The Evolution of Racial Ideas
Although difference, enslavement, and exclusion have existed throughout history, race/racism as we know it did not emerge until the modern period.
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Immigration & Citizenship: Interview with Leti Volpp
Leti Volpp, the Robert D. and Leslie Kay Rave Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Race and Gender at UC Berkeley, discusses the problematic racial triangulation of groups in legal arguments, how we saw a new racial category post 9/11, the need to study pockets of resistance in response to legal rhetorical structures, and looking critically at the concept of a "model minority" as a symptom of anti-blackness.
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Images of the Horror of American Race Relations: Interview with Michael Mark Cohen
Michael Mark Cohen, Associate Teaching Professor of American Studies and African American Studies at UC Berkeley, discusses his use of visual imagery to teach about racial terrorism and race as socially constructed, incorporating Stephen Jay Gould's scholarship to demonstrate how whiteness was created, and how a shift away from color blindness led to the current resurgence of white nationalism amid a shrinking white demographic.
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The Evolution of Human Biology & Genomics: Interview with Leslea Hlusko
Leslea Hlusko, Professor of Integrative Biology, discusses new research in genomics in regards to human variation, and relates it to the science presented in the film, and outlines the important role human biologists can play in engaging with social issues and misperceptions about human variation.
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Interview with Larry Adelman, Executive Producer of the Race Series
Larry Adelman, executive producer of the Race-Power of an Illusion documentary series, discusses why California Newsreel decided to partner with UC Berkeley to redevelop and relaunch a companion website for the series.
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Emergence of the U.S. Racial Hierarchy
As African slavery increased, lower class Europeans won new rights and opportunities, as well as payoffs and status-enhancements, leading to their identifying as "white."
episode 2
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2020 panel discussion on Race—The Power of an Illusion, Part II
On Friday, September 25 we hosted a screening of Part II of Race—The Power of an Illusion: The Story We Tell, followed by a one-hour panel discussion with experts.
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2020 panel discussion on Race—The Power of an Illusion, Part III
On Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, we hosted a screening of Part III of Race—The Power of an Illusion followed by a one-hour panel discussion with experts.
Q&A
Has race always been with us?
episode 2
interview
Ira Berlin
What was early colonial Virginia like? How are race and freedom tied together? What is the tension in American history with regard to race?
Ira Berlin (1941-2018) was a Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Maryland. Among his many books are, Generations of Captivity: A History of African American Slaves and Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in America.
interview
James O. Horton
A look at the fluidity of racial identities in early colonial America, the long history of slavery not based on race, and how the rationalization of slavery continues to affect us today.
James O. Horton (1943–2017) was Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University, and Director of the Afro-American Communities Project of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.
