BY: CONNOR BRIAN
To categorize humanity into 5 separate races is a flawed notion. In an era of sexual liberation and globalization there is an increasing trend in interracial partnerships.
So biologically, hereditarily and anthropologically speaking, it does not simply make sense for the federal government to divide humans into White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Indian/Native. This is a vastly outdated system, which was devised by scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in the 18th century.
Although we have taken a huge step forward in civil rights, society still seems to be riddled with racial bias. Though people of colour only make up 30% of the United State’s population, they make up 60% of those imprisoned. A study has conclusively demonstrated that racial bias substantially affects the punishment criminal defendants receive. A black defendant is at least 30% more likely to end up in prison due to racial favoritism in the courtroom. Race influences politics, religion, and history, giving the most whitewashed a situational advantage, especially when it comes to income and employment.
But with ethnicities constantly intermingling there is encouraging news, the new generation will be a mix of Korgentinitan, Filatino, Chicanese, and Blackanese. This is why the 2010 U.S. census Bureau began to let respondents self-identify as multi-racial, and nearly 9 million did so.
What will this mean for the prospect of racism in the future? For the first time more than half of babies are members of a coloured group, and white is no longer the majority in America. This means by 2050 the U.S. will become a country united— not divided—by diversity. Perhaps we are marching toward a post-racial world.
Photographer Martin Schoeller created a series of images commissioned by National Geographic for its 125th anniversary issue. The future looks bright and colourful, these are what the average American will look like in 2050: