Why Is Race Important?

In this essay, I will argue that, as a result of our social institutions, race is an important feature of what we human person’s are. In the first section of this paper, I will introduce definitions, mention several general theories of race, and provide essential background information on race and other related content. In the next section, I will introduce my views and supporting evidence. Finally, I will address a couple objections to my argument and respond to them with my own counter arguments. Why is race important? One must view and revisit the past in order to completely understand the expansive role race has played in our world. A great number of civilizations observed strict ethnical boundaries in previous generations, however,
Michael James (Ph.D) explains "racial constructivism,” and the three forms it takes. The “racial constructivism” argument suggests that regardless of biological evidence, race exists as a result of human culture and decisions. The first form, thin constructivism, groups humans together based on race and “insignificant genetic properties” such as skin color, thus creating a “race.” Second, interactive kind constructivism, suggests that those of a certain group (race) have specific, common experiences. James cites the high police apprehension rate of African American citizens in the United States as an example. Finally, institutional constructivism suggests that the definition a racial group receives is dependent on their location. As James mentions in the article through an observation by Michael Root, the definition of a certain race may mean different things in different regions of the
Again, I am arguing that race is one of the most important features of who we are because of our social institutions. If race was not an important defining factor of who we are, then issues centered around the concept of race would not exist or have the power they possess. For example, if race was unimportant, then questions surrounding racism, immigration, and equality, for example, would not exist. However, as history and even modernity display, racism is still very much alive. Racially charged attacks, like the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina; where a white male, Dylann Roof, known through his social media accounts to have a strong disliking for people of color, opened fire on a predominantly black church killing nine, show cases that attacks fueled by racial differences still, unfortunately occur. These attacks also show that people still see race, even wishing to distance and eliminate members from other races. Affirmative action programs, a wide scope of laws aimed at preventing discrimination, explicitly identifies traits citizens cannot discriminate against (i.e. skin color, cultural background, gender, religion, etc.) in the work place, education institutions, and other public places. Immigration, especially in the United States and Europe, continues to be a hot topic as fear of Middle Eastern terrorism and “illegal immigrants” continues to