in Anthropological and Historical Perspective Robert Shanafelt Georgia Southern University This paper presents a heuristic model for teaching about human variation and transformations of concepts of race over time. It suggests that key aspects of the complexities related to the topic can be fruitfully discussed by making use of the image of a feedback loop between folk models and scientific models of human kinds and human variations. In order to elucidate this discussion, a brief review of the history of racial thinking and some current ideas about race, genetics, and biomedicine are also presented. Anthropology since its inception has been engaged in research and debate about the meaning and validity of racial categories. While the reality of race was once taken for granted, in recent years the view that “race is not an accurate or productive way to describe human biological variation” (Edgar and Hunley 2009: 2) has become widespread. Indeed, recent surveys and official statements from professional associations suggest that the pioneering critiques of traditional racial assumptions made by Franz Boas (1940 [1995]), Ashley Montague (1942 [2008]), and Frank Livingstone (1962) have been widely accepted among anthropologists in North America, although they have had uneven influence elsewhere (Lieberman et al. 2004; American Anthropological Association [AAA] 1998; American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 1996).1My concern here, though, is not to discuss this development in all its detail. Rather, it is to provide a manageable 1 Some have suggested that the consensus view in North America has begun to unravel with the advent of findings from current human genome research (A.M.
    [Show full text]
  • Brains Versus Brawn: an Analysis of Stereotyping and Racial Bias in National Football League Broadcasts
    Brains versus Brawn: An Analysis of Stereotyping and Racial Bias in National Football League Broadcasts Pat Viklund Boston College February, 2009 Brains versus Brawn ii Table of Contents Abstract_______________________________________________________________ 1 Introduction____________________________________________________________ 1 Background of the Problem _______________________________________________ 4 Research Question ______________________________________________________ 8 Rationale ______________________________________________________________ 8 Review of the Literature _________________________________________________ 11 Methodology__________________________________________________________ 21 Findings______________________________________________________________ 26 Discussion____________________________________________________________ 34 Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 42 Appendix_____________________________________________________________ 44 References____________________________________________________________ 48 Brains versus Brawn 1 Abstract This study analyzed prior research on racism and sports media as well as examined television broadcasts of 5 National Football League games. The intent of the study was to investigate the possibility of announcers conveying racial bias and stereotyping players during games. The study analyzed the difference in frequency of physical and cognitive/personal descriptors used by commentators in describing black and white players. It also explored the
    [Show full text]
  • Football Discipline As a Barometer of Racism in English Sport and Society, 2004-2007: Spatial Dimensions
    Middle States Geographer, 2012, 44:27-35 FOOTBALL DISCIPLINE AS A BAROMETER OF RACISM IN ENGLISH SPORT AND SOCIETY, 2004-2007: SPATIAL DIMENSIONS M.T. Sullivan*1, J. Strauss*2 and D.S. Friedman*3 1Department of Geography Binghamton University Binghamton, New York 13902 2Dept. of Psychology Macalester College 1600 Grand Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 3MacArthur High School Old Jerusalem Road Levittown, NY 11756 ABSTRACT: In 1990 Glamser demonstrated a significant difference in the disciplinary treatment of Black and White soccer players in England. The current study builds on this observation to examine the extent to which the Football Association’s antiracism programs have changed referee as well as fan behavior over the past several years. Analysis of data involving 421 players and over 10,500 matches – contested between 2003-04 and 2006-07 – indicates that a significant difference still exists in referees’ treatment of London-based Black footballers as compared with their White teammates at non-London matches (p=.004). At away matches in other London stadia, the difference was not significant (p=.200). Given the concentration of England’s Black population in the capital city, this suggests that it is fan reaction/overreaction to Black players’ fouls and dissent that unconsciously influences referee behavior. Keywords: racism, sport, home field advantage, referee discipline, match location INTRODUCTION The governing bodies of international football (FIFA) and English football (The FA or Football Association) have certainly tried to address racism in sport – a “microcosm of society.” In April of 2006, FIFA expelled five Spanish fans from a Zaragoza stadium and fined each 600 Euros for monkey chants directed towards Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Athletes of Faith Engaged in United States
    FAITH, ACTIVISM, AND SPORTS: BLACK ATHLETES OF FAITH ENGAGED IN UNITED STATES PROFESSIONAL TEAM SPORTS John H. Vaughn Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Doctor of Ministry program at Drew Theological School Course Mentors: Rev. Dr. Gary Simpson and Rev. Dr. Leonard Sweet March 15, 2021 i ABSTRACT FAITH, ACTIVISM, AND SPORTS: BLACK ATHLETES OF FAITH ENGAGED IN UNITED STATES PROFESSIONAL TEAM SPORTS John H. Vaughn Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia This project-thesis reflects upon the ways that the faith of Black athletes influences them to catalyze social change. It begins with a historical contextualization of faith, sports, and activism by peering through the lenses of Black athletes to explore the ways that their faith, sports, and activism have been experienced, shaped, and expressed over the years. Shifting from past to present, one-on-one interviews focus on contemporary Anti-Racist activism.1 Recommendations are provided concerning what it will take to grow Anti-Racist activism in professional sports to the next level of influence and impact. As a next step, I propose the establishment of a membership network for Black athletes that supports and nurtures their faith-rooted activism. My hypothesis assumes that the Anti-Racist, socially liberative activism of many Black professional athletes in the United States is animated by a faith that is rooted in 1 The American Baptist Churches USA Anti-Racism Task Force, https://www.abc-usa.org/2021/02/the- abcusa-anti-racism-task-force-a-call-to-just-action/Dr. Kimberle’ Crenshaw, leading scholar of critical race theory, defines Anti-Racism as the active dismantling of systems, privileges, and everyday practices that reinforce and normalize the contemporary dimensions of white dominance.
    [Show full text]
  • Racism, Xenophobia and Structural Discrimination in Sports Country
    ® Racism, xenophobia and structural discrimination in sports Country report Germany Mario Peucker european forum for migration studies (efms) Bamberg, March 2009 Table of Content 1. Executive summary ...........................................................................4 2. Political and social context ...............................................................7 3. Racist incidents.................................................................................9 3.1. Racist incidents in organised men's amateur adult sport................9 3.2. Racist incidents in men's professional adult sport........................14 3.3. Racist incidents in organised women's amateur adult sport.........19 3.4. Racist incidents in women's professional adult sport...................19 3.5. Racist incidents in organised children's and youth sport .............20 4. Indirect (structural) racial/ethnic discrimination ............................21 4.1. Structural discrimination in all sports ..........................................21 4.2. Structural discrimination in the three focus sports .......................26 4.2.1. Organised men's amateur sport 26 4.2.2. Men's professional sport 29 4.2.3. Organised women's amateur sport 29 4.2.4. Women’s professional sport 30 4.2.5. Organised children's and youth sport 30 4.2.6. Media 31 5. Regulations and positive initiatives (good practice) ........................32 5.1. Regulations preventing racism, anti-Semitism and ethnic discrimination in sport ........................................................................32
    [Show full text]
  • Than a Game Understanding The
    MORE THAN A GAME UNDERSTANDING THE SUBJECTIVITIES OF BLACK MALE ATHLETES THROUGH SPACE AND RACE AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTION by LATASHA SMITH-TYUS NIRMALA EREVELLES, COMMITTEE CHAIR NATALIE ADAMS BECKY ATKINSON AARON KUNTZ UTZ MCKNIGHT A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2017 Copyright LaTasha Smith-Tyus 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Black male student athletes who attend Predominantly White Institutions or PWIs (Esposito, 2011) are afforded an opportunity to represent the institution through competitive sports; yet, they face many academic and personal challenges while they are doing so. Although much literature exists that examines the experiences of Black male student athletes and the forms of discrimination and racism they encounter, there is still a need for in-depth qualitative research that focuses on the daily lived experiences of Black male students and the different spaces they occupy at their PWI. Moreover, more exploration is needed into how the subjectivities they encounter within the spaces at their PWI constitute their identities. Within this research study, Black male athletes share their personal experiences of attending a PWI and occupying different spaces at the institution. Furthermore, their lived experiences (Ladson-Billings, 2009) offer insight into how they negotiate being a person of color at a PWI who is often praised for his athletic talents; yet at times he finds himself living as an racialized (Smith, Yosso & Solorzano, 2007) person because of his skin color.
    [Show full text]
  • Current Controversies in Sports, Media, and Society
    SNEAK PREVIEW For more information on adopting this title for your course, please contact us at: [email protected] or 800-200-3908 Current Controversies in Sports, Media, and Society Bassim Hamadeh, CEO and Publisher Angela Schultz, Senior Field Acquisitions Editor Carrie Montoya, Manager, Revisions and Author Care Tony Paese, Project Editor Jess Estrella, Senior Graphic Designer Danielle Gradisher, Licensing Associate Don Kesner, Interior Designer Natalie Piccotti, Director of Marketing Kassie Graves, Vice President of Editorial Jamie Giganti, Director of Academic Publishing Copyright © 2020 by Cognella, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permission of Cognella, Inc. For inqui- ries regarding permissions, translations, foreign rights, audio rights, and any other forms of reproduction, please contact the Cognella Licensing Department at [email protected]. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Cover image Copyright © 2017 iStockphoto LP/OSTILL. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN: 978-1-5165-2276-7 (pbk) / 978-1-5165-2277-4 (br) 3970 Sorrento Valley Blvd., Ste. 500, San Diego, CA 92121 Current Controversies in Sports,
    [Show full text]
  • American Renaissance There Is Not a Truth Existing Which I Fear Or Would Wish Unknown to the Whole World
    American Renaissance There is not a truth existing which I fear or would wish unknown to the whole world. — Thomas Jefferson Vol. 10, No. 10 October 1999 The Biological Reality of Race Choice data are accumu- basic unit of classification in modern are different. Within the dog species it- taxonomy is the species. A species is self there are many varieties that are lating in a neglected field. usually said to consist of a set of indi- quite different in physiology and behav- viduals capable of interbreeding and pro- ior. The tiny Mexican Chihuahua, would by Glayde Whitney ducing fertile offspring. If the offspring have a hard time mating with an Irish are not healthy and fertile, then the par- Wolfhound, but they are considered to ace is a fascinating scientific sub- be of the same species. ject. Unfortunately, for more When wolves encounter dogs, they Rthan half of this century there has usually eat them. But sometimes they been a huge propaganda campaign to mate with them. When they mate it is drive it completely out of the sciences. almost always the male wolf with the And even though most of the race-de- female dog. The reverse is rare–male niers’ claims are nonsense or wildly spun dogs are almost never able to mate with half-truths, the vast majority of serious female wolves. The hybrid puppies are scientists have been taught their lesson. usually fully fertile, so by this defini- For a youngster, to deal with race from tion Canis lupus and Canis familiaris are a scientific perspective and risk the la- not different species.
    [Show full text]
  • Study Guide 1
    AA101 Fall 2005 STUDY GUIDE 1 Joseph L. Graves, Jr., The Race Myth: Why We Pretend Race Exists in America Chapter One: “How Biology Refutes Our Racial Myths” 1. What are the criteria that Graves outlines which can be used to determine whether or not a specific population is a distinct race, biologically speaking? 2. Why don’t any human populations qualify as distinct biological races? In what specific ways do they fail to meet the criteria outlined by Graves? 3. Why aren’t physical differences proof that races exist? 4. What are some factors/pressures that account for genetic/trait variation among humans? 5. What effect do you think the timing of the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1859 had on the interpretation and/or understanding of Darwin’s claim? Chapter Two: “Great is Our Sin: A Brief History of Racism” 6. What did 19th century naturalists/scientists view as the relationship between biological features and social position? 7. Why was the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species such a revolutionary work for its time? What was the central challenge that Darwin’s work posed to the thinking of his peers and the accepted ideas of the field? 8. What does Graves mean when he describes racist behavior as a “ghost of our evolutionary past”? 9. How Does Graves describe the relationship between biological evolution and cultural evolution? What is a meme? How and why is it replicated? How is this method of replication different from that of genes? Chapter Three: “Sexual Selection, Reproduction, and Social Dominance” 10.
    [Show full text]