If one examines the example

photographs of these loosely associated groups, and breaks them down into

"races," I believe most Americans would describe the blacks,

Pygmies and Khoisan as "black," the whites as "Arabs"

and the Asians as "Indians."

The "blacks" have

about as much in common as very fair-skinned people from the Indian subcontinent

might have with a Swede. The "whites" are olive-skinned Mediterranean

people who vary greatly in hue and features, and the "Asians"

are dark skinned Indonesians.

Geneticists don't use "race"

as a scientific description at all. Genetically, the portion of our makeup

that ascribes skin color is so insignificant that it would be scientifically

impossible to use as a differentiator.

Winston Churchill often used

"race" as a description of the English-speaking peoples, vis-a-vis

those "others" in the world. Being a man of his time, he was

referring to those light-skinned peoples who were inheritors of English

laws and traditions, but he certainly didn't have only skin color in mind.

Mrs. Saul refers to "Jews"

as a race. A Semitic band that ventured out of ancient Samaria, the original

Hebrews or "Dusty Ones" were of the same tribe as their current

implacable foes, the Arabs. So what is race but an easy apportionment

of our own preconceived notions of how someone ought to be?

On the other hand, we need

to recognize that past injustices imposed on people with dark skin have

led to many societal inequities that remain extant. The lingering effects

of 300 years of black African slavery and 100 more years of de jure and

de facto prejudice haven't been erased by three decades of relative good

will.

The contributions people of

color have made to this country have often been deliberately overlooked

in the past and "Black History Month" seems to have been an

attempt to rectify the slight.

As for a "white"

history month, I doubt your two enraged readers could even agree on this

classification if forced to hash through an amalgam of historical figures.

Suffice it to say, most of our history has been written by, for, and about

people of fair-skinned, Northern European, Protestant ancestry, so we

really have about 11 months of white history per year. So what's the harm?

Mrs. Saul seems preoccupied

with a real or allegorical cave. Perhaps that is the place she left part

of her humanity, most of her reason, and all her empathy.

Yes, many groups have been

targets of terrible injustices in the past. What we can't escape is the

fact that this one was done by our ancestors in this country, and we live

with its legacy today.

I suppose when we stop lumping

together people with a lot of pigment in their skin and African features,

they'll get over what many in the majority consider a siege mentality.

But it ain't gonna happen soon, so don't hold your breath. Stereotypes

are much too comfortable and familiar.

Timothy J. Parker

Peachtree City