Does Race Have Any Scientific Basis?

Is race a social construct? Is there any scientific basis for race? If racial categories were drawn arbitrarily by white colonizers and imperialists, can we conclude that that racial categories are themselves racist?

Is race a social construct?

Is there any scientific basis for race?

Are racial categories themselves racist?

How are the above three questions related to each other? We might be inclined to think that, if there’s no scientific basis for race, then it’s a social construct. Does the fact that some biological/genetic differences track racial differences change the equation?

Or is it perhaps that, if we wanted a more scientifically accurate set of racial distinctions, they would not look anything like today’s racial categories? But if racial categories were drawn arbitrarily by white colonizers and imperialists, can we conclude that racial categories are themselves racist?

These are the sort of questions that were running through my head reading this wonderful National Geographic article on why there’s no scientific basis for race: 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/race-genetics-science-africa/

Do take a look! This article complements well another National Geographic article on the magazine’s own history with race and racism: 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/from-the-editor-race-racism-history/.

The articles both feature in NatGeo‘s April “Race Issue.” Would highly recommend exploring!