Family observations on Part 1 of "Race: the power of an illusion" & Reminders

FAMILY OBSERVATIONS ON PART 1 OF "RACE: THE POWER OF AN ILLUSION"

Please note that I have done some editing of your submissions. I trust that my editing did not distort what you were trying to say.

BLUE FAMILY (Amelia, Jarell, Kristal, Mary Katherine, Julisa, Mimi)

1. Jesse Owens and the Rise of Black Athletes
Jessie Owens won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, which shattered both the Nazi belief in Aryan superiority and belied Hoffman's argument in "Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro" that the Negro was inherently infirm and destined for extinction. This changed the idea of African Americans being the weaker race to the idea that they were physically superior (although not intellectually or culturally) due to the fact, as Owens' coach observed, "they were closer to the primitive."

2. Use of Davenport's Study of Eugenics in Nazi Germany
Davenport, a biologist in the early 20th century, developed the science of eugenics which was premised on the belief in white superiority. The Nazis later used this "science" to justify the Holocaust and promote Aryan superiority. This is significant because it shows how misguided American science contributed to the slaughter of millions of people due to race.

GREEN FAMILY (Jessi, Jared, Jack, Nygia, Lucy)

1. Eugenics movement
In the early 1900s, eugenics, the so-called study of improving human genetic quality, became popular in the U.S. The eugenists' worse nightmare -- a conglomeration of "the worst racial traits" -- was discovered in the WIN tribe of the Virginia Blue Hills. These people were a mixture of white, Indian, and Negro blood. The racist eugenics movement proposed outlandish measures, such as sterlization, which were upheld by the Virginia courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, in an attempt to maintain white racial purity and superiority.

2. People have had a hard time getting around the idea that outward appearance, such as skin color, is indicative of inner characteristics and capacities, but science has clearly shown that these differences are merely skin deep. Underneath the multi-hued skin tone of the people of the world, everyone is essentially the same. Hopefully, as science progresses, the "race myth" will be further discredited.

ORANGE FAMILY (Shelby, T.J., Brianna, Emily, Ethan)

1. Frederick Hoffman's book: "Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro"
Hoffman argued that there was a natural order among the races and the fact that African Americans had higher rates of infant mortality and shorter life spans was due to their inferior race. He assumed that they were inferior, and even destined to become extinct, based on these statistics. But he ignored the role of social factors such as poverty and discrimination, and assumed their poor health was due solely to their race.

2. Eugenics
The eugenics movement in the early 20th century sought to promote white racial purity and superiority through selective breeding. The proponents of eugenics also believed that children inherited moral traits from their parents. Hitler used these ideas in promoting the ideology of Aryan superiority.


**Please print out or copy these points down. We will discuss them after we finish viewing this video series, and I may use them as a basis for some questions on the midterm exam.


REMINDERS

There are still a few of you who have not posted your comments on the first individual exercise. Please do so ASAP. And if you cannot figure out how to do this on the blog, send you comment to me directly via email. But I still would like everyone to post your comments on the blog, eventually.

Sorry about the delay in showing Part 2 yesterday. I should be able to avoid that next Tuesday. Nonetheless, I would like to receive the family observations from part 2 as soon as you can, hopefully by next Monday at the latest.