Truth, Memory, Hair, History, and the Courage to Read Clearly
Black History Month is a sacred invitation to remember, to face truth with courage, and to restore what has been lost or misunderstood. The Bible has been used in ways that brought both pain and healing, but God’s heart is always for restoration.
This essay stays grounded in history. It reports, examines, checks facts, reasons, and reflects. It neither denies nor assigns blame. It asks a question that has been misunderstood for generations:
Are there Black people in the Bible?
THE CENTER
Yes—God’s Word includes Black people, woven into the story from the very beginning.
From the lands and people described, the Bible clearly includes those we would recognize as Black, both in ancient times and today. God never calls Blackness a curse, never diminishes its beauty, and never sets African people aside. It was not God’s Word that erased Black presence, but human ideas that tried to justify injustice. God’s heart has always celebrated every shade and story.
From the lands and people described, the Bible clearly includes those we would recognize as Black, both in ancient times and today. God never calls Blackness a curse, never diminishes its beauty, and never sets African people aside. It was not God’s Word that erased Black presence, but human ideas that tried to justify injustice. God’s heart has always celebrated every shade and story.
FACT: WHAT THE BIBLE EXPLICITLY SAYS
- Humanity descends from Adam and Eve (Genesis)
- Humanity continues after the Flood through Noah, his wife, and their sons and daughters-in-law (Genesis 6–10)
- Nations formed after Babel through language separation and dispersion (Genesis 11)
- Cush (Ethiopia) is repeatedly named as both a people and a region.
- Moses married a Cushite woman, and God rebuked those who opposed it (Numbers 12)
- Ethiopians are referenced as a recognizable people (Jeremiah 13:23)
- An Ethiopian official is baptized in the New Testament (Acts 8)
- Simon of Cyrene (North Africa) carries Jesus’ cross (Gospels)
The Bible does not say:
- Ham was cursed with black skin.
- Cain was turned black.
- Blackness is a punishment.
- Whiteness is holiness
Those ideas appear centuries later, not in Scripture.
LOGIC: COLOR, LANGUAGE, AND HONEST READING
While ancient people did not use our modern ideas of race, they saw color, region, and identity. To ignore this is not humility—it is turning away from the truth God invites us to see.
- “Black” and “white” in Scripture are contextual descriptors, not hierarchies.
- White can mean disease (leprosy), age, brightness, or ritual imagery.
- Black can mean natural complexion, sun exposure, grief, famine, or illness.
Example:
“I am black and comely.” — Song of Solomon 1:5
The text does not say “I was white but became dark.” That explanation was added later to make readers comfortable.
HISTORY: SLAVERY IS NOT ONE THING
Pre-Atlantic African Slavery (Varied)
- Commonly connected to war, debt, or punishment.
- Enslaved people could marry, rise in status, and assimilate
- Humanity was not denied.
- Skin color was not the marker.
- This was similar, though not the same, as biblical servitude.
Trans-Atlantic Chattel Slavery (Unique Evil)
This system was categorically different:
- Racialized (hereditary, permanent)
- Industrialized (ships, insurance, markets, laws)
- Sexualized (rape, forced breeding)
- Dehumanizing (education banned, names erased)
- Mass-death producing (millions died in transit)
Racism was invented to defend this evil, but it is never found in God’s Word.
The Bible condemns this explicitly:
“He that stealeth a man, and selleth him… shall surely be put to death.”
— Exodus 21:16
“Woe unto him that buildeth a town with blood.”
— Habakkuk 2:12
These systems are not morally the same.
DEDUCTIONS: HUMAN ORIGINS AND VARIATION
- Genetics places humanity’s shared maternal ancestry in Africa.
- Africa holds the greatest genetic diversity.
- Skin tone, hair texture, hair color, and eye color are polygenic.
- Early populations could have carried wide variation before Babel.
- After people spread out, environment and isolation shaped how groups looked, not their value.
Region gives probability, not proof.
It is not honest to deny the deep roots of Black presence while easily accepting European identity. God calls us to fairness and truth.
It is not honest to deny the deep roots of Black presence while easily accepting European identity. God calls us to fairness and truth.
HAIR: A DEEP WOUND AND A PLACE OF HEALING
Hair is more than appearance—it is a sacred part of identity, and sadly, a place where deep wounds have been inflicted. Yet God sees beauty and purpose in every strand.
FACT
Grade 4 (4a–4c) Afro hair is structurally distinct, not “extra curly”:
- Tight coil geometry
- High density
- Non-linear, fractal form
- Traps air → insulation
- Releases heat efficiently
- Creates a micro-shade for the scalp
- Retains moisture when properly cared for
These are gifts, not flaws—designed by God for blessing.
MUSING
Afro hair reflects the earth’s richness—fractal, clustered, generative, not flat or uniform. It resembles loose soil more than polished surface: a structure built for life, resilience, and renewal.
HEALING TRUTH
Black Hair is not sinful.
Black Hair is not cursed.
Black Hair is not unprofessional by nature.
Black Hair is a God-given inheritance.
Black Hair is not cursed.
Black Hair is not unprofessional by nature.
Black Hair is a God-given inheritance.
FAQ: ANSWERING COMMON EVASIONS
Q: Isn’t race a modern concept?
Yes. But people, lands, and appearance are not.
Yes. But people, lands, and appearance are not.
Q: Wasn’t Ham cursed?
No. The text says Canaan was cursed through the loss of the land of Canaan, the land where the Messiah will be born, not about skin or worth.
No. The text says Canaan was cursed through the loss of the land of Canaan, the land where the Messiah will be born, not about skin or worth.
Q: Isn’t this reading modern ideas into Scripture?
No. It is removing the modern racial theology added later.
No. It is removing the modern racial theology added later.
Q: Couldn’t Africans in the Bible have been light-skinned settlers?
European identity is rarely questioned this way. Fairness matters.
European identity is rarely questioned this way. Fairness matters.
WHAT SCRIPTURE ALLOWS US TO SAY — AND WHERE IT STOPS
“Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:12
God’s Word gives us enough truth to reject every lie, but not enough detail to use identity as a weapon. Scripture teaches:
- One human family
- One standard of judgment
- Salvation by grace through Christ alone
- No skin, wealth, lineage, or nation saves
A PLEDGE (FOR THE PRESENT AND FUTURE)
We will not build prosperity with blood.
We will not excuse human trafficking in any form.
We will not rewrite Scripture to justify domination.
We will not police dignity by phenotype.
We will resist any system that dehumanizes any people.
We will not excuse human trafficking in any form.
We will not rewrite Scripture to justify domination.
We will not police dignity by phenotype.
We will resist any system that dehumanizes any people.
PRAYER
Father God, in Jesus’ blessed name,
End delusion, false teaching, and inherited lies.
Give wisdom, understanding, and courage to seek truth.
Heal shame placed where You did not put it.
Judge systems built on blood and theft.
Protect every person from future dehumanization.
Unite us in truth, repentance, and grace through Christ alone.
Amen.
End delusion, false teaching, and inherited lies.
Give wisdom, understanding, and courage to seek truth.
Heal shame placed where You did not put it.
Judge systems built on blood and theft.
Protect every person from future dehumanization.
Unite us in truth, repentance, and grace through Christ alone.
Amen.
SOURCES
Scripture
Genesis; Numbers; Song of Solomon; Jeremiah; Isaiah; Acts; Romans; 1 Corinthians; Galatians; Revelation
Genesis; Numbers; Song of Solomon; Jeremiah; Isaiah; Acts; Romans; 1 Corinthians; Galatians; Revelation
History & Scholarship (General)
Ancient Near Eastern geography; African and Mediterranean history; population genetics; archaeology; studies on slavery systems and racial ideology
Ancient Near Eastern geography; African and Mediterranean history; population genetics; archaeology; studies on slavery systems and racial ideology
