User:The Mad World/Genetics of Race

Race refers to the concept that we can divide our world into different groups using ancestry, physical features, place of birth and so on. It has, essentially, no basis in biology but regardless racists continually treat it as if it does.

History
The idea that people are inherently superior to others due to their ancestry is a very old one, but it got some real credibility in the 19th Century thanks to the theory of evolution. While Social Darwinism and Eugenics were eventually dismissed by the 1950s, they continued to exist as social programs and be taught in schools as late as the 1970s.

In Modern Times
Unsurprisingly, these ideas didn't just go away.