'Until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes – me say war' Bob Marley

What does 'race' actually mean? Has the term outlived its usefulness?

The Victorians developed the modern concept of race – though its roots go back much earlier. The rise of modern anthropology and science in the 19th century devised racial categories as a way of making sense of the non-white world. And following Darwin, and the decline of biblical explanations of human origins, 'race' began to seem a suitable way of grouping.

But the certainties of 1900 were less certain in 2000. Science and social science felt less comfortable with the old ideas of race, not least because of the disasters, from the Nazis in Germany to apartheid in South Africa. Modern science also poses serious questions about its validity. DNA elements that track the origins of modern humans back to Africa have served to diminish faith in 'race'.

Post-1492, as Britain became populated with the peoples from the Caribbean, the pace and extent of racial mixing increased rapidly. Post-1945, massive population migrations have seen black and white thrown together in social proximity as never before. Acceptance has grown, but remains a powerful social force. Liaisons across race lines still provoke a reaction of anger and fear among many 'traditional' societies and families.

Today, many regard racial mixing as a modern human variant of globalisation itself. Merging cultures seems to be the right and proper way forward. But for others it is the celebration of this very difference that is the stuff of humanity. For them a better future lies in a mosaic of skin colour, neither superior or inferior, living side by side.