{"id":16085,"date":"2017-04-06T13:03:27","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T18:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/?post_type=news&p=16085"},"modified":"2017-04-06T13:03:27","modified_gmt":"2017-04-06T18:03:27","slug":"race-are-we-so-different-explores-reality-and-unreality-of-race","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/news\/race-are-we-so-different-explores-reality-and-unreality-of-race\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRACE: Are We So Different?\u201d Explores Reality \u2013 and Unreality \u2013 of Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Race:<\/h3>\n

Award-winning exhibition opens April 22 at N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences<\/h3>\n

RALEIGH, N.C. \u2013 It\u2019s a simple truth. People are different. Throughout history, these differences have been a source of community strength and personal identity. They have also been the basis for discrimination and oppression. Today, contemporary scientific understanding of human variation is beginning to challenge \u201cracial\u201d differences, and even question the very concept of race.<\/p>\n

\u201cRACE: Are We So Different?<\/a>\u201d, opening at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences April 22, is the first national exhibition to tell the stories of race from the biological, cultural and historical points of view. Combining these perspectives offers an unprecedented look at race and racism in the United States. Outstanding support from local businesses and organizations allows the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences to offer this exhibition to the public free of charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is perhaps the most important conversation we\u2019re going to have as a community in the next decade,\u201d says Damon Circosta, Executive Director of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, the presenting sponsor of the exhibition. \u201cTypically, conversations around race and equity happen in the margins. We\u2019re so excited about having it right in our downtown, because it deserves broader distribution than a college class or book club.\u00a0This exhibition underscores the notion that we really are more alike than we are different. It does so in such a way that doesn’t anger, it informs. It invites discussion and open-mindedness.\u201d<\/p>\n

By using interactive components, historical artifacts, iconic objects, compelling photographs and multimedia presentations, \u201cRACE\u201d challenges some common assumptions through its key messages \u2014 that race is a recent human invention; that race is about culture, not biology; and that race and racism are embedded in our institutions and everyday life.\u00a0\u201cRACE,\u201d which runs through October 22, was developed by the\u00a0American Anthropological Association\u00a0in collaboration with the\u00a0Science Museum of Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am confident that this exhibit and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences\u2019 menu of related programming will draw diverse audiences reflective of our entire community,\u201d says Susi H. Hamilton, Secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, \u201cand I applaud the Museum for opening this outstanding and thought-provoking exhibit to everyone by offering free admission. It\u2019s my hope that it will help to provide a foundation for honest, transparent and respectful conversations about race to take place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Details on \u201cRACE\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u201cRACE\u201d addresses the topics of race and racism from three different perspectives. The three sections are interwoven and tell a compelling story of science with deep and lasting social impact.<\/p>\n