Race denial

Race denial or race denialism is a term used by some racial theorists to describe the denial of the existence of controversial aspects of human races as espoused by left-wing political ideals. Opposition to race denialism is referred to as "race realism" or "racialism" by self-described opponents, though proponents of race denialism instead tend to use terms such as "pseudoscientific racism" and/or scientific racism.

Race denialism is a major component of political correctness, and is often considered by its critics to have had a major, albeit indirect, effect on immigration policies in Western countries, which they otherwise describe as population replacement.

Definition of the term "race denialism"

There are several groups of race deniers as described by those who believe in the existence of controversial aspects of human races. Early race deniers, such as early Boasian anthropologists, found it impossible at that time to completely deny the existence of controversial racial aspects. The 1950 book The Race Question by UNESCO is widely considered to be one of the most prominent early works on race denialism.

During the 1960s, influenced by the works of W. E. B. Du Bois and at least partially in association with the rise of the modern day skeptical movement, another group of race deniers emerged, claiming that biological races do not exist, but rather that race in itself is a social construct that was invented by supporters of colonialism in order to justify racism against non-whites and maintain white supremacy. This is the view espoused by adherents of critical race theory, which has become a major part of Western establishment culture since the 2010s and increasingly since the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Despite the rejection of biological races, these socially constructed races are still seen by race deniers as a major cause of systemic racism and white privilege, amongst other claimed social inequalities. In more recent years, another group of race deniers has emerged, claiming that races do not exist at all.

Opposition to race denialism

Main article: Human biodiversity debate

The human biodiversity debate is a mostly political term for a set of scientific theories or beliefs that oppose race denialism. They have been increasingly championed by researchers who are sometimes described as "dissident"; and on Alt-right and racialist blogs since the mid-2000s. Believers in human biodiversity claim that humanity is divided into several genetically distinct population groups with significantly different attributes - including, most controversially, intelligence. These divisions are said to fall along racial lines. Such claims, often called human biodiversity or human bio-diversity, human biological diversity, or HBD, have met with strong condemnation from academia and various left-wing media, who called it "pseudoscientific racism" or scientific racism. The mainstream media has generally ignored the debate.

See also

• American Anthropological Association
• Anti-racism
• Boasian anthropology
• Critical race theory
• Gender denial
• Great Awokening
• Recent African origin of modern humans
• Whiteness studies
• White guilt
• White privilege