Pamela Frias Professor: Amy Stuart

February 14, 2019 SOC 217: Race and ethnicity

In the readings Not Quite White by Matt Wray and “The unwelcome revival of ‘race

science’” by Gavin Evans, the authors discuss science and race throughout the 18th and 19th

centuries. Matt Wray argues that many scientists were fascinated by racial differences and social

order. For example, Darwin’s theory of evolution posits that “those who achieved social

dominance were biologically superior” (p.69). This implies that human beings are not equal due

to differences in genes that make some better than others. The Eugenic movement was inspired

by Galton and aimed to improve the genetic quality of human race through selective breeding.

According to Wray, eugenicists were mainly concerned with obtaining empirical data to describe

and explain social distinctiveness such as “superior intelligence”. Many studies investigated

siblings and close relatives in prisons or asylums to find origins of “bad” genes that would’ve led

to such deviances. Eugenic theorists concluded that “inferior races” were a drain on the

economic and public health, thus it is important to ask how did eugenicists explained white

poverty and how were poor whites classified? Evans further debunks theories that have led to

the justification of racism such as the belief that Whites are more intelligent than Black

individuals. He argues that Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores have been used as an argument for

policies of racial segregation. In a study by Flynn, it was found that IQ scores have significantly

increased among African American, Jewish, and Chinese groups, which implies that

environmental factors strongly influence intelligence.

Over the years, there has been many research articles linking social and behavioral traits

with genetics. Specifically, scientific journals often report higher crime rates and aggression in
minority communities. It is implied that these traits could potentially be due to genetics as

counseling “at risk” patients is often recommended. The issue with race science is that it

oversimplifies and ignores barriers ethnic minorities face as a result of racism in America. Steve

Bannon has made many racist remarks against black people, ““There are, after all, in this world,

some people who are naturally aggressive and violent,” (p.1). This suggests that black people are

predisposed to violent behavior and ignores history of police misconduct against Blacks. In

addition, government programs such as Welfare are perceive as primarily benefiting racial

minorities, but statistics have shown that white Americans benefit more from the program. Why

is this fact hidden? It is evident that Whites are view as more deserving and poorer individuals

are classified as lazy. Wray suggests that poor whites pose a threat to the ideology of racial

supremacy, thus creating a serious problem of classification. This means that poverty is not a

genetic predisposition, but entirely environmental. I also agree with Evans regarding IQ scores

perpetuating a modern system of segregation that favors white students. The differences in scores

and academic achievement may be attributed to disparities in school resources, income gap, and

educational opportunities. I believe that the hereditarian argument will persist because it is easier

to focus on internal causes for disparities among ethnic groups than to combat social issues such

as minimum wage, poverty, racism, and income inequality.