Race: The Power of an Illusion

This documentary explores race as a sociological construction, rather than a biological fact.
Director

Producers: Larry Adelman, Christine Herbes-Sommers, Tracy Heather Strain, Llewellyn M. Smith

Production Company
California Newsreel

Release Date
April 1, 2003

The division of the world's peoples into distinct groups - "red," "black," "white" or "yellow" peoples - has became so deeply imbedded in our psyches, so widely accepted, many would promptly dismiss as crazy any suggestion of its falsity. Yet, that's exactly what this provocative, new three-hour series by California Newsreel claims. Race: The Power of an Illusion questions the very idea of race as biology, suggesting that a belief in race is no more sound than believing that the sun revolves around the earth. Yet race still matters. Just because race doesn't exist in biology doesn't mean it isn't very real, helping shape life chances and opportunities.

View film trailer ›