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The Myth of “Race” Larry K The Myth of “Race” Larry K. Brendtro Volume 6, Number 2, July 15, 2021 | 1 Biologically, races are not real. by psychologist Henry Goddard (1912). Goddard ~Robert Sussman tracked descendants of Martin Kallikak, a Revolu- tionary War hero who impregnated two women, Inventing Race one a feeble-minded tavern maid, the other a well- bred Quaker. Kallikak’s dalliance with the bar- Humans have been wary of outgroups throughout maid produced a horde of alcoholics, criminals, our hunter-gatherer history. But it took Western and other degenerates. But the other side of the science to identify who should be targeted as out- family tree was prosperous and upstanding. Con- casts. The roots of “scientific” racism were estab- sidered to be leading-edge science, these accounts lished by Swedish Biologist Carl Linnaeus (1707- later were shown to be fabricated. 1778) who was among the most respected scholars in the world. He created the system by which ani- Hitler was impressed with American efforts in mal and plant life is classified using Latin botani- eugenics including the segregation of races which cal and zoological labels. Not content to stop at inspired his Aryan fantasies. When Hitler hosted the species homo sapiens, Linnaeus invented the the 1936 Olympics, this was to be an opportunity fiction of biological race. He classified humans to flaunt Aryan superiority on the world stage. But based on presumed appearance, personality, and much to Hitler’s dismay, African American track morality. Find yourself in his list of races: star Jessie Owens was the most successful athlete, winning four gold medals. But autocratic lead- Europeanus: White, gentle, inventive ers like Hitler have always sought to bolster their power by posing as a strong man dominating a Asiaticus: Yellow, melancholy, greedy feared and despised minority. The link between Americanus: Red, ill-tempered, subjugated authoritarianism and mistreatment of those less powerful is well established (Keltner, 2016). Africanus: Black, impassive, lazy A century after Linnaeus, English biologist and soci- Racism and Rankism ologist Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) applied ideas The fact that there is no such thing as a biological of evolution to justify rule by the white “race.” He race does not support the view of those who claim, led a movement called social Darwinism, coining “I do not see race.” We are conditioned in a culture the term “survival of the fittest.” Spencer reasoned of racism which is a social invention, albeit not a that favored races will naturally rise to dominate genetic reality. Travelling with my Lakota colleague inferiors. And reversing the Golden Rule, he argued Martin Brokenleg has been a short course in the that policies to help those less fit, the poor, uncivi- varieties of racism experienced by persons of color. lized, and women breed an inferior race. Spencer unleashed ideas that persist today to justify racism, Overt Racism: We introduced our book Reclaim- colonialism, and global domination. ing Youth at Risk at a 1990 conference in New York City held across the July fourth holiday. After White racial supremacy was mainstream among enjoying the Macy fireworks extravaganza, we political leaders and even scientists until World and a million others jostled toward the subway. War II. Psychologists embraced the notion of higher A man who bumped against Martin Brokenleg intelligence among whites, and Eurocentric anthro- angrily shouted, “Why don’t you go back where pologists cast their culture as superior to that of you came from!!” Martin stood his ground with a “savages.” They launched the “science” of eugenics simple rejoinder, “I am Native American and was to justify polices to curtail immigration and limit here first.” expansion of non-white populations. The idea of racial superiority proved to be popular and was put Implicit Racism: As apartheid was being dis- on public display. The 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair mantled, Martin Brokenleg and I were invited to featured a zoo of races as scientists arranged athletic address the childcare association of South Africa. contests trying to prove white superiority. We departed from Atlanta on South African Air- lines, the state-owned carrier of that country. We The eugenics movement held that intelligence, each handed our ticket to the agent who checked crime, and morality were largely genetic so such us in who then returned both tickets to me. He persons should not reproduce. This notion was obviously assumed that when a person of color fueled by the immensely popular book The Kallikak was accompanied by a Caucasian, the white per- Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble Mindedness son would be in charge. 2 | ©Growing Edge Training, LLC, growingedgetraining.com Structural Racism: While at a conference in Like implicit racial bias, much rankism is uncon- New Orleans, Martin and I took a tour of the scious—perhaps as simple as failing to treat those city. Our guide was expounding on the 1803 who serve us in a restaurant with dignity. And Louisiana Purchase from France of over 800,000 rankism can be entrenched in the structure of our square miles in the heartland of the continent. society—for example believing adults can shout at Martin interrupted declaring, “It was never for kids or that a boss is entitled to a salary hundreds sale.” What the U.S. actually “purchased” was of times more than coworkers. While servant lead- the “preemptive” right to gain Native lands by ership and seeking consensus were the preferred treaty or conquest. To this day, Native Ameri- model of governance in many Indigenous cultures, cans are the most economically disadvantaged boss leadership perpetuates the colonial tradition. in the nation. Sussman’s (2016) book The Myth of Race is subti- In his classic 1954 study, The Nature of Prejudice, tled “the troubling persistence of an unscientific Gordon Allport developed a scale of five levels at idea.” For a century, the Anti-defamation League which bias occurs: has fought discrimination. Their current research tracks a resurgence in white supremacy fueled by Speaking Against. A group verbalizes and freely beliefs like these: supports negative images of an outgroup. This is often seen as harmless by the majority but is a pre- 1. Whites are entitled to dominance over people cursor to prejudice. of other backgrounds. Avoidance. Members of the in-group actively 2. Whites should be able to live by themselves in avoid the out-group or outcast. Even if no harm segregated communities. is intended, this can cause psychological trauma 3. White people have their own “culture” that is through isolation or rejection. superior to other cultures. Discrimination. The out-group is denied oppor- 4. White people are genetically superior to other tunities or rights to be treated with dignity. Exam- “races.” ples are Jim Crow laws in the U.S. and anti-Semitic practices in Germany. Many white supremacists also fear that the white race is in danger of extinction due to a rising Physical Attack. The in-group vandalizes or “flood” of non-whites and that imminent action is destroys out-group property and carries out vio- needed to “save” the white race (ADL, 2021). This lent threats, bullying, or aggression on individuals mindset of rankism is the modern rebirth of colo- or groups. nialism with one group believing it is entitled to supremacy over another. Extermination. The in-group seeks to eliminate the out-group or its representatives. Examples are the assassination of civil rights leaders and geno- Countering Colonialism cide of Native Americans. Colonial history in the Americas is a centuries- long story of the struggle to impose—or escape Robert Fuller broadened the concept of racism —cultures of domination. Recently, Martin Bro- with his term rankism in his 2003 book Somebod- kenleg (2020) authored a chapter in a book titled ies and Nobodies. In a world where racism, sexism, Decolonizing Discipline. This volume recounts the and other “isms” are hotly debated, rankism incor- removal of First Nations children from their fami- porates these with other cases where somebody lies to be placed in abusive residential schools. In uses their rank to exploit, abuse, or treat persons both the US and Canada, such conscious acts of as inferiors. Rank itself is not a problem since we cultural genocide sought to purge children of their all want talented leaders, teachers, physicians, ath- Native identity, language, and values. Ironically, letes, and musicians. Some hierarchy is often nec- the premiere value in Native cultures is to treat essary to organize efforts of a group, and that cre- children as sacred beings. Brokenleg proposes that ates rank. But rankism is using status or power to the therapy for such cultural abuse is to restore deprive others of their dignity. We all know how culture. The Circle of Courage values of Belong- this feels since none of us is immune from having ing, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity are a been treated as a nobody. birthright of Native children and a gift to all chil- dren of the world. Thriving Volume 6, Number 2, July 15, 2021 | 3 But isn’t cultural abuse a thing of the past? Recently Beyond White Supremacy I was offering a two-day training for youth workers Never doubt that a small group of persons can change in a First Nations community in British Columbia. the world. This is the only thing that ever has. Ground-penetrating radar had just discovered the ~Margaret Mead remains of 215 children, some as young as three, in a mass grave on the site of what was once Canada’s Margaret Mead may have been describing her largest Indigenous School near Kamloops. Partici- role in a small group of renegade anthropolo- pants in our training had attended this school, and gists who set out to remake the world.
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