All of us are Related – Each of us is Unique
This exhibition reveals that the idea of “race” is a misleading way of conceptualizing human diversity.
A core theme of the exhibition is that there are no biological barriers between the 5.7 billion human beings that today inhabit the earth. The exhibition emphasizes how recent research on human diversity leads to the conclusion that we all have the same ancestors and that the genetic diversity of contemporary human populations reflects the paths followed by our ancestors in the course of human migrations over the past 100,000 years. These movements are illustrated graphically in a series of maps that are part of the exhibition.
Because the physical diversity of human populations today is continuous, whatever boundaries have been placed within this continuous diversity are arbitrary, even those pertaining to skin color. The exhibit reveals dramatically that there is simply no such thing as “white people”, “black people”, “yellow people”, or the like, except as social constructs. (These constructs, of course, have potent political and social significance.) The exhibition asserts that, in a world in which intergroup hostility has long been based on erroneous beliefs in biologically determined characteristics of so-called “races”, our habitual way of thinking about how we relate to each other needs seriously to be re-examined.
Examine each of the eighteen panels carefully, reading the text and examining the graphic displays. Work your way through this exhibition, panel by panel, taking them in sequence, from Number 1 through Number 18. In that way you will appreciate the complexity of the findings that have emerged from recent research in population genetics, findings that challenge many popular beliefs about “races”. The story is complex, but clear, provided you let the story unfold across the eighteen panels.
When you have digested the messages on the panels, you should view the 27-minute video “Six Billion Races” which complements the panels and is an integral part of this exhibition.
May you enjoy this exhibition and may it inspire you to think again about how we are all related while, simultaneously, each of us is unique!
Marshall H. Segall
Professor Emeritus, Syracuse University