Dialectics of Racial Categories

The concept of race is often thought to be logically prior to that of racial distinction. It is necessary here to "straighten the dialectics out."

In common sense, the reason a man is called Black is because he is a member of the Black race, and the reason a man is called White is because he is a member of the White race. Thus, it appears that the logic of racial distinction is simply that of membership in this or that race. This common conception, therefore, presumes the concept of race to be pri…