Race and Human Genome Variation

Race is typically understood as a group classification system for humans based on assumed or [Page 1748]perceived differences established in the fields of biology or sociology. In U.S. culture, race is often alluded to as being a truth of biology, but the results of large-scale DNA sequencing endeavors, such as the Human Diversity Project, have refuted race as a biological construct. By sequencing the human genome—the sum total of the hereditary information of Homo sapiens—scientists have uncovered that, although human genome variation exists, people have DNA that is 99.9% the same. Therefore, delineation by race is strictly a social and political construct.

Alan H. Goodman and other biological anthropologists believe the discussion of race and human genome variation creates the context for understanding the reality of race as a sociopolitical construct, not a biological reality. From this point of inquiry, educators can learn to make more informed decisions about teaching all students, especially students of color—decisions based on more accurate and robust understandings of race and racism and how both influence student learning and instructional effectiveness.

Further, the explicit discussion of race in relationship to human genome variation provides an opportunity to examine how past and present conceptualizations of race and racism influence the way individuals and institutions have come to perceive and, therefore, disparately treat various human social or cultural groups. If racism is to be eliminated, education scholars and practitioners alike must debunk their misunderstandings of race and reconceptualize their understandings of racism by learning/relearning the biological, evolutionary, and demographic realities of human genetic similarities and differences. The work of researchers in these fields has long revealed that humans share all but 0.1% of their genome. When educators accept that the concept of race has its origins in politics and culture, the erroneous promotion of race as a biological construct might finally disappear from the educational landscape.

In this entry, the concept of race is examined in relationship to human genome variation through the lenses of various disciplines, including history, sociology, political science, biology, evolution, genetics, and paleontology. Specifically, this entry discusses the modern concept of racism, science and racism, that race is not a biological reality, and that race is a political construct.