toni morrison on race as a social construction

in light of ferguson and examining racial identity as a social construction in Hong Kingston's China Men....

this is a short clipping of a longer PBS interview where Toni Morrison discusses how all races—not just the black, the brown, the yellow, but also the white—are constructions that white people have historically held onto.

"And if the racist white person, I don't mean the person who is examining his consciousness and so on, doesn't understand, that he or she is also a race that's also constructed, its also made and also has some kind of serviceability. But when you take it away, if I take your race away and there you are all stung out and all you've got is your little self. And what is that? What are you without racism? Are you any good? Are you still strong? Are you still smart? Do you still like yourself?"