Cover Up

James Watson

Geneticist James Watson won the Nobel Prize for co-discovering the structure of DNA. But in 2007, he sparked outrage when he suggested that African blacks were genetically inferior to European whites. Echoing the arguments of scientific racists from the past, Watson claimed that black inferiority was due to evolution, explaining: “There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so.” Watson was widely condemned for his comments, both inside and outside of the scientific community. It was an indication of how times have changed.

For more information:

“Fury at DNA pioneer’s theory: Africans are less intelligent than Westerners” (Article/The Independent)

“Nobel-winning biologist apologizes for remarks about blacks” (Article/CNN.com)

“Science museum bans DNA genius at centre of race row” (Article/Daily Mail)

“Disgrace: How a giant of science was brought low” (Article/The Observer)

Louisiana History of Racism Resolution

Sharon Weston Broome is Mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2001, she was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives when she proposed a resolution to encourage teaching students about the history of scientific racism. The resolution highlighted Darwin’s views on race as well as how his views had been exploited by other scientists such as Ernst Haeckel to promote racism. The resolution also encouraged teaching students more recent scientific findings supporting racial equality. Broome’s resolution provoked a firestorm, with supporters of Darwin’s theory accusing her of trying to unfairly malign Charles Darwin. The resolution ultimately passed—but only after all references to Darwin and Haeckel were deleted.

Kansas Science Standards

In 2007, the Kansas State Board of Education came under fire for deleting eugenics, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, and other science abuses from a history of science standard it had previously adopted as part of its science standards.

For more information:

Text Deleted from Kansas Science Standards in 2007

“Kansas Board of Education Urged to Reject Proposal to Delete Tuskegee Experiment and Other Science Abuses from State Curriculum” (Articles/Evolution News)

“AP: ‘ID backer knocks Tuskegee deletion from Kansas standards’” (Article/Evolution News)

Bronx Zoo

The Bronx Zoo, which put Ota Benga on display in its Monkey House in 1906, declines to this day to inform zoo visitors of what happened. No memorial to the mistreatment of Ota Benga has been placed on zoo grounds; and in 2012, the Zoo closed to the public the Monkey House where Benga was displayed.

American Museum of Natural History

In 2005, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City opened an elaborate exhibition exploring the life and legacy of Charles Darwin. The exhibition is still offered as a travelling exhibit to other museums. Some have criticized the exhibition for offering a sanitized portrait of Social Darwinism as well as for failing to disclose the prominent role the American Museum of Natural History itself played in promoting Social Darwinist ideas like eugenics in the past.

For more information:

“Museum Exhibit Suppresses Darwin’s Real Views on Eugenics, Race, and Capitalism” (Article/Evolution News)

“Rewriting History: Museum Fails to Disclose Own Role in Social Darwinism” (Article/Evolution News)

Alt Right

Discredited Social Darwinist ideas about race have gained new prominence recently with the rise of the so-called “Alt Right.” A number of “Alt Right” writers draw explicitly on Darwinian theory to justify their views. In a 2017 study, more than 400 self-identified supporters of the “Alt Right” rated blacks, Mexicans, Nigerians, and other groups as significantly less “evolved” than whites and Europeans.

For more information:

“A Psychological Profile of the Alt-Right” (2017 Study)

“Evolution and the Alt Right”  (Article/Evolution News)

“In Explaining Dylann Roof’s Inspiration, the Media Ignore Ties to Evolutionary Racism” (Article/Evolution News)

“Evolution and the Alt-Right, Continued” (Article/Evolution News)