What I Learned from Working in the Science Museum of Minnesota's Race Exhibit

It's Thursday morning and I have nothing to do. Every Thursday morning for the past four months, I worked as a volunteer in the Science Museum of Minnesota's special exhibit "RACE: Are We So Different?" Thursday mornings were the busiest time of day at the museum; school groups routinely flooded the gallery and some days it was nearly impossible to walk through it. As a volunteer, I did various activities with the visitors to demonstrate some of the myths regarding race. My favorite demonstration involved a package of crayons called People Colors Crayons which allowed many visitors (old and young alike) to leave with a better way of defining their own skin color.

However, now the exhibit has closed and is being packed up to begin its five-year nationwide tour. And I'm left to ponder how this unique exhibit impacted both our community and me. So on this Thursday, I have decided what better way to use the same time I dedicated to working at the museum than to reflect on some of the important things I learned from this amazing exhibit. Of course there are countless little tidbits I learned from being in the gallery but I've decided to focus in on five key principles that changed how I see myself and everyone around me.

I learned "race" is a social construct. The concept of separate and distinct human races was constructed with the birth of this nation as a way of maintaining a permanent subordinate labor pool. Prior to the concept of race, religion divided the haves from the have-nots. Christians held the power and wealth but skin color proved to be a more distinguishing method. Thus the concept of inferior racial groups was created. This lie still plagues our nation to this day.

I learned that Brazil has over 130 words for skin color shades. Here in the United States, everyone is squeezed into one of a handful of categories (Black White, Latino, Asian or Native American). Government census forms and surveys box people into narrow categories based on skin color. These categories have preconceived expectations attached to them which in turn lead to stereotypes. Stereotyping hurts both the individual and weakens our nation.

I learned that the definition of "white" has change over the years depending on the laws of the time. From the early 1700's to the mid 1950's all immigrants seeking to become naturalized citizens had to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to be classified as white. This includes some white groups we now take for granted like Polish, Irish and Italian people. This was necessary because only white citizens could own property, vote, or be jurists. Citizenship was decided by a vague and arbitrary standard which made it difficult to apply unilaterally. But the one thing this action did was create an entire group of immigrants who desired to be white because anything else was viewed as inferior.

I learned that sickle cell is not a black disease. In actuality, it is a gene variant that developed to combat malaria. It is found in people living throughout the malaria belt regardless of skin color. This area includes parts of Africa as well as the Middle East, Southern Europe and Southern Asia. These inaccurate perceptions have resulted in some people not receiving appropriate medical care simply because doctors assume sickle cell could not be a factor based on the patient being white.

Finally, I learned the inequities in housing stem from the discriminatory practices associated with the distribution of loans from the G.I. Bill. Owning a home is the American Dream; however, prior to the G.I. Bill very few people could achieve it. Unfortunately, of the billions of dollars issued, only two percent went to nonwhites. Homeownership opened the door to wealth, status and stability because it was through the equity accumulated with home ownership white families were able to finance their children's college educations, buy vacations and prepare for retirement. Being denied access to that same money has kept many non-whites from obtaining the same gains. And those who have managed to do so in spite of this blatant obstacle have worked harder to achieve them.

This is just some of the knowledge I gained from the exhibit and will now carry forth with me. My first poem "Crayons" was inspired by this exhibit; it encapsulates the entire message of the exhibit in a simple poem even a child could understand. Perhaps that is why my son's teacher wanted the class to draw pictures for it. I was proud when Robert Garfinkle (anthropologist and primary architect of the exhibit) asked to have a copy of my poem.

I will be forever grateful to have been granted the opportunity to be a part of this revolutionary project, even in the capacity as a volunteer. My hope is as the exhibit makes its way across our nation, more and more misconceptions will be eroded and someday in the not too distant future we can finally put an end to this horrible part of our country's history. That's the America I want for my son.