Understanding racism in physical (biological) anthropology
Michael L. Blakey
Abstract
The mainstream of American physical anthropology began as racist and eugenical science that defended slavery, restricted "non-Nordic" immigration, and justified Jim Crow segregation. After World War II, the field became more anti-racial than anti-racist. It has continued as a study of natural influences on human variation and thus continues to evade the social histories of inequitable biological variation. Also reflecting its occupancy of white space, biological anthropology continues to deny its own racist history and marginalizes the contributions of Blacks. Critical disciplinary history and a shift toward biocultural studies might begin an anti-racist human biology.
Topics & Concepts
Biological anthropologyRacismHuman biologyMainstreamAnthropologyDisciplineSociologyImmigrationWhite (mutation)World War IIVariation (astronomy)EthnologyEnvironmental ethicsGender studiesSocial scienceHistoryPolitical scienceLawArchaeologyBiologyPhilosophyPhysicsGeneAstrophysicsBiochemistryRace, Genetics, and SocietyGeographies of human-animal interactionsAnthropology: Ethics, History, Culture