Racism, not race Answers to frequently asked questions

Biologist Graves (The Race Myth) and biological anthropologist Goodman (Race: Are We So Different?) marshal data from genetics, medicine, and the social sciences in this insightful takedown of race as a matter of biology. In question-and-answer format, they detail the effects of race and racism on the health and socioeconomic status of marginalized people as seen in infant mortality rates, deaths from chronic diseases, and income inequality. Their questions cover historical matters ("Did the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians have a concept of race?" Short answer: no), hard science ("What explains human genetic differences?" In sum, mutation and migration), and practical concepts ("Are genetic ancestry and race the same thing?" Not according to Graves and Goodman). The authors show how racism has led to Black and brown people being subject to inaccurate stereotypes, and has also saddled them with health concerns, such as heart disease, being wrongly attributed to biological causes. The authors are most effective when they stick to their area of scientific expertise, and less so when they venture onto the well-worn territory covered by other anti-racist authors on general institutional reforms. Even so, this brings a new angle and an accessible approach to the ongoing reckoning with race in America. (Dec.)

A relatable conversation about race that stands out from many other books on the always-relevant topic. By now, most readers are familiar with racial stereotypes such as "black don't crack" or "white men can't jump." However, few have bothered to examine their origins or consider them critically. Here, Graves Jr., a professor of biology, and Goodman, a professor of biological anthropology, tackle a wide variety of racial issues using science and statistics, with just enough emotion to keep readers engaged. Throughout, the authors debunk numerous accepted myths, such as biology being related to race. Instead, the authors focus on the role that genetic variation plays in determining specific characteristics, from eye color to one's predisposition to specific diseases. Defining raceas "a social classification based on assumptions about ancestry and appearance," Graves and Goodman find archaic religion and erroneous science as early culprits that paved the way for racist stereotypes and systems to exist, many of which continue to operate today. Using questions and answers and the life and social sciences to back their conclusions, the authors are unafraid to dig into a host of thorny issues ("Are 'Jews' a race? What about people of Italian and Irish descent?"), providing well-documented evidence to bolster their arguments. Their approach is a pleasing mix of broad and granular--e.g., "Why is it that you can almost always tell a Nigerian from a Norwegian, yet a Nigerian and a Norwegian do not genetically differ that much?" The authors also interrogate the murky concept of intelligence and how medical and judicial assumptions nurture environments in which racism assists in the degradation of communities of color. Similarly, they break down White supremacy, calling it "our time's big lie." Each chapter concludes with a summary about the subjects at hand, and the authors also include a call to action to tackle personal and communal racism head-on. An entertaining and informative read that will serve as a jumping-off point for countless discussions about racism. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.