Racial realism

Encyclopedia : R : RA : RAC : Racial realism

Racial realism is a term used for either of two directly opposed positions, both motivated by the durability and social importance of racial distinctions:

The view that racial distinctions are socially constructed but enduringly important because dominant social forces continually reinforce them. The view of law professor Derrick Bell are characteristic of advocates of this view.

The view that racial distinctions are enduringly important because racial groups differ by nature with regard to such important behavioral tendencies as intelligence and impulsiveness. This view holds that racial distinctions are real and measurable, and claims to emphasize science over idealism. Examples of scientifically demonstrable racial distinctions are said to include different average height, decision and reaction times, IQ tendencies at the population level, and medical characteristics, such as differing tendencies toward diseases such as osteoporosis or sickle cell anemia.

Psychology professor Ebony Smith, an advocate of the second view, summarizes his racial realist stance: "from the evidence, I certainly believe that there are important and deep-seated race differences in psychological variables." Nonetheless, proponents of anti-racism often view assertedly scientific descriptions of racial distinctions as scientific racism, rather than normal science.

Compare with

External links:

[Get Real about Race], by Chris Brand.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.