Press release 6 February 2018

 

Appeal to politicians: Italian anthropologists demand that more scientific information be made available to the public, in order to combat racism.

 

 

Scientific knowledge as an important tool in the social and political battle against racism: this proposal put forward by anthropologists will be presented Thursday, February 15 at 1 pm in the press room of the Chamber of Deputies, Rome.

 

Eighty years since the promulgation of the racial laws in Italy and with the recent racist attack in Macerata in mind, the need to take effective steps against the spread of racism appears ever more urgent.

In this regard, the document signed by the Associations and Scientific Societies of Anthropologists1 in Italy is a first response. The text points out that the study and understanding of biological and cultural diversity have now made it clear that human beings do not form a category divided up into separate groups which are incapable of developing forms of coexistence, exchange, and sharing. Furthermore, there are no inherited qualities that justify the existence of “social hierarchies” based on putative cognitive or behavioral inequalities among human groups. Cultural differences suggest that people are similar in their capacity to learn and create rather than constituting a pretext for a tragic series of walls and barriers.

In the current social situation, marked by tension and risks of social conflict, it is essential that these and other elements of knowledge be shared, generously and in a more effective way, with all citizens.

During the press conference at the Chamber of Deputies, Italian anthropologists will present the document and appeal to political groups and parties and to the candidates in the upcoming elections on March 4th, to commit to making the spread of scientific information a priority, the most effective shield against all racism, and to promote policies and initiatives (beginning with the schools) which will provide our population with correct and up-to-date scientific knowledge as to the nature and significance of biological and cultural diversity.