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** Carlos's web site Carlos's forthcoming book, Diversity Without Divisiveness **Subscribe to the podcast** To hear the origin stories of more big ideas, subscribe to How My View Grew on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. **Share the love** Leave me a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.