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I find the concept of race confusing. We tend to sort ourselves into categories of human beings based on traits that have little to do with characteristics we consider to be vital. This is particularly true for skin color, which is merely an evolutionary adaptation to sunlight. In its present form, racial identity is a myth; our genomic trace lines lead back to the same starting point. We are of the same root. We are human and are of a single human race. Our physical differences result from countless genetic interchanges over time and environmental influences of the regions in which we developed – they are not the expression of a creator.

We get attached to old definitions and hold on to them even though they no longer serve their original purpose – to sort us by the regions in which our ancestors lived. Historical evolutionary influences have been muted by our mobility, intellectual interchange, and the development of skills that allow us to survive in any region on earth. Evolution itself has evolved.

Racism is always harmful in its expression – it devalues the characteristics of one race compared to another and fails to acknowledge our commonality. Moreover, this devaluation is applied culturally and conflates the attributes of a race with culture. Of added concern, racism is often accompanied by its cohort xenophobia – a fear of others unlike ourselves. This is learned behavior, and therein lies the hope that this can be set aside by choosing so.

The older I get, the more frustrated I’ve become with racism and all the forms it has taken in our society. The scope of its recent expressions has been breathtaking. It makes no sense to me for one branch of the same tree to suppress the growth of another – to the detriment of the whole. It is time for humanity to evolve beyond this limitation; we have urgent needs that require all of our efforts to resolve.

Kevin Deeny