One race, different experiences

Last week the Human Race Machine helped IU students, faculty and staff visualize what they might look like as different races. In addition to morphing photos, the exhibit treated participants to slogans saturated with themes of racial harmony: "There is only one race. The Human one." … "The Human Race Machine allows us to move past our differences and arrive at sameness. … It is "a prayer for racial equality."\nSounds like a powerful device for racial understanding! But before we manufacture 5,000 more race machines and ship them to cities across the country to eradicate racism once and for all, let's step back and evaluate this modern marvel.\nThe Human Race Machine undoubtedly offers important starting points for conversation -- particularly in a country that once considered blacks to count as only three-fifths human. A cornerstone of the project is the fact that the DNA of any two humans is 99.97 percent identical. Physical variances result from human migration around the world and our slow adaptation to different environments through changes in skin color, hair and facial structure. In the end, our genetic composition is almost the same.\nBuilding on this science lesson, the project instructs, "We are all one. There is no separation."But here it moves uncomfortably close to the questionable ideology of "colorblindness" and ignores our all-too-real racial realities. On one hand, we want a society where no one is judged on meaningless physical appearance. Judgments based on skin color make no more sense than judgments based on eye color or ear-lobe attachment. On the other hand, we live in a country where people have been judged, oppressed and marginalized on the basis of skin color for centuries. Saying "We're colorblind!" does nothing to correct the ever-present effects of that history.\nIf only the end of racism was as simple as waving that colorblind wand, or seeing your face as six different races.\nThe Human Race Machine's mantra that the concept of race is social, not genetic is an important lesson, but it's not sufficient to end racial inequality. The project claims to offer "a unique experience that places the viewer for a brief moment in someone else's shoes." But photographs that digitally morph only show someone's shoes, at best. It's a far cry from "trying on" the shoes, much less walking a step -- or the proverbial mile -- in anyone's shoes.\nThe machine might spark a discussion, but that spark must be stoked into a roaring, meaningful exchange about deeply held social biases and practices that have been shaped by a legacy of racial oppression. A fancy photo booth alone won't cut it.\nNow you know "there is only one race." Take that knowledge further. Start thinking and talking about your individual biases toward fellow humans. Or how social institutions like government, business and education still exclude and marginalize people on the basis of race. Or how cultural practices and beliefs continue to make some people feel a little less than human.\nIn this case, the picture is worth little without a thousand meaningful words of conversation.