Mythology of Race

Today in American Studies class we were talking about different races and what defines race. I thought that this topic was very interesting and before discussing this I thought that I knew what race was, but after our discussion in class I was really confused and had to rethink everything that I thought before. Mr. Bolos said that growing up he was told their were five races: white, black, brown, yellow, and red. When I heard this I was beside myself, I had never thought that there could only be five races in the world, before our discussion I thought that there were many races and that there was no way that someone could name them. I did not think that colors could describe a race. I think that race is more than just the color of someones skin, it is where they are from, where they were raised, and their physical features. Using Mr. Bolos as an example again, he is Greek American, he told us that he was born in America but raised Greek, so I would say that his race is Greek, he did not think as himself as American growing up, so his race is not American. I think that ethinicity plays a part into race and how we chose what races we have in the world. Is a race the way you look, or the way you potray yourself? I think that it depends on the person. What would you say Obamas race is? He is dark skinned, his dad is black and his mom is white, raised by his grandmother, born in Hawaii, and raised in Illinois.
What is your opinion on race?
How many races do you think we have in the world? Can you name them all?
How do you define race?