FT. LAUDERDALE – Visible differences between humans have always been observed. However, the conception of these differences in a notion of “race” is more or less recent in terms of formulation. It has appeared in the era of modern science and derived from the practice of classification into species and sub-species, which was first concerned only with the vegetal and animal.
The discourse of race began in the 19th century with regard to the human specie. Its corollary-Racism is an ensemble of scientific theories considering the existence of different human races within the human specie generally corresponding to large continental ensembles of ethnic groups through a constructed hierarchy. Racism is also a political doctrine advocating the domination by a race said (pure or superior) of others said (impure or inferior).
On Friday, February 22nd from 4pm – 6pm at the African American Research Library & Cultural Center, (2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale) there will be a lecture by Dr. Carlos Moore Wedderburn to discuss, “The Relevance of Race In the Contemporary World.
This lecture explores the relevancy of race in the contemporary era, accounting for all that in between – identity, diversity, multiculturalism, class and gender and is part of Broward County’s Library division Black History month lecture series.
The Relationship between African-Americans and Latino Americans
In recent years, there has been increasing “tensions” between some African Americans and some Latino Americans.
On Sunday, February 24, from 2pm – 4pm at the South Regional/BCC Library(7300 Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines) there will be another lecture that will offer some thoughts on what may underlie the apparent animosity between these two ethnic groups and what we might do about it.
These “tensions” are rooted in U.S. concept of race that has been misused so thoroughly and extensively that it is difficult to discuss the subject without becoming hopelessly confused.
When people refer to tensions between black and brown, it is shorthand that confuses rather than clarifies: Not all Latino ethnic/cultural groups are in conflict with African Americans. It is necessary to move beyond the generality of terms like black and brown and look at the relationships among specific ethnic/cultural groups.
Dr. Carlos Moore Wedderburn
Dr. Carlos Moore Wedderburn is Resident Scholar of the Universidade do Estado da Bahia (Salvador, Brazil) and Honorary Research Fellow of the University of the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica). Cuban immigrant of Jamaican parents, Dr. Carlos Moore was trained at the University of Paris VII where he earned two doctoral degrees in Ethnology and Human Sciences. Fluent in four languages (Spanish, French, English, Portuguese), his expertise is in international affairs and questions of race, ethnicity and gender in society.
