Editor's Picks

The Evolution of Human Skin Color

The history of race relations in America makes the worst horror movie sound like a bedtime story for toddlers. Michael Myers has nothing on Uncle Sam, and the Saw series is hardly competition for this country’s many race-related homicides. The worst has to be the subtle racists—the Hannibal Lecter types who lurk behind closed doors, hide their swastikas and drop racial slurs in the comfort of friends or on anonymous online discussion boards. Sometimes it seems we’ve all gone mad like in Dawn of the Dead, infecting each other with intolerance—our brother’s killer rather than his keeper. I mean, can’t we all just get along? This week Nina G. Jablonski comes to town to add insight to the issue and discuss her research on the evolution of skin color, which she explores in her book Skin: A Natural History. The lecture will present an interesting yet simple conclusion: Varying skin color is merely evolution. Talk about intelligent design. (Shanique Jones)