How is race science shown in the movie Hotel Rwanda?

About midway through Hotel Rwanda there's a powerful, if somewhat heavy-handed, scene in which a good-hearted U. N. colonel (Nick Nolte) makes clear to hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) why the West won't intervene to stop the ongoing Rwandan genocide. "We think you're dirt, Paul," he explains sadly. "You're black. You're not even a n*. You're an African."