Freund Response

Freund describes in his passage Colored Property race as a biological fiction. He means when he calls race a biological fiction that race itself is not a biological factor in humans. Race is not something you can see in a lab or human genome. There are no biological factors that determine a person as a specific race. However, people today still believe there actually are genetic differences that classify a human to a specific race such as Caucasian or African American. This is not the case at all. Society and people determine which humans are in which race and it is not a matter of science.

            I believe Haney-Lopez would agree with the statement Freund makes that race is a biological fiction. In his passage Haney-Lopez describes the features of African Americans as characteristic marks of nature and from descendants. It is from these different characteristics such as complexion of the skin and how our hair appears and feel among other characteristics that race is formed from our society not science. Haney-Lopez says in his passage that race and the idea of race is still very primitive and that is the problem. It is never talked about or really defined ever but still carries such much power all throughout time and even today.

            Haney-Lopez’s claim that race in history and today carries tremendous power in politics, economics, and in cultures do hold true for issues of health and medicine. Even in today’s society we still view many disease as racial disease specific to only one race. One example is sickle cell anemia. Although it is true that sickle cell anemia mostly affects African Americans it is not a black only disease and is defiantly not a racial disease. There are many other diseases that still carry a racial component to it. Race also affects not only medicine but the health of certain people. Many health professionals make assumptions of people based race towards their health. Most of the time they are not even aware of it as it has become such a social normality.

            Some questions that I have from the readings is how can we better define race and change the effects of race in society today if it still today has a power to it? Also, how can race be eliminated in medicine if it is possible? And finally, how can we change the views of race in society so there is no longer a division between people?