“Whatever white people do not know about Negroes reveals, precisely and inexorably, what they do not know about themselves.” ⁠- James Baldwin, 1969. The idea that multiple, distinct, races exist is a way of explaining visual variations between human persons that is biologically false. In that way, we can say that “Race is not true.” Yet, racial categories profoundly impact all of our lives, with the negative effects felt most readily by those identified as Black and other people of color. This means that race is also most certainly “real.” But where did race come from? Who does it serve? Why does it matter? This lecture will explore this often misunderstood and misrepresented history, and its meaning for the present.

Presenter: Nekeisha Alayna Alexis