A world without race | Octavia Geiger and Allegra Benites | TEDxArcadiaUniversity

Octavia Geiger and Allegra Benites talk about the current issues with race in the United States and the future of these issues.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Octavia Geiger: Hi, I'm Octavia.

Allegra Benites: And I'm Allegra.

So, we are here today
to ask you, What is racism?

The official definition of racism

is prejudice or discrimination
of someone else of a different race

based on the belief
that your own race is superior.

This sometimes gets confused
with stereotyping.

However, stereotyping is having
a perceived notion about a group of people

or a certain type of person.

Although they do get confused,
they do have differences.

There's a long history of racism
in the United States.

However, we are here today to talk to you
about the future of racism in our country.

OG: There are seven billion
people in the world.

That is a lot of people.

They aren't homogeneous.

They come from different
races and ethnicities

that possess different
cultures and traditions.

For example,

the continent of Africa is made up
of 54 different, diverse countries.

And the people of Botswana are vastly
different from the people of Ethiopia.

Different cultures and traditions
possess different things.

For example, in the world today,

a lot of people have
a lot of different cultures

that really drive them and that really
decide who they want to be.

In the United States, we categorize
people based off of different cultures.

And the world is small and large
at the same time.

The world is small

in which the accessibility
of information is unparalleled.

If a person has the means,

they can travel to a different
region of the country,

or they can research an indigenous
culture at their fingertips.

But the world is physically large.

The Earth is home to all of us.

In the United States,

we have different categories
that categorize people

and decide their treatment
in this country.

The most prominent way
to categorize people in the U.S. is race.

Also, socio-economic status, class,
in addition to race,

are different ways
that we categorize people.

AB: So, how is racism
perpetuated in society?

Is it solely based on
the color of our skin,

or are there other factors
that play a part?

National Geographic published an article

in which they predicted
what humans will look like in 50 years.

As you can see from these photos,

it's very hard to tell
what category people belong to.

You can't look at someone's face and say,
"Oh, they're white," or "They're Asian."

The United States' Census Bureau

only started taking in statistics
of mixed-race people in 2000.

In that first year,

6.8 million people identified themselves
as being two or more races,

and only 10 years later, in 2010,

that number jumped up
to nine million people.

This shows how fast
this growing category is

in the United States

and how it's affecting the racism
in the United States

and what it's going to change.

OG: While I identify as African-American,
I come from different multiple identities.

My father is Puerto Rican.

My paternal grandmother
is Native American.

I have distant ancestry
of French and Irish.

So, technically, I'm just
a conglomerate of different races.

Today in America,
there's about 300 million people.

That's a lot of people.

And white people or Caucasian people
make up the majority -

about 63.7 percent.

African Americans follow -
which is about 12.2 percent.

And Hispanic or Latino people
follow at about 16.3 percent,

followed by other small percentages
of Asian, American Indian,

Pacific Islander, Alaska Native, etc.

At Arcadia, the population here
is about 4,000 students,

and it's pretty reflective
of the national demographic.

At Arcadia, white Caucasian people
make up 63.3 percent,

followed by African Americans,
who make about 10.2 percent,

and Native Americans
make up about 0.7 percent,

and the Hispanic-Latino population
makes up about 8.2 percent,

which is continually reflective
of the national demographic.

AB: So, this growing diversity
causes a lot more people to ask,

"What are you?" or "Where are you from?"

There are a lot of people
that are making their own names

because it's not so simple
to answer this question.

If someone is black and Chinese,
they might call themselves Blackanese.

I have a friend who is Filipino and Latino
who calls himself Filatino.

My family calls me Café con Leche,
or coffee and milk,

because I am half Latina and half white.

So, this growing diversity
poses a question

to what humans will divide
people to in the future.

Will that always be based
on the color of our skin?

In ancient times, in the medieval era,
racism actually did not exist.

People were divided based on
how much money they made

or the language they spoke
or what their religion was.

And in Brazil, your race and wealth
actually have a lot to do with each other.

As you become wealthier
or as you become poorer,

the racial category
that you are assumed to be

can actually change.

OG: So, overall,

I guess you could say that we have
a very pessimistic view of human nature.

We believe that society will always
figure out a way to divide people.

Whether it be further division
of socio-economic class

or race or an entirely new division,

society will always find a way
to have the haves and the have-nots.

AB: However, the idea that people
will always find a way to divide others

is just that - it's an idea.

Race is a social construct
and not a biological fact.

So maybe a world without race

will provide Americans
with an opportunity,

an opportunity to reevaluate
how we currently perceive racism

and an opportunity
to take this opportunity

and think about new ways
to accept people for who they are

and not always create these divides

whether that person be black, white,
Filatino or Café con Leche.

Thank you.

(Applause)