Will black people eventually have white skin?

Question

I think that people have different skin pigments because of the climate their ancestors were born in. Africa is mostly a very hot continent, no matter what part you're in. USA has some much cooler places. Do you think that in several thousand years, the skin of black people in the USA will lighten because dark skin isn't needed in a cooler climate?

Answer 1

Actually I think it's more likely that white people will eventually become more and more blended with other races and most of the world will be some shade of brown. Although climate change is happening, it will probably not affect the gene pool as much as increased travel and accessibility between nations & people groups, and as white genes tend to be recessive, it's possible that average skin color will go darker as the years pass.

Answer 2

Your question doesn't take into consideration that there will always be people in Africa, and by extention there will always be people with black skin. You also have to consider that the world is a much smaller place now that people all over the world can travel anywhere they want within a day or two, and therefore you cannot isolate a test group for your question.

So, then, no. There will always be people with black skin.

But what if you could isolate a group? I don't know.

However, the differences in "race" have just as much to do with genetic isolation as they do adaptation. Since your test group would already have the black gene, the black gene would already exist. I cannot see any adaptative need for the gene to change in a colder climate.

(and this is, of course, assuming we don't have it all backwards)

Answer 3

If what we know about evolution is correct, then that could happen. It's believed people migrated from Africa and the climate and environmental conditions did play a part in the developement of different coloured skin. Also the oldest known human remains were found in in Africa. Just like bears, a bear in a hotter climate will be brown or black and an arctic bear will be white. It takes such a long time for these traits to develope and takes so long for evolutionary changes to happen. It's all speculation though, at least for me it is.

Answer 4

No. Skin color is not the direct result of temperature, but rather of sun exposure, and it is a genetically acquired trait influenced by several genes. Dark skin contains more pigments that protect a person from UV radiation, but it is less efficient at converting Vitamin D (I think that's the letter). Lighter skin, on the other hand, provides relatively little UV protection while producing Vitamin D more efficiently. In an area near the equator exposed to a great deal of sunlight, natural selection has favored individuals with darker skin, as the lighter skinned individuals presumably died from skin cancer due to the inability of their skin to protect them from UV radiation. The dark-skinned individuals' inefficiency in vitamin production was irrelevant because sunlight was so abundant. In human populations closer to the poles, individuals needed to produce sufficient Vitamin D with only limited and weak sunlight, so the case was reversed and dark-skinned people died from vitamin deficiency while the threat of UV radiation was relatively insignificant. These changes in population occurred over hundreds of thousands or millions of years, not just several thousand.
In addition, the world's population will never have only one skin color because it is a trait affected by several genes. Let's say that two people with intermediate skin color (possessing half the genes for light skin and half the genes for dark skin, for the sake of argument) have a child. Because of the rules of genetic heredity, this child could have completely dark skin, receiving only the "dark" genes from both parents, very light-skinned, or, in the most likely case, somewhere in between, but not necessarily identical to the parents.

Answer 5

interesting question.
It would seem that it wouldn't since natural selection would not make much of a difference in this respect and since evolution has pretty much discounted lamarckianism as a mechanism for change.
I wonder though if the skin color of the human race in general will change as in modern times all parts of the globe are connected like never before, and the interbreeding of different people will eventually result in a sort equilibrium where everyone is a mix of everyone.
hmmm.

Answer 6

Good Question. Who knows. especially as more and more races marry and begat "mutts" (for the lack of a better term, I am not calling any one an actual mutt, it's meant figuratively). It has been theorized that eventually in a thousand years all Americans will RELATIVELY look alike i.e Japanese, Chinese, Africans. (I am not saying all Japanese e.t. al. look alike when compared to one another, I am saying they look alike when compared to other races like Africans ). It is very well possibly since the dominating race is Caucasian/European influence. However I will say that I do believe that the "inter-breeding" of races will affect the coloring of African Americans long before any evolutionary processes that would actually cause the genetic structure to change in African Americans (or any dark complected race for that matter) Especially since humans dont "naturally select" for skin color type as a survival factor.

However, (now I am on my soap box) from a scientific standpoint due to issues with skin cancer "white" people would do better by mating with "dark" people. And b/c of sickle cell anemia Africans "mating" with white people would be a good Idea to limit the prevelance of the disease. Especially since malaria isnt an issue in the US (I can go further with this to prove scientifically why racism is bad for the future of our species, however I will spare you the boredom)

With all of that said Unfortunately we wont be around to know one way or another.

Answer 7

In several thousand years????? The skin of black people has already lightened up enormously. Often blacks are as light as most white people. Some of it is due to a lack of direct and constant sun, and some of it is through interracial relationships.

In some cases, black people have actually used regular bleach to maintain a white skin.

Answer 8

Yes and no. I believe that skin will lighten but not for your reason, but because of interracial marriages. Eventually, there will have been so many mixed marriages that everyone will pretty much be the same and hopefully that will put an end to racisim. In the meantime....watch BILLY JACK and maybe we can all get along together until then.

Answer 9

I think that to because it makes sense that they would relate to their ancestors. I think their skin will lighten depending what climate their in. But no i don't ever think that they will have completely white skin but maybe a tad bit lighter.

Answer 10

Actually, dark skin would be better in a cooler climate since it attracts and retains heat better. That is why polar bears actually have black skin.