Bias and Biology: The Fallacy of Scientific Racism

 Aidan Munoz 

Professor Horgan 

Seminar in Science Writing

6 February 2024 

Bias and Biology: The Fallacy of Scientific Racism 

The Library of Harvard refers to scientific racism as the use of “pseudoscientific methods ‘proving’ white biological superiority and flawed social studies used to show ‘inherent’ racial characteristics”. This concept was used to explain the degradation of intelligence levels between white and black Americans, why Black Americans were so prone to disease, and why those with darker complexions and larger facial features/structures were inferior to those of fairer skin at the top of the social ladder. Using falsified explanations through craniometry to use skull measurement as a determinant of inferiority and “polygenism” to explain that different human races were distinct species within themselves. 

The fallacy of it all lies in the fact that this “racist science” really isn’t science at all. As an award-winning scientific writer for the New York Times, Carl Zimmer, points out, “early geneticists tried to validate the old notions of race by looking for genetic markers in groups of people. But . . . after sequencing millions of human genomes, scientists say it is abundantly clear that those notions do not hold up.” In reference to the National Academies of Science and their recently applied guidelines in genetic studies, race should not be used as a category in research. It refuses to account for countless political and social factors such as poor housing, poverty, lack of healthcare, and racial oppression. In the seemingly unending loop of systematic oppression, the cycle of discrimination furthers nonsensical reasoning through scientific racism and politics, which, in turn, furthers the application of discrimination based on false concepts and then it continues. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2017 the leading cause of death of Black males at all ages in America was heart disease at a whopping 23.7%. Heart disease continues to lead the causes of death for Black Americans today, followed fairly closely by cancer and COVID-19. Now, why is that important? Well, according to the American Heart Association, about 55% of Black adults have high blood pressure, referred to as hypertension or HBP. The American Heart Association itself attributes these extremely high numbers mainly to systemic factors, looking to the effect of lack of access to health care, healthy foods, medication, and distrust of health care professionals based on historical discrimination. It is not that the black community is more susceptible to heart disease based on racial inferiority or deformity, it is part of the systemically oppressive cycle providing minimal resources and requiring maximum productivity.  

In poverty-ridden neighborhoods, families are often surviving off of government assistance, whether it be through SNAPS, EBT, food stamps, and so on. Not only are the food options through these means extremely limited to what is “affordable” and therefore a lower quality, meals are often affected by what product is being used and what ingredients are being used in the cooking process. Leaving the obvious door open to recognize the black community is often ingesting high sodium/low potassium diets, pushing them towards these higher rates of obesity and diabetes which, in turn, leads to HBP. 

The social constructs that define the pillars of our society are meant to restrict rapid upward mobility when starting from the bottom. The lower-income tier of society made-up primarily of Black and Hispanic Americans are left barehanded in an unfair fight. As an award-winning science writer for WIRED, Ramin Skibba, wrote for the Smithsonian Magazine, “an example of a 2017 study. . . claiming that race and biology indicate that the airways of asthmatic black Americans become more inflamed than those of asthmatic white Americans. Black Americans do suffer more from asthma than whites do, but they’re also affected more by environmental hazards like air pollution from highways and factories as well as disparities in access to high-quality healthcare.” There are numerous ways in which scientists and sociologists have used these types of disparities to utilize inequality and scientific racism to provide “results” that lead to findings that can be easily misinterpreted. Location, diet-restriction, lack of insurance capabilities all serve as key factors in the implications of science and society, rather than science and race. 

In essence, the history of scientific racism reveals a troubling legacy of pseudoscientific methods and flawed social studies used to justify racial hierarchies and discrimination. Leading geneticists and institutions have debunked the validity of race as a biological category, emphasizing the role of social, economic, and environmental factors in shaping health outcomes. As a result of scientific racism, there has been a continuing desire to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and inequalities, further enforcing systemic oppression. To break free from this cycle of discrimination, it is imperative to recognize and address the root causes of racial disparities in health and society. This calls for a thorough strategy that actively seeks to undermine oppressive structures while acknowledging the intricate interactions between social, economic, and environmental variables. 

 

Works Cited 

“Health of Black or African American Non-Hispanic Population.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Dec. 2023, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/black-health.htm.  

“High Blood Pressure among Black People.” Www.Heart.Org, 1 June 2023, www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/why-high-blood-pressure-is-a-silent-killer/high-blood-pressure-and-african-americans.  

Kochhar, Rakesh. “Black and Hispanic Americans, Those with Less Education Are More Likely to Fall out of the Middle Class Each Year.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 10 May 2022, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/05/10/black-and-hispanic-americans-those-with-less-education-are-more-likely-to-fall-out-of-the-middle-class-each-year/.  

“Scientific Racism.” Harvard Library, library.harvard.edu/confronting-anti-black-racism/scientific-racism. Accessed 7 Feb. 2024.  

Skibba, Ramin. “The Disturbing Resilience of Scientific Racism.” Smithsonian.Com, Smithsonian Institution, 20 May 2019, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/disturbing-resilience-scientific-racism-180972243/.