Race and ethnicity have historically played a huge part in discrimination and unjust prejudice. Race denotes biological physical qualities while ethnicity refers to cultural background and identification. Since race and ethnicity can widely differ and directly involve people's ancestral homelands, it makes sense that people have been judging others based on race and ethnicity since before recorded history. Differences in race and physical appearance are often instantly noticeable and can be strikingly contrasting. When white colonizers invaded Africa, in the 1400's they thought the Africans were monkeys and not human. Obviously, hundreds of years of oppression and violence have plagued race relationships. In today's world, however, there is no reason to judge based on race or ethnicity.