Post-Conference Review
Race: The Power of an Illusion
by Kelly Tait

In a continuing tradition at NASJE’s National Conferences, a film was shown one evening followed by a facilitated discussion the next day. This year part of the California Newsreel documentary Race: The Power of an Illusion was shown. This powerful documentary questions the very idea of “race” as a valid scientific distinction. Participants watched Episode 3: “The House We Live In” which reveals how our institutions gave race its meaning and power by advantaging “whites” even while resorting to inconsistent categories to maintain the color line.

In addition, two short films that had been nominated for Academy Awards were shown to illustrate additional ways of approaching the topic of differences and similarities between people: “New Boy,” an eleven minute film from Ireland, and “West Bank Story,” a twenty three minute film from Israel.

The session was facilitated by Joseph Sawyer, Distance Learning and Technology Manager for The National Judicial College, and Kelly Tait, judicial branch Communication Consultant and instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The facilitated discussion and other learning activities included much information that was new to most participants. The starting point was that there are NO subspecies in the human species—humans haven’t been around long enough and haven’t been isolated enough to evolve into separate subspecies or “races.” In fact, we are one of the most similar of all species on earth, notwithstanding surface appearances. Put in scientific terms, “the within-group variability is greater than the between-group genetic variability” (Dr. Joseph Graves, Jr., professor of evolutionary biology at Embry-Riddle University, and author of The Emperor’s New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium).

Part of the difficulty in discussing this issue is that there are obvious outward physical differences – group tendencies in physical appearance, but differences like skin color really are only skin deep. Most of the different outward characteristics have evolved in response to environmental factors such as the amount and intensity of the sun in particular geographic regions. However, even skin color does not map consistently to all racial groups.

It was shocking to many participants to learn that “race” and “freedom” (as we know it in the U.S.) evolved together. While the U.S. was founded on the radical principle that “All men are created equal,” it had an economy based largely on slavery, so there needed to be something that justified the huge social inequalities between people. The idea of superior and inferior races was advocated when slavery was challenged on moral grounds.

Some examples from the documentary of how the socially constructed concept of race was institutionalized by our government:

• Of the $120 billion in home loans underwritten by the federal government between 1932 and 1962, 98%+ went to white homeowners. (For comparison purposes, approximately 13% of inductees into the military in 1944-45 were minorities.)

• The U.S. government helped institutionalize racist practices in home loans by pronouncing that there was significant financial risk in approving home loans in a neighborhood that was “infiltrated” by even one person of color.

• 50-80% of one’s lifetime wealth depends on opportunities created by past generations. Thus, the opportunities lost to the generations who were not allowed to own property or were considered property themselves are to a significant degree lost to future generations, as well.

In addition, the section of the three-hour documentary that we watched, “The House We Live In,” included details on some of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases regarding “race” in the early twentieth century including the 1922 Supreme Court case of Ozawa v. United States which declared Japanese ineligible for citizenship because they weren’t considered “white” based on the “best science” of the day. This was followed in 1923 by the Supreme Court case of United States v. Thind which declared Asian Indians ineligible for citizenship because, even though they could be considered “white” by the “best science” of the day, the “common man” would not consider them white.

The film looked at the inherent contradictions in the arguments, the personal impact on the individuals involved, and the social impact of these decisions – such as naturalized citizens having their citizenship revoked and their property confiscated, and people being denied citizenship because of their ethnic backgrounds.

Participants were tasked with thinking about what role judicial education can play in neutralizing the impact of the illusion of race on the justice system. We also discussed the challenges of teaching a whole new way of looking at the concept of “race” when an invalid approach is so strongly ingrained in most Americans’ world views. Ideas for teaching included having multiple exposures to the new approach and team-teaching the topic with an expert in genetics.

The session was an eye-opener for many.

For more information, teaching materials, and ideas, go to the Independent TV Service’s website and the PBS companion site. Another good website is sponsored by the American Anthropological Association. The three sections of the documentary are one hour each. They are: “Episode 1 – The Difference Between Us,” “Episode 2 – The Story We Tell,” and “Episode 3 – The House We Live In.” Short films such as “New Boy” can be purchased on iTunes for very reasonable prices.

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