At face value, many things can set people apart from one another. Whether it’s where they were born, what they grew up eating, or the language their family spoke at home, differences can begin to stack up. There is a longheld belief that race has been one of humanity’s biggest differentials.

Scientific research has disproven this belief. Throughout the years, there have been several studies suggesting that when geneticists dig into people’s genetic coding, there isn’t the big difference that many have grown up believing. 

The social concept of race is only about 500 years old

Race is defined as “the idea that the human species is divided into distinct groups on the basis of inherited physical and behavioral differences.” Despite its definition, genetic studies have shown no scientific evidence to signal major differences at the biological level.

The word itself first began popping into the English lexicon in the late 1500s. The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) explains that while it was used infrequently, race was used to describe “groups of people with kinship or group connection.”

Britannica cites race would make an occasional appearance within William Shakespeare’s works such as “a race of saints” or “a race of bishops.”

Everything changed in the 1700s when European philosophers and naturalists extended their manner of scientific categorization into the realm of people. This catalyzed people in the late 1700s and 1800s to believe that there was one group of people who were smarter and more capable than others.

The NMAAHC posits that the new European classification system of race served as “a justification for European colonization and subsequent enslavement of people from Africa.”

The concept and practice of slavery has been around for millennia 

Slavery can be traced back to the slave societies of Mesopotamia and Sumer (present-day Iran and Iraq) between 6000 to 2000 BCE. 

The History Press cites that the “oldest known written reference of slavery” can be found in Hammurabi’s Code of 1754 BCE. Slavery can also be found in Ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Greek societies.

Slavery is also found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and is regulated by how both masters and slaves can serve God’s laws and each other compassionately.

The NMAAHC adds that before the 16th century, it was “acceptable” to keep people seen as “heathens” as slaves in the Mediterranean and Europe.

One condition offered to these enslaved peoples was that it was not a life sentence. These enslaved people could also “earn small wages, gather with others, marry, and potentially buy their freedom.”

It was also not hereditary, and thus wouldn’t be passed on to future generations.

With the rise of exploration and colonization, the social divides were further cemented

National Geographic cites that the practice of colonialism dates back to the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Phoenicians. The philosophy of extended borders was seen as a way to establish satellite settlements that would increase the power of a burgeoning empire.

At the beginning of the 15th century, Portugal looked for new trading routes and ways to establish itself outside of Europe — something that led them to Africa and the colonization of Ceuta. 

Spain, its primary rival nation, England, the Netherlands, France, and Germany quickly followed. A labor force was needed with the creation of colonies and the expansion of empires. This led to the enslavement and subjugation of Africans and Indigenous people.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History cites that the African slave trade lasted from “1526 to 1867, some 12.5 million captured men, women, and children were put on ships in Africa, and 10.7 million arrived in the Americas.”

Cloaked with the ideals of expansion, colonization, the mining of natural resources, and the philosophical view that those who didn’t look like them or act like them were others, Europeans felt their actions were “justified.”

They believed that “their conquests” were dictated by a “legal and religious obligation” so that they could civilize “barbaric or savage nations.” Eventually, comingling with the nations occurred.

Spanish settlements saw the eventual rise of mestizos and mulattos

Mestizos are the offspring of European colonizers and settlers with Indigenous people. Mulattos are the offspring of those same settlers with those of African descent.

In an interview, Mónica Moreno Figueroa, a Black-mestiza sociologist at the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge and a social sciences fellow at the University’s Downing College, discusses how the comingling of the Spanish with enslaved Africans and indigenous people created a caste system.

“Mixing aimed to achieve whiteness. Here’s how it worked: The mixture between a white Spaniard and an Indigenous woman produced a mestizo offspring. The offspring of a mestizo and a white Spaniard created a castizo,” she tells Mexico Solidarity Project. 

Moreno Figueroa continues, “A castizo and a white Spaniard would produce a white Spaniard. That is, in three generations, an Indigenous line could become fully Spanish and white and receive what was called the ‘certificate of blood purity’ — certificado de limpieza de sangre — and secure some sense of social mobility and inclusion in the colonial order.”

Despite Mexico abolishing slavery in 1837 (the United States abolished it in 1865), the now-freed people of African descent still struggled to find their place within a society that wasn’t fully accepting of them.

“Black people made up a small percentage of the population, and they became dispersed throughout society. In some places, they played a middle role between Spanish and Indigenous peoples and engaged in a wide variety of service roles. In others, they formed independent freed communities in isolated parts of the country,” adds Moreno Figueroa.

She continues, “The impossibility of having Black republics, like the repúblicas de indios, the whitening logic of mestizaje, and anti-Black sentiment left many Black people choosing to accept mixture as a way of securing their livelihoods.”

The ramifications of colorism can still be felt today

Multi-hyphenate Latina Eva Longoria has openly stated that she grew up with the nickname “la prieta fea” among her sisters who were all lighter skinned than she. Oscar award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has also publicly talked about the colorism she experienced growing up.

While doing press for her children’s book Sulwe, which aims to help children feel comfortable with their skin, she brought up what it was like for her growing up in Kenya.

Nyong’o tells Good Morning America, “I grew up in Kenya around very many dark people, but I grew up with a lot of light skin on TV and in the books I read and it made me feel uncomfortable with my skin color.”

She continued, “I had a younger sister that was born a lot lighter than me and she got … told how pretty she was, and I realized that it was in the omission of those words when it came to me that made me feel unworthy and so it took a while for me to find my stride and learn to love the skin I’m in. So I wrote this book to help little kids get there a little faster.”

HipLatina further explores these themes by analyzing how “colorism affects ALL Latinos.”

Iris Lopez, a City College Professor of Latin American and Latino studies, tells the publication that, “Latinos are very color conscious and use a color classification system which includes categories such as blanco, negro, trigueno, Indio, Jabao, Moreno, Mulatta, etc.”

She continues, “The Latin American and Spanish Caribbean racial classification system is similar to the old racial classification system used by blacks in the U.S. and the West Indies.”

Lopez explained how the “illusion of race” was something Europeans used “to manipulate blacks and other natives” to feel “superior” and “justify their conquests.” She adds that “if it weren’t for race, colorism wouldn’t even exist.”

Colorism doesn’t just extend to the external world, it can also be found deeply engrained within families as well. 

Afro-Dominicana Darleny Suriel shares with HipLatina the differences she noticed between her and her cousin. 

“I couldn’t help but notice that when speaking about her beauty, relatives would always praise the whiteness of her skin, her noticeably rosy cheeks & her natural blond hair; meanwhile I was constantly warned in a fearful tone to stay out of the sun so I do not get darker as if receiving melanin from the sun was a tragic form of disfigurement,” she explained.

Moving past colorism and the concept of race requires the acknowledgment of how engrained those beliefs are

Lopez tells HipLatina, “We have to start by educating ourselves about our colonial heritage, and how it has contributed to colorism/racism, and the various ways it is hurting our community.” 

She further adds, “Those who are phenotypically white have the responsibility to speak out against racism and to be aware of their advantage within a racist society. It’s important to keep in mind that phenotypically white Latinos are also subjected to racism and their own unique form of micro-aggressions.”

Not only should all Latinos and Latines further educate themselves on the history of colonialism and its long-term effects, but also understand that biologically there is little to no difference between one person and another.

The Scientific American explores this further and cites that “modern genetics research” has disproven this long-held belief.

Svante Pääbo, a biologist and director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, notes that there isn’t an exact genome that differentiates Europeans from Africans.

“What the study of complete genomes from different parts of the world has shown is that even between Africa and Europe, for example, there is not a single absolute genetic difference, meaning no single variant where all Africans have one variant and all Europeans another one, even when recent migration is disregarded,” Pääbo is quoted saying.