Understanding Race And The Idea Of A “Default” In A Diverse World
What The Word Race Means: Race is a social concept that groups people based on physical traits such as skin color, hair type, and facial features. Scientists agree that race is not a strict biological category. Human beings share more than 99 percent of the same DNA. The small differences we see developed over thousands of years as people adapted to different climates and regions. Because race is socially defined, the meaning of racial categories can change across countries and time periods. What one society calls “white” or “Black” may not be defined the same way somewhere else.