Summary Of What We Mean When We Say

In “What We Mean When We Say ‘Race Is a Social Construct’,” Ta-Nehisi Coates alleges that the concept of race is a fake ideal used to drive people apart. To begin, Coates asks the question, “What is race?”, then goes on to state that race has no coherent definition. He poses the counterpoint that race gives identity; however, Coates rebuts this point by stating “Our notion of what constitutes ‘white’ and what constitutes ‘black’ is a product of social context.” (Coates, p. 5). To further his point, Coates addresses race as being an American-centered social construct. He goes on to observe that race does, in fact, have a biological element. To drive home his point, though, Coates presents the notion that race is only biological because society