The Antiracist Bookshelf

A smattering of self-styled experts believe they can assign IQ levels to the world’s racial groups. Even if their data were beyond reproach, what does that say about IQ testing? Is it objective or socioeconomically biased? British journalist Rageh Omaar searches for answers in this thoughtful, globe-spanning program. Recounting the turmoil Dr. James Watson stirred up with his 2007 remarks on race, genetics, and intelligence, Omaar describes a recent meeting with the famous scientist and notes the significance of his refusal to appear in the film. For on-camera assertions of a race-IQ link, the program turns to Dr. Richard Lynn, author of The Global Bell Curve, who calmly informs Somali-born Omaar that Africans are inherently less intelligent than Europeans and Asians. Controversial psychologist J. Phillipe Rushton, who has made claims similar to Lynn’s, and researcher James Flynn, whose focus is on environmental factors rather than race, are among the many other figures Omaar interviews in this daring journey through an intellectual minefield.