History provides us with a deep context of how different societies were formed, how the power in societies is distributed, and how they relate to the present day. A big part of this context is race, defined perfectly by Sergio Romero’s research paper Race and Ethnicity. The book states “Race is not the biological distinction it has been believed to be…… Rather, geography has had more to do with human production than anything else” (Romero 237). Race is not something based on genetics or biology. All humans of different races have almost no difference to each other. However, this does not mean race is not real. Race is a social construct where a belief system and reinforced institution make race the separation of a biological distinction and other cultural characteristics. This social construct causes racism, where throughout history, racial groups were subjected to inferiority due to the visible difference between two groups based on their ethnic background, or in the nation they lived in. Therefore, racism is one of the main causes of exclusion induced by ethnicity and nationalism.

So, how do race and racism first create discrimination and exclusion in society? Romero believes that race itself is not problematic, as it is the physical, cultural, and behavioral attitudes, which is important due to the whole world’s diversity, with different appearances and cultures constantly interacting with each other. However, “the subjection of race to a stratification system” (Romero 238) is what makes the concept thorny. With race comes racism, where minority race groups are subjected to discrimination from other groups or from the nation itself. For example, the US federal government confiscated the Native Americans’ land through force and deception, claiming it as theirs, resulting in them having the highest levels of poverty of any ethnic group in the USA, or that African Americans have a long history of racism in the USA, such as slavery and segregation. The social construction of race dividing people by appearances and culture, and therefore being individually and institutionally discriminated against, serves as the foundation of exclusion by ethnicity and nationalism.

Racism therefore was a key factor in the exclusion throughout history in ethnicity and nationalism. Racism, while not having anything to do with genetics, showed to be a social construct that is real and still holds a problem to this day affecting minorities. In history, this problem can be seen through Europeans using race science in both Rwanda and Australia, revealing how it created prejudice against the Hutus or the Aboriginals, powering nationalism and ethnicity in a way to oppress others who were not similar to them. In the present, racism is still one of the most important problems the world faces, and understanding the atrocities it rendered in history is a signal to try and rectify it soon.

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