Carlos Hoyt: Do Races Exist?
In this episode of How My View Grew, educator Carlos Hoyt describes his early life experience transcending racial categories and how he discovered that the entire concept of "race" was false and unhelpful. What if the racial categories that pervade our conversations, public policy, and social science data are scientifically meaningless? What can we learn from people who have deracialized themselves and others? How might these insights improve lives and undermine racism at its roots?
**Key Takeaways**
- 8:00 Growing up in Boston—"Black and proud," changing school districts, mixing it up at summer camp
- 18:00 Discovering research on other "race transcenders"
- 22:00 The five steps in racializing people
- 27:00 The pseudoscience of race
- 34:00 Why "racial equality" is an oxymoron
- 40:00 Making the U.S. Census more accurate
- 44:00 How to adjust the way you refer to people
- 50:00 Amiel's reflections, including the analogy of the Elvis Lives Fan Club
**Resources**
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