Race and discrimination. History includes many episodes in which the members of one group of people deemed themselves superior to another group. Such beliefs were long used to rationalize the enslavement and persecution of people viewed as inferior. For example, the ancient Romans viewed the Germanic tribes as a "race" of barbarians who were barely human. Europeans who settled in America claimed superiority over the American Indians to justify their expansion into the New World. In the 1930's, the leaders of Nazi Germany preached that Germans belonged to the "superior Aryan race," and that Jews and all other non-Aryan peoples were inferior.

Experts have not discovered any scientific basis for such claims of superiority. But many people still view other groups in terms of stereotypes. That is, they have oversimplified, preconceived, and generalized beliefs about the members of these groups. At various times, for example, certain groups have been described as dirty, dishonest, sly, humorless, or dull. These judgments have often been confused with racial traits, though they have nothing to do with the biological concept of race. Many such judgments have nothing to do with culture either, but only with the opinions or prejudices of those who make them. Discrimination can result from these stereotypes. As a result of these beliefs, members of minority groups in many societies have fewer educational and job opportunities than do members of the majority group.

The differences among human beings make the world a fascinating place in which to live. But when people focus on these differences, they often fail to appreciate how similar all human beings are. Most of the distinctions people make between themselves and others have much more to do with culture than with biology.

Excerpt from the "Races, Human" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999