The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-04-01
The Races Of Mankind
bv BENEDICT and WEl1FlSH

what group OF people It's owner
belonged. The average size RI the
brain ID different In different groups,
but Il has been proved over and
over again that the size Of the brain
has nothing 70 do with intelligence.
Some Of the most brilliant men In
the world have had very small
brains. On the other hand, the
worlds largest brain belongs 70 IN
imbecile.
Blood the Same
For ages men have spoken OF
blood relations" as II different
peoples had different blood. Some
people have shouted that IL We got
into our veins the blood OF some
one with a different head shape.
eye color. hair texture. or skin
color. we should get some OF that
persons physical and mental char
acteristics.
Modern science has revealed this
to be pure superstition. All human
blood h the same, whether II II the
blood Of an Eskime or . French
man. Of the -purest" German
"Aryan" or an African pygmy-
except for enc medically tmpsrtant
S1fYerence. This medical difference
was discovered when deetsrS nrss
began 70 use blood transfusion In
order 70 save life. In early attempts
st TRANSMISSION Il was discovered
that "aggiutination" or dumping
together Of the red cells sometimes
occurred and caused death. Grad
ualIy investigators learned that
there are four types of blood. called
q. A, n. and ABB. and that although
blood typed o can be mixed sue
cessfully with the other three. none
Of these can be mixed with another
without dumping.
These four types OF blood are in
herited by each child from its fore
bears. But whites. Negroes, Mon
sols. and all races Of man have all
these blood types. The color Of their
skin does not tell at all which blood
type they have. You and an Aus
tralian bushman may have the same
blood type. Because you inherit
your bodily traits from your many
different ancestors you may have
a different blood type from your
mother or your father or your
brothers and sisters. You NAV have
eyes like your mothers. teeth and
hair like your fathers feet like your
grandfather. and blood type like
your great-grandnother's
Today doctors do not type blood
for TRANSMISSION al all. The red and
white cells or corpuscles are re-
moved. and the remainder is the
zane whatever race Il comes from,
The Blood Bank calls il plaSna.
II Is dried and kept indefinitely.
When needed for emergency trans
fusions. II is mixed with water and
can save the life OF any man or
woman In the world. The same
blood plasna Is used 70 restore any
man Of any color who has been
wounded in battle.
Color
Finally. Iet us take skin color. the
most noticeable o. the differences
between peoples. Few traits have
been used as widely TO classify
people. We all talk about black,
white. and yellow races Of man.
In the world today the darkest
people are in West Africa. the light
est people In northwest Europe.
while in southeast Asia are men
with yellowish-tan skins Most peo-
pie In the world. however. are not
OF these extremes but are In
betweens. These in-betweens prob
ably have the skin shades that were
once most common. the white. yell
low. and dark brown or black being
extreme varieties.
Recently scientists found that skin
color Is determined by two special
chemicals. One OF these. carotene.
gives a yellow tinge: the other.
melanin, contributes the brown.
These colors. along with the pink
ssh Nnge that comes when the blood
vessels show through. give various
shades TO the human skin. Every
person. however light or dark his
skin may appear. has some Of each
Of these materials is his skin. The
one exception Is the albino. who
lacks coloring substances-and al
binos appear among dark and light
skinned peoples alike. People OF
browner compilations simply have
more melanin in their skin. people
Of yellowish color more carotene.
II is not an all-or-nothlng difference:
il is a difference in proportion.
Your skin color is due 20 the amount
Of these chemicals present in the
skin.
e. Editors Note: From the PAM
phlet. The Races OF Mankind" by
Ruth Benedict and Gene WeltfiSh,
published BY the Public Affairs
Committee. Inc, 80 Rockefeller
Plaza. New York 20, n. y