The future of race

(I'm not sure if this is my week to post but I think I might be missing one, so.)

Everyone in our class wants racism to end (I hope), but what would come after that? Let's say we reach a Star Trek-like society where race is just not a big issue anymore. We've managed to gain equality economically, in the media, in the work force, etc, etc. We're free of major race issues, so then what?

Do we let go of the idea of race?

Play along here with me, and let's say that thanks to science, our generation gets to live to be 150, or something, and so we see the changes in society. They're good changes; we're glad for them. But could we let race go? Would our grandchildren, free of the harsh stereotypes and the punches, still use "race"? Would they even identify as anything?

Obviously I can't speak for my imaginary great great grandchildren, but I personally don't think I could let it go. I would always see myself as Hispanic. I would always be watchful of any hateful things that might pop up that are tied to race. And to take it one step further, I think I would even be upset that my descendants wouldn't identify themselves as Hispanic. There's something distressing to me about that thought that I can't quite place. There would technically be no great need for them to still identify themselves that way, but I would want them to anyway.

A few years back there was a race discussion on an online community I was a part of, and I still remember it because it was something I had never thought about. A woman made a comment about how she would take it personally if her son was to marry a white girl. She, being black, felt that her son would be rejecting her in a sense by marrying outside of their race (I can't remember if it was specifically if he married a white girl or just outside of their race in general). It was a rather long thread with some people telling her that was ridiculous and a good handful of others agreeing and saying they felt the same way. In a way that I still can't articulate, I see her point.

I still think about that discussion every now and then, and it actually made me think really hard about who I wanted to marry. The more I think about it, the more I think I want to marry a Hispanic man. And right now, my brother--who is practically my best friend--is dating a white girl, and there are times where I am honestly thrown off by it. It's like the older I get the more I fear losing my Hispanic identity. It doesn't help that my mom remarried to a white man, and the culture clash has been absolutely god awful to go through. 

So while I certainly think that things might have been better if the concept of race had never existed, if the idea had been erased in time to prevent this white supremacy, I'm not sure if I want the future to be race-less. I think we would lose something, though I'm not sure what.