We share in the widespread condemnation of James Watson's racist assertions that has led to his suspension by his research institution, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the cancellation of his book promotion tour in Britain.
Watson's claim that Africans are less intelligent than white people has no basis in science and has been rejected by the scientific community in the aftermath of the infamous The Bell Curve.
What constitutes 'intelligence' is itself problematic - the word has much broader and diverse meanings than what can be encompassed in IQ tests. Intelligence is always intelligence-in-context.
The idea that there is a genetically meaningful African 'race' is also nonsense. There is wide cultural and genetic diversity among Africans. To group the entire populations of Africa together is a characteristically racist trick. Watson has abused his authority as a Nobel Prize-winning geneticist to lend credibility to his own prejudices.
White supremacist and eugenicist ideologies have been the basis of crimes against humanity such as the slave trade, the Holocaust, colonialism, apartheid and lynchings and continuing racist attitudes in society today. Watson's comments are already being celebrated on the internet by British fascists.
Signed:
Professor Steven Rose
Diane Abbott MP
Keith Vaz MP
Sir Herman Ouseley
Baroness Uddin
Dawn Butler MP
Dave Prentis, Gen Sec UNISON
Keith Sonnet, Dep Gen Sec UNISON
Tariq Ali
Milena Buyum (National Assembly Against Racism)
Edie Friedman (Jewish Council for Racial Equality)
Sally Hunt (University and College Union general secretary)
Ruqayyah Collector (NUS black students' officer)
Professor Hilary Rose
Gemma Tumelty (NUS president)
An online debate on Watson's statements can be found on the Guardian's comment is free.