{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39509/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39509","id":"gutenberg_39509","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39509","summary":null,"tags":["Black people in the Bible","Category: History - Ancient","Category: History - Religious","Civilization, Ancient","Theological anthropology"],"text":"Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by The\nInternet Archive.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: JAMES MORRIS WEBB, A. M.\n\nEvangelist of the Church of God\n\n(Acts 20-28, Biblical)]\n\n\n\n\n  The Black Man\n\n  The Father of Civilization\n\n  Proven by Biblical History\n\n\n  AUTHOR: James Morris Webb, A. M.\n\n\n  Copyright Applied For\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nI have many objects in presenting this book to the public.\n\n_First_: I love my race regardless of the prejudice against her, the\nunenviable position she holds, and the things she is falsely said to be\nguilty of.\n\nI demonstrate my love for her by launching this book before the public as\nsomewhat of a defense against the prejudice of ancient, as well as modern\nhistorical writers and lecturers, who have misrepresented her, and took\nfrom her the good deeds and honors that are justly due her.\n\n_Secondly_: I realize that my race has had defenders, and has some now,\nmen of my race and men of other races. But I am simply presenting this\nbook as an humble race defender, in connection with the body of race\ndefenders, and if my theory in this book is accepted as one of the little\nfingers of this splendid body, I will feel that I have accomplished some\nresults and thus portrayed the story of \"The Widow's Mite\"--she gave all\nshe had, and I contribute likewise.\n\n_Thirdly_: To appreciate my argument, the reader had best have a Bible at\nhis finger tips so as to examine my references and compare them with my\nstatements, which I make wholly and solely upon the authorities found in\nthe Bible, which in turn is the real and only authority on ancient history\n(again my authority is not inspired in the slightest degree with malice or\nhatred for the white race). My profession as a Minister of the Gospel of\nJesus Christ would not permit me to defend in the name of justice,\nharboring malice and hatred or any ill feeling toward my white brethren. I\nam acting with that meek and humble spirit and with a gigantic pride in my\nrace, which I hope, pleases God.\n\nJ. M. WEBB.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN\n\nFREDERICK DOUGLAS\n\nDR. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON]\n\n\nTHREE OF THE GREATEST MEN IN AMERICAN HISTORY\n\nFrederick Douglas, the thunder-bolt, whose mighty peals of thunder awoke\nthe sympathy of the Christian men and women of this country in behalf of\nhis enslaved and suffering people.\n\nAbraham Lincoln, the flash of lightning, who, like a streak of light from\nHeaven giving hope to the black people, struck the shackles from their\nhands and left them lying shattered at their feet.\n\nDr. Booker T. Washington, who is nobly directing a never-to-be-forgotten\nbattle for that moral and industrial education, which Douglas and Lincoln\nmade it possible for them to obtain.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe Bible gives the first and only true account of the origin of mankind.\nIt is the only book containing an accurate record of the progress of man\ntoward civilization, and it is the indispensable reference of all\nsearchers after the real facts of the birth of humanity and its progress\ntoward the civilization of today; beginning with his creation, it is the\nonly authentic record of man; authentic because it is first hand, not a\ncopy of something else or a scientific or literary review, but a\ndispassionate record of man's creation and progress, untrimmed, unshaped\nand unvarnished, to suit prejudice. It would not be a complete record if\nit did not show with the rest of them the origin of the black man and \"Woe\nfor all these pinnacle thieves\"--it shows that he, the \"black man\" is the\n\"father of civilization.\"\n\nThe black man has been misrepresented by prejudiced historians and\nlecturers. It has been and is now quoted that Ham, the father of the black\nman, was cursed by his father, Noah. Now, in regard to this incident let\nus take the Biblical record for it, and anyone not totally blind with\nprejudice will be convinced by reading in the Book of Genesis the 9th\nChapter from the 20th to the 27th verse inclusive, that Noah did not, \"for\nhe could not curse\" Ham, although he did in a fit of intoxication\npronounce a curse on Canaan, the son of Ham. In passing, I might mention\nthat Canaan was never inconvenienced by the curse of Noah, because he was\nthe Father of seven prosperous nations, foremost among them were the\nCanaanites, Phoenicians and Sidonians. The Sidonians sprang from Sidon,\nwho was the first son of Canaan, according to Genesis 10th Chapter 15th\nverse. These same Sidonians are the men \"descended from black men\" whom\nSolomon ordered Hiram of Tyre to engage to do the skilled hewing and\ndesigning of the timber work on Solomon's temple--Solomon declaring that\nthese Sidonians, \"black men\" were the only men possessed with anywhere\nnear sufficient skill to take charge of and successfully complete the\nartistic timber work on \"His\" Solomon's temple. First Kings 5th Chapter\n6th verse speaks very plainly of this fact. Solomon knew the black race\nwas a superior, not an inferior race. He married Pharoah's daughter--see\n1st Kings, 3rd Chapter 1st verse; 7th Chapter 8th verse, also the 9th\nChapter and 16th verse. Solomon's wife might have been of as dark skin or\neven as black as he was, for history shows that Egypt had two full blooded\nEthiopian Pharoahs just before and during the reign of Solomon, according\nto Herodotus, the names of these two Ethiopians were Sabaco or \"Sebichos\"\nand Sethos, so Solomon surely got an Ethiopian \"Negro or black\" woman for\na wife. This naturally increased the proportion of Negro blood in the\nveins of the future King of the Jews. Viewing the progress of the\nimmediate descendants of Ham we learn that a curse laid upon one by a\nmortal of that day was as foolish and ineffective as it is in this, the\nstory about this curse, also the story of the black man who contended that\na black skin and woolly hair is a disgrace, has, according to the Bible,\nno foundation. Speaking of black skin, the greatest brain work and wisdom\never given to this world was given by men of black skins, or at least in\nwhose veins the greatest portion of blood was Ethiopian or Negro blood. As\nto this assertion and King Solomon, see \"Songs of Solomon 1st Chapter 6th\nverse.\" Solomon's dark skin should cause no surprise, because his mother,\nHittite, was also the widow of Uriah (see 2nd Samuels 12th Chapter 9th\nand 10th verses). The Hittites are the descendants of Heth and Heth was\nthe second son of Canaan (see Genesis 10th Chapter 15th verse).\n\nAs to the woolly hair, Jesus, the Blessed Saviour of Mankind, will have\nHis head covered with woolly hair when he comes to judge the world,\n(Daniel 7th Chapter 9th and 10th verses). Now, if Daniel's prophecy is\ntrue that when Christ left this earth he had woolly hair, he naturally\nwill return with woolly hair, and the pictures of Him today are an\nerroneous conception of Him, by the artists. This grand old book the\nBible, does not show that God ever turned a man black to disgrace him for\nhis sins, or anything else, but this same Bible does show that God's power\ndid turn a man white to disgrace him because of his sins, and said that\nhis seed would be likewise forever. Facts are stubborn things and often\nvery disagreeable, sometimes even sickening, and by reading carefully the\n5th Chapter of the 2nd Kings, 25th, 26th and 27th verses, many of our\nhighly civilized brethren \"whose ancient ancestors disgraced them\" will\nsuffer an alarming fit of nausea. Among the many low cowardly things that\nhave been said and done against the Negro during this Christian era, one\npoor benighted individual published a \"joke\" in book form, in which he\nclaims that, the Negro is a beast, the poor fellow tries to be serious,\nand no doubt thinks he is offering at least some proof of his assertion.\nThe poor fellow of course, receives some sympathy, and would no doubt\nreceive as much as any of the rest of his class, were it not for the fact\nthat he holds a Professorship in one of our leading American Christian\nUniversities. Of course the disgust, if any, is felt for those responsible\nfor placing the poor devil in such a position, and the real and well\nplaced sympathy is for the student, who must suffer because of this\nfellow. The fact remains, however, that regardless of what has been said\nand done against the Negro and of whatever might be said or done against\nhim in future, he is the ONLY man who can trace himself back through the\nages to his origin, and find monumental evidence of his unequaled\ngreatness, his prowess, the laurels and great honors he won, the things he\ncreated and perfected which have a direct influence on our civilization of\ntoday.\n\nThe \"black man\" I boldly assert \"was the Father of civilization,\" born in\nthe land of Egypt, and the different branches of Science and Art were\nsimply transmitted to other races, which, as the ages have rolled by have\nonly been enlarged and to some extent improved upon. Even the modern\nAmerican Negro has proven that he is original, for instance--as a\nTonsorial Artist he has no superiors and no Negro was ever known to enter\na \"Barber College\" to learn the trade. Negroes inherit the sweetest, most\nmusical voices, and if you have not heard a Negro quartette or chorus\nafter they have arranged the harmony of a piece they are to sing, you have\nnot heard what is best and sweetest in vocal music. As instrumentalists\n\"not forgetting the many others\" I simply mention Blind Tom, and Blind\nBoone, the fame of these two men needs no comment. They only displayed\nthat talent handed down to them through centuries by their black\nancestors. As for the Negro being original, why the Negro has given great\nAmerica the only claim she ever did or ever will have to a National music.\n\nGod honored the black man by allowing some of his Ethiopian blood to flow\nin the veins of His only Son Jesus Christ, and I unhesitatingly assert\nthat Jesus would in America be classed a NEGRO. I make this assertion\nonly on the authority of the Bible, according to which Jesus was born out\nof the tribe of Judah. Judah had only five children and they were males,\n(1st Chron. 2nd ch. and 4th v.), three by his first wife and two by his\nsecond wife (1st Chron. 2nd ch. 3rd and 4th vs.), and both of his wives\nwere descendants of Canaan, a black man who was the son of Ham (Genesis\n10th ch. 6th v.). Tamar, Judah's second wife, bore him two of these sons\nwhose names were Phares and Zarah (1st Chron. 2nd ch. and 4th v.), these\ntwo names appear in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the Book of Matthew\n(1st Chapter 3rd verse), so it is no trouble to see that Judah of whom\nChrist was to come, started out by presenting to the world children of\nCanaanite women who were Hamite descendants. Now, Virgin Mary, of whom\nChrist was born was beyond all doubt a woman out of the tribe of Judah,\nand every Bible reference proclaims that Jesus was to spring from this\ntribe of Judah (Genesis 49-10, Heb. 7-14, Rev. 5-5th). Our beloved St.\nPaul tells us in (Romans 1-3) that Jesus was of the seed of David\naccording to the flesh. David is the 10th man named from Judah in the\ngenealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1st Chapter, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th\nverses). Added to this David's great, great grandfather \"Booz\" was born of\nthe woman Rahab, who was a direct descendant of Ham (Matthew 1st Chapter\n5th verse). This also shows that David, one of God's greatest soldiers,\nwas one who most successfully led his people and one who had Negro blood\nin his veins. Bible history is full of honors for the Black Man, Jethro\nthe Ethiopian or Negro father-in-law of Moses, who was the author who\nfirst employed that, which is today, our judicial system, considerably\ntwisted and revised to meet the changing conditions of civilization\n(Exodus 18th Chapter). This chapter tells of Jethro's visit to Moses, and\nhow he gave Moses the foundation of what is today our system of graded\ncourts for pronouncing judgments. Again Moses \"The Hebrew Emancipator\" was\nnamed by a black woman \"Pharoah's daughter\"--she said she called him Moses\nbecause she drew him out of the water (Exodus 2-10) and besides black men\neducated Moses. At any rate he received what education he had in the\nschools of the black people of Egypt (Acts 7th 22nd), so there is nothing\nremarkable in the fact that Dr. Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. DuBois, W.\nS. Scarborough and many other Negro or black men occupy places among the\nforemost and most eminent educators of the world, and why should they not?\nThey are descended from fathers who ruled Egypt centuries ago and with\ntheir great wisdom layed the foundation of learning.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: BISHOP H. M. TURNER, D.D., L.L.D.\n\nThe Most Fearless Defender the Afro-Americans Have]\n\n\nBISHOP H. M. TURNER, D.D., L.L.D.\n\nBishop H. M. Turner, born at Newbury, South Carolina, February 1st, 1833,\nis the senior Bishop of the A. M. E. Church. He has been Bishop for\nthirty-one years, and is quoted as the walking encyclopedia of Methodism,\nand for this cause the last general conference that convened at Norfolk,\nVa., on May, 1908, voted unanimously for the good Bishop to be the\nhistorian of the African-Methodist Episcopal Church. It is to be\nremembered that Bishop Turner was the first colored man to be a\ncommissioned officer in the United States Army, which appointment he\nreceived from President Lincoln. The Bishop was twice a member of the\nGeorgia Legislature, and also the first of his church to be elected Bishop\nto Africa.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BLACK MAN\n\n\n\n\nFIRST CHAPTER.\n\n\n\"That time changes all things\" is a saying so old and so true as to admit\nof no argument. It is exemplified in so many different ways as to require\nno comment, and yet when we hear the phrase used glibly and thoughtlessly,\nevery day, it is but natural to wonder if the one who uses it realizes\nwhat he is saying, or rather, if he knows what those few commonplace words\nmean, when used to form that sentence.\n\nIt is a foregone conclusion that he does not. He never stopped, \"he, of\nthis enlightened age, I mean,\" long enough to examine even a little of the\nabundance of indisputable proof that the saying \"Time changes all things\"\napplies to things and conditions, seldom if ever present, to his own\nnarrow mind, and far away and beyond even his meaner and low prejudiced\ninfluence. If he did, his retrospective mood, would, before carrying him\nback to the very beginning, suffer something of a shock, and his attitude\nwould change. Instead of delighting in history, modern, medieval and\nancient, his attitude would change so noticeably that an observer would\nimagine that his only interest was in tearing down and falsifying facts,\nand concealing records that he could not falsify. When we hear or read the\nsayings of some of our \"misnamed\" great men, but in reality disgustingly\nconspicuous public figures, we are fully justified in making the charge of\nfalsifying and concealing such facts as they are not really ignorant of.\nOne of these conspicuous public characters delights in making the\nassertion that the Hamite Ethiopian or Negro never amounted to anything,\nor possessed anything, never occupied an eminence, save to which the\nSemitic or white man had dragged or driven him up to. If ignorance alone\nwas responsible for this glaring falsehood, a great deal of sympathy would\ngo out to those who make the statement as well as those who believe it to\nbe true because of their ignorance. As harsh as it may seem sympathy would\nbe wasted for a great deal of the self asserted enlightenment of today is\nbut egotism. Much of the so-called wisdom is self praise for successfully\nconcealing, or at least surrounding historical facts with such mystery as\nto place the descendants of Shem upon an eminence which is not justly his\nand makes him in his own opinion appear much larger than what he really\nis. And yet with all the egotism, some knowledge of the true origin of\nmankind exists, and it is this knowledge that causes the fasifying and\nhiding as much as possible the true historical records, especially of the\nblack man. It cannot be said that the learned historical writers, the\ngreat Divines, Theological students and lecturers of today are ignorant of\nthe history of Ham, the son of Noah, and his descendants, such as Nimrod,\nthe founder of the great ancient city of Babylon, and also Menes the first\nKing of Egypt and the founder of the great ancient city of Memphis.\n\nRidpath says that the traditions of antiquity points to Memphis and\nBabylon as the fountains of human wisdom. If those above-named are\nignorant of the history of the last-named, they are doing the world a\ngreat injustice in assuming the position of teacher and leader. If they\nare familiar with the history of the races and the deeds of men, they will\nno doubt have for them and their kind good and sufficient reasons for\nmaking false and misleading statements as to some historical records, and\ntotally forgetting or demeaning others.\n\nAn early Queen of Egypt was a descendant of the Ethiopian or Negro race.\nThis is conceded by some of the modern writers; some of them going so far\nas to say that her skin was very black, and a few of them acknowledge that\nit was this black queen who placed the first fleet of war ships on the\nriver Nile. They have no doubt traced this woman back to where they are\nsatisfied that she was descended in a direct lineal line from Zipporah,\nthe black and Ethiopian wife of Moses. We read very little of these two\nwomen, because modern writers seek to obscure them, and our ministers of\nthe gospel never preach or lecture on that part of the Bible in which they\nare mentioned. WHY? Because, if they do they must give credit to black\npeople. In this connection, I do not speak of Biblical history only. Were\nit not for the fact that the dimensions of this book would be extended far\nbeyond what was intended, I could begin even with Hannibal, the\nCarthagenian General, and record the accomplishments of black men without\nthe intervening of any long periods of time, down to the time of Alexander\nDumas, Toussant L'Overture, and Alexander Sergievitch Pouskin,\nRusso-African poet. I could do more, I could come into the borders of this\nRepublic and beginning with Crispus Octikus, or Alexander Hamilton--record\nthe accomplishments of these same black descendants of Ham, down to this\nday. This modern record would contain many references to both the war of\nIndependence and the war of the Rebellion. It would also mention a great\nmany black men who can never forget El Caney and San Juan Hill. Besides\nthe heroes of war, modern history is replete with the names of black men\nfamous in peace for their accomplishments in science and letters of art.\nSpace will not permit me to dwell upon these men and their accomplishments\nand the towering obstacles in spite of which they succeeded. I could not\nfail, however, to mention Frederick Douglas who was one of the greatest\nstatesmen America ever had, even though he was born a slave. Dr. Booker T.\nWashington was also born a slave, and is one of the greatest educators the\nworld has ever known. As to the many other great things black men have\ndone and are doing, I cannot fail to mention the north pole, for, if human\nbeings have stood on the spot claimed as the north pole, the black man was\npreceded by no one. I speak of Mr. Matt Henson, the Negro, who, if indeed,\nthe pole ever was reached, was one of the first of the only two \"to date\"\nto reach it.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH]\n\nProf. W. S. Scarborough is head of the Classical Department of Wilberforce\nUniversity of Ohio, and Vice-President of the same institution. He, too,\nis a great writer in defense of the Afro-American race. Here are some of\nhis remarks in his master-piece, \"Race Integrity\": (See next page.)\n\n\n\"The truth is that the term 'Caucasian' has little or no meaning as it is\nnow used. The word itself is a conventional term given at the first by\nBlumenbach to designate what he considered the highest type of the human\nfamily, shown by a skull from Mount Caucasus. When we attempt to trace\nthose who would claim the name as an expression of their superiority we\nfind the type has disappeared. There is no pure specimen now in existence.\nAnd if we ask what is 'white' we can only say, 'that it is a term used to\ndesignate the absence of color'--that is all, and no sign whatever of\n'race integrity.' We have already indicated that science and investigation\npoint to the fact that primitive man was not white. It is no new theory,\nbut it has seemed convenient for the Saxon to let it rest as much as\npossible in discrete oblivion. Bishop H. M. Turner of the African\nMethodist Episcopal church has often promulgated it in his own inimitable\nway, and Moncure D. Conway has also declared that the white people of the\nworld today are only a reflex leprosy and that the natural color is brown\nor black.\"\n\n\n\n\nSECOND CHAPTER.\n\nHIS FIRST HOME\n\n\nGod but faintly revealed the puzzle of civilization to Noah and his three\nsons, Shem, Ham and Japhet (Genesis 9th Chapter 1st seven verses), and it\nbecame their duty to start to work on the first moves of the puzzle, as\nwell as to create nations. He, who would begin from the first, moves and\nworks the matter out to perfection.\n\nHam, the father of the black man, located in Africa. Africa was his\nhomestead, so to speak. David, the Psalmist, credited Ham with this\nterritory in the 105th Psalm 23rd and 27th verses, and also in the 106th\nPsalm 22nd verse. Now, if this is not true, and we reject it on the ground\nof not being sufficient proof of the black man's first and original home,\nwe can on quite as good ground reject any and every other part of the\nBible, for what I here state is no wild imagination, but FACTS taken from\nthe Bible.\n\nCush, Mizriam, Phut and Canaan were the first sons of Ham (Genesis 10th\nChapter, 6th verse), and these four sons including Nimrod, the grandson\nof Ham, were the first to start work on the problem of civilization; in a\nword they were the pioneers and the very pillars of civilized governments.\n\nCush located in South Egypt on the River Nile. He became the father of the\nEthiopians as well as the father of the Cushites through Nimrod who\nlocated on the Southern part of the Euphrates River. It is to be\nremembered that Nimrod is the founder of the Babylonian kingdom (Genesis\n10th Chapter, 10th verse.) Mizriam located on the upper part of the River\nNile, and he became the father of the Egyptians. Phut located in the\nNorthern part of Africa. Canaan located in the land known as the old\nPalestine country, which is modern Turkey. Canaan became the father of the\nCanaanites (Genesis 10th Chapter, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th verses).\nAccording to the Bible the above is the exact location of the first sons\nof Ham, and the question which naturally follows is, \"Was civilization\nborn in their land and given birth by Ham's first offspring?\" It is\nconceded by John Clark Ridpath and a few other writers on ancient history\nthat the Egyptians were the fathers of civilization, according to the\nchronology of Manetho, an Egyptian priest. Egypt was founded in the year\nB. C. 3892, and Menes was the first mortal King. The all important\nquestion now arises, \"Were the Egyptians descendants of black men, or were\nthey descendants of white men? Were they descendants of Ham or Shem?\" It\nis well known that students claim to be divided in their opinion as to the\noriginal stock from which the ancient Egyptians came. Ridpath, among\nothers, says they were neither Semitic nor Negro, but concludes his\nremarks on the origin of the Egyptians by saying that the ancient\nEgyptians were considered a branch of that part of the Cushite family,\nwhich settled in Asia. Probably the little matter of the Cushites being\nthe grand-children of Ham slipped Ridpath's mind, else his statements\nwould not have been so conflicting, because he just says that they were\nnot Negroes, but ends his argument by saying that they were a branch of\nthe Cushite family of Asia.\n\nIt requires no laborious research to establish the facts that Cush was the\nfather of all Cushite nations. He was also the first son of Ham (Genesis\n10th Chapter, 6th verse). Now then, if the Ethiopians and all other\nCushite nations who sprang from this first son of Ham were not Negroes,\nwill some of our historians omit the word \"probably,\" so much used by\nthem, and say _what_ they were. It is fair to assume that with their\nboasted intelligence and superior brain power, by this time they would\nhave been able to search out and connect at least some of the many facts,\nand plain, indisputable records in the Bible which leaves no room for\ndoubt or \"probably.\"\n\nWe learn from the Bible that Ham is the father of the African family; the\nEthiopian is the darkest or blackest tribe of the Hamites. Cush was the\nfounder or father of this tribe. Moses selected his wife from this black\nor Ethiopian tribe (Numbers 12th Chapter, 1st verse). It must be plain to\nany one who will read the parts referred to in the Bible, that Ridpath's\ncontention that the Egyptians sprang from the Cushites was the wrong\navenue to escape the blood of the Negro, or their relation to the black\nman's family. I believe, however, that Ridpath wrote in good faith for the\nmajority of the historical writers claim that the Egyptians descended from\na white race, notwithstanding they admit that the Old Testament gives the\ntruest, the most complete and reliable record on the origin of the\nEgyptians of any other book, so it is not unnatural to believe that their\nopinions are influenced by racial prejudice.\n\nNow it is true that the Bible contains the only authentic, and certainly\nthe most ancient record of not only the Egyptians, but of all mankind, and\nI CAN and will PROVE by it that the Egyptian--Hamite--sprang from Mizriam.\n\nAccording to the Biblical Gazette, the word \"Egypt\" is derived from the\nword Mizriam, and this word \"Mizriam\" was the name of one of the first\nsons of Ham (Genesis 10th Chapter, 6th verse). By the word \"Egypt\" being\ncoined from the word \"Mizriam,\" it strengthens my contention that the\nEgyptian was descended from the black man. I will now dig down further\ninto the rich earth of proof for more enlightenment out of the Book of\nTruth. By viewing the ancient Bible map of Africa and Asia, which map can\nbe found in the back of the New Testament, one can readily pick out the\nspots upon which Shem, Ham and Japheth first located. You will notice that\nMizriam, the second son of Ham, and the accredited father of the Egyptians\nlocated on the very spot, so to speak, where the great City of Memphis was\nbuilt by Menes, the first King of Egypt. Again you will notice that all\nthe names within African borders are names of the sons of Ham, Shem and\nhis offspring, located in Asia. Perhaps a better way to locate Ham, Shem\nand Japheth and their first offspring is first to read the 10th and 11th\nChapters of Genesis, then locate their names on the map, and it will be\nseen that not a Shemite, or white man, originally located in Africa. All\nof the white men located in Asia, and according to the Bible white men\nnever began to travel in Africa until Abraham's time, B. C. 1921. The\nEgyptians lived in a high state of civilization near 2,000 years before\nAbraham's first visit to Egypt, and the appearance of white people was a\ncircus and a curiosity to the black people. Abraham realized this fact and\ncommanded his wife to represent herself as his sister, because as he said,\n\"she was fair to look upon,\" white (Genesis 12th Chapter, 11th, 12th and\n13th verses). This would indicate that the Egyptians were not white, and I\nwill say without fear of my assertion being disproven, that until after\nthe time of Abraham, the Egyptians were a simon pure black race. Shortly\nafter Abraham's visit, the Shemitic or white travellers began to pour into\nEgypt to such an extent that the Egyptians began inter-marrying with them,\nand of course, this inter-marrying had its effect of contaminating the\npure Negro blood, and this inter-marrying was the cause of the black man,\nor full blooded Egyptian losing the power of control in the Kingdom. In\nother words--this is the loop through which the Shepherd or white or\nShemitic kings slipped through and took possession of the Egyptian\nkingdom.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: DR. W. E. BURGHARDT DUBOIS]\n\nDr. W. E. Burghardt DuBois is the most scholarly speaker and writer of the\nAfro-American race. He is the author of the book \"Souls of Black Folk,\"\nwhich is a marvellous book. On the following page are some of the phrases\nfrom his famous address to the Social Study Clubs of Chicago University.\n\n\nFebruary 13th, 1907, on Education and Civilization:\n\n\"The doing of the world's work is a great duty and a great privilege. It\nis a thing not to be aimed at but to be aimed beyond. Just so soon as a\nnation or a country can put its foot upon this satisfaction of the lower\nwants and step upward to the greater aspirations of human brotherhood and\nthe broader ideals of civilization, just so soon the real building of\ncivilization begins. It seems to me, therefore, that the students of\nChicago University and they that teach them, ought especially, on every\noccasion to impress this broader aspect of the race problem. That instead\nof putting it in its narrower, nastier channel, instead of stooping to\nlisten to men, who themselves represent what is lowest and least in our\nnational organization, that you should strive in every way to realize\nyourselves and to show others that this great broad question of humanity\nis not a question of petty crime, not a question of so many bales of\ncotton, not a question even of mere industrial development, but is a\nquestion of human aspiration, and that if here in America, on the very\nfore front of present advance, it is possible to murder the aspiration of\n10,000,000 of men, then America is not yet civilized.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHIRD CHAPTER.\n\nHIS RULE IN EGYPT\n\n\nDr. Leonhard Schmitz, Ph. D., LL. D., F. R., S. E., says in his work on\nancient Egyptian history, that these Hyksos or Shepherd Kings were Semite\npeople. \"White,\" of course, and they comprised the 15th, 16th and 17th\ndynasties, which covered 511 years. Now, during this period, Jacob and his\ntwelve sons and their families moved from Canaan to Egypt, and other\nSemite or whites from Asia did likewise, because the white man had begun\nto rule Egypt. At the 18th Dynasty, however, fortune turned against the\nwhite rulers of Egypt, and the black men or the Negroes regained\npossession of their country, and banished the whites from their land,\nexcept the Jews, whom they held as slaves. They reorganized the Kingdom\nwith their own blood, \"the blood of the Negro.\" Aahmas was the first King\nafter the whites were driven out, and his wife was Nefruari, the Ethiopian\nPrincess, greatly celebrated for her dusky charms, her wealth and her\naccomplishments. The beginning of this reorganization of a period is\nrecorded in the 1st Chapter of the Book of Exodus, which shows that at the\nbeginning of the slavery of the Jews, God told Abraham that his people\nwould be held in bondage in Egypt for 400 years (Genesis 15th Chapter,\n13th verse). Those 400 years marked the period of Egypt's most rapid and\nsubstantial progress, as Dr. Schmitz says in writing on ancient Egyptian\nhistory, those years were the most brilliant in Egypt's record, and the\nperiod at which her art reached its highest point. It is but reasonable to\nsuppose this to have been so, for the Shepherd, or \"white Kings\" had\ndestroyed all of the former brilliancy of Egypt, and did not because they\ncould not do anything to replace or imitate its grandeur or beauty. The\nblack people when they regained possession of their Kingdom and again\nbegan to rule, made slaves of the Jews and compelled them to do all the\nheavy, dirty, unskilled labor, such as carrying bricks and mortar and\nworking in the field (Exodus 1st Chapter, 13th and 14th verses). While the\nEgyptians turned their attention to science and art and reorganizing and\ndrilling their army, so as to be able to protect their country against all\nnations. As Dr. Schmitz says, the Eastern boundaries of Egypt were well\nprotected by strong fortresses. This is but natural, because on the East,\nthe Semitic or white races reigned, and no doubt they were unfriendly to\nthe Egyptians, or \"black\" people, because they had expelled the Shepherd\nor \"white\" Kings from their land. Now, when the Egyptians had attained \"in\nthat Age\" to the highest degree of intelligence and wisdom, and were\npossessed of the greatest human power, God deemed it wise to make His own\nInfinite wisdom and power felt over that of human wisdom and power, by\nusing Moses as an instrument to knock at the door of the Egyptian\ngovernment and ask for the release of the enslaved Jews. Moses did not\nappear in Egypt by any human authority, or power, but by the authority and\nthe power of God, for it would have been useless for not only Moses, but\nfor any nation or number of nations to approach Egypt with hostile\nintentions, without God, because Egypt with her wisdom and power had the\nworld at her mercy. There it required God with His immeasurable wisdom and\npower to overcome the wisdom and power of these black Egyptians. The\nevidence of God's power was displayed to the \"Pharoah Meneptah,\" who is\ngenerally conceded to be the \"Pharoah of the Exodus,\" by His, \"God's\"\ninstruments, Moses and Aaron who were to appear before the Pharoah and\ncast down their rods which turned to serpents (Exodus 7th Chapter, 10th\nverse). When they had cast down their rods before Pharoah, and they turned\nto serpents, Pharoah called the wise men, or magicians of Egypt with their\nenchantments, and they cast down their rods which also became serpents\n(Exodus 7th Chapter, 11th and 12th verses). This was the performing of two\nmiracles, one by God's power, and one by human power. This vieing with\nGod, though only for an instance of time is what no white man has had the\npower to do since his creation. But, however, God, in order to demonstrate\nHis supreme power, caused the serpents transformed from the rods of Moses\nand Aaron to swallow the serpents transformed from the rods of Pharoah's\nor Egypt's wise men (Exodus 7-12). This rod and serpent incident was the\nbeginning of a series of plague miracles (read the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th\nChapters of Exodus), which wrecked the Egyptians' or black man's kingdom,\nand also destroyed that great power which he had over all other nations\nand released the Jews from slavery.\n\nThe black man's power, as the first power among the nations had now begun\nto decay, and as the black race began to die, as a power among nations,\nthe white race began to rise to where it had never been before, but this\nwas 2,500 years after the black man had worked out all the problems of\ncivilization.\n\nIn reading Revelation, 13th Chapter, 11th verse, of St. John, the Divine,\nI am very much impressed by the description of one of his revelations\nwhich God unfolded to him, and which he describes as follows:\n\n\"I behold another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns,\nlike lamb's, and he spake as a dragon.\" Now, to my mind, the foregoing\nvision of St. John the Divine, was this very country, the United States of\nAmerica, revealed to him ages ago before this country was discovered and\nnamed, the two horns I interpret to be the two great political parties,\nthat have done so much to corrupt this Government and misrule its people\nfrom their infancy to the present day. Again, the American Government\nspake like a dragon when it permitted slavery to exist, especially when\nits Constitution says \"That ALL MEN WERE BORN FREE AND EQUAL.\"\n\nNow, concerning the creating and enthralling of nations, their rise and\nfall, that is the will and the work of God. (75th Psalms, 6th and 7th\nverses.) (Jeremiah, 27th and 5th verses.) (Daniel, 2nd Chapter, 21st\nverse.) (Daniel, 4th Chapter, 17th verse.)\n\nSo, since it is true that the black man is the father of civilization, it\nis just as true that the white man is now at the helm, and the big \"I AM\"\nof the civilized world. But the fact remains that he took his civilization\nand his position after the black man had created it, and passed from the\nstage of action, just as the white man must do at God's own appointed\ntime, to make room for some other race, probably the yellow race, Chinese\nor Japanese. David, the Psalmist, said: \"Egypt was the land of the black\nman--Ham not Shem, the white man,\" and he further said that the\nTabernacles which were the houses and dwellings from the lowest to the\nKing's palaces were Ham's, and not Shem's, the white man--(Psalms, 106th\nChapter, 22nd verse; 105th Chapter, 23rd to 27th verse; 78th Chapter, 51st\nverse).\n\nIt is easy to understand why the Negro or black man is not identified with\nhis Egyptian brother; that reason is seldom honestly and earnestly sought\nfor. The reason is--that the historians, with a very few exceptions, write\nfrom a prejudiced standpoint, together with the fact that they do not give\ncredit to the Old Testament, if indeed, they study it at all, especially\nthat part of it which is the most ancient, and beyond all shadow of a\ndoubt the first and only TRUE account of the origin of mankind it is easy\nto understand.\n\nIt is impossible for God to forget that the black man and his land (Egypt)\nwas the cradle of rescue that rocked and nursed the Son of God in his\nfirst two years of life, when Herod's decree to destroy all children under\ntwo years of age was issued. It was known that the decree was issued for\nthe express and only purpose of destroying the infant Christ, but God\nchose Egypt, the black man's land, as a haven of rest and safety during\nthe life of the displeased and would-be infant murderer, Herod. (Matt.,\n2nd Chapter.)\n\nThis might be the origin of that old, old saying, \"Blood is thicker than\nwater,\" for Jesus in going into Egypt, went among black women and men, who\nwere the founders of the tribe from which he sprang.\n\nWhen God in His infinite wisdom, His great love, justice and mercy, and at\nHis own appointed time, summons mankind to take his rightful place in the\nwavering human line to be rewarded for that smallest of virtues, in\nproportion as he for the greatest of virtues, will say to the black man,\nwho will be found heading the line, \"Well done, thou good and faithful\nblack servant, thou, My instrument, the Father of Civilization.\"\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n\n\n\nCOMMENTS ON LECTURE TOURS OF THE WRITER.\n\n\n_To Whom It May Concern_:\n\n\"I beg to say, after hearing Elder Webb on the subject, that the blood of\nthe Negro coursed through the veins of Jesus and Solomon. I am frank to\nsay I have seldom, if ever, enjoyed such an intellectual treat. The\nposition he assumed as the subject of his lecture touching the Hametic\nblood and race is difficult and requires a practical knowledge of Biblical\nand historical lore. But I am pleased to say that he not only shows\nhimself an expert, but the master of the situation, and I commend him to\nthe ministry and churches of our race of every denomination. Truly,\n\n  \"BISHOP H. M. TURNER.\"\n\n\n\n\nCOMMENT FROM ONE OF THE LEADING PAPERS OF THE WRITER'S HOME.\n\n\n\"The evidence submitted by Elder Webb tending to prove that the Saviour of\nmankind was a black man seems to be sufficient to put those who oppose the\nproposition upon their proof. Now that the chain of evidence presented by\nMr. Webb appears so complete, it is strange that none of the delvers in\nthe Biblical records have not advanced the sensational proposition before.\nNot only was Christ a Negro, but it seems that Solomon, who has been held\nup through all of the ages as the personification of wisdom, had Ethiopian\nblood in his veins also.\"--_Seattle Daily Times._\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: HENRY O. TANNER\n\nThe World-Famous Afro-American Artist]\n\n\nHenry O. Tanner is the world famous Afro-American artist. He is the oldest\nson of Bishop Tanner of the A. M. E. Church. He was born in Pittsburg,\nPenn., but was trained in the public schools of Philadelphia, to which\nplace his parents moved soon after his birth. His first steps in his life\nwork were taken in the art schools of Philadelphia from which training he\nwent to Paris where his genius developed and flowered in the studies of\nBenjamin Constant and Julien. In 1895 his \"Sabot Maker,\" was shown in the\nsalon exhibit and received friendly treatment from the French critics.\nFrenchmen, as a rule, are not too favorably inclined to the works of\nforeigners and their appreciation of Tanner is truly significant of the\nreal value this work--a merit which puts it beyond the limitations of race\nand country. In 1896 he exhibited \"Daniel in the Lion's Den,\" the first of\na line of religious works with which his fame has been since connected.\nThis picture received Honorable mention from the French Jury and was\nbought by the Pennsylvania Academy.\n\nMr. Tanner's picture, \"The Two Disciples at the Tomb,\" was purchased by\nthe Chicago Art Institute for $1,600.\n\n\n\n\n  In Memory of\n\n  Paul Lawrence\n  Dunbar\n\n  Famous\n  African-American\n  Poet\n\n\n\n\nTHE COLORED SOLDIERS\n\n(From Dunbar's \"Lyrics of Lowly Life.\")\n\n  If the muse were mine to tempt it\n    And my feeble voice were strong,\n  If my tongue were trained to measures,\n    I would sing a stirring song.\n  I would sing a song heroic\n    Of those noble sons of Ham,\n  Of the gallant colored soldiers\n    Who fought for Uncle Sam!\n  In the early days you scorned them,\n    And with many a flip and flout\n  Said \"These battles are the white man's.\n    And the whites will fight them out.\"\n  Up the hills you fought and faltered,\n    In the vales you strove and bled,\n  While your ears still heard the thunder\n    Of the foes' advancing tread.\n\n  Then distress fell on the nation,\n    And the flag was drooping low;\n  Should the dust pollute your banner?\n    No! the nation shouted, No!\n  So when War, in savage triumph,\n    Spread abroad his funeral pall--\n  Then you called the colored soldiers,\n    And they answered to your call.\n\n  And like hounds unleashed and eager\n    For the life blood of the prey,\n  Sprung they forth and bore them bravely\n    In the thickest of the fray,\n  And where'er the fight was hottest,\n    Where the bullets fastest fell,\n  There they pressed unblanched and fearless\n    At the very mouth of hell.\n\n\nBelow are written some of the comments on his poetry and prose:\n\nDr. Adams, editor of \"The Advance,\" says: \"Dunbar was a genius bound in\nebony.\"\n\nFormer President Theodore Roosevelt said: \"I was a great admirer of his\npoetry and his prose.\"\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: P. KA ISAKA SEME\n\nA NATIVE BORN AFRICAN]\n\n\nP. Ka Isaka Seme, who delivered such a wonderful oration on the subject,\n\"THE REGENERATION OF AFRICA,\" which oration is reproduced from the Colored\nAmerican Magazine of New York (June, 1906). This oration substantiates me\nin my article wherein I claim that the black man was the FATHER OF\nCIVILIZATION.\n\n\nThe Regeneration of Africa\n\nCurtis Medals Oration, First Prize, April 5, 1906, Columbia University\n\nI have chosen to speak to you on this occasion upon \"The Regeneration of\nAfrica.\" I am an African, and I set my pride in my race over against a\nhostile public opinion. Men have tried to compare races on the basis of\nsome equality. In all the works of nature, equality, if by it we mean\nidentity, is an impossible dream! Search the universe! You will find no\ntwo units alike. The scientists tell us there are no two cells, no two\natoms, identical. Nature has bestowed upon each a peculiar individuality,\nan exclusive patent--from the great giants of the forest to the tenderest\nblade. Catch in your hand, if you please, the gentle flakes of snow. Each\nis a perfect gem, a new creation; it shines in its own glory--a work of\nart different from all of its aerial companions. Man, the crowning\nachievement of nature, defies analysis. He is a mystery through all ages\nand for all time. The races of mankind are composed of free and unique\nindividuals. An attempt to compare them on the basis of equality can never\nbe finally satisfactory. Each is self. My thesis stands on this truth;\ntime has proved it. In all races, genius is like a spark, which, concealed\nin the bosom of a flint, bursts forth at the summoning stroke. It may\narise anywhere and in any race.\n\nI would ask you not to compare Africa to Europe or to any other continent.\nI make this request not from any fear that such comparison might bring\nhumiliation upon Africa. The reason I have stated,--a common standard is\nimpossible! Come with me to the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes, the city\nof one hundred gates. The grandeur of its venerable ruins and the gigantic\nproportions of its architecture reduced to insignificance the boasted\nmonuments of other nations. The pyramids of Egypt are structures to which\nthe world presents nothing comparable. The mighty monuments seem to look\nwith disdain on every other work of human art and to vie with nature\nherself. All the glory of Egypt belongs to Africa and her people. These\nmonuments are the indestructible memorials of their great and original\ngenius. It is not through Egypt alone that Africa claims such unrivalled\nhistoric achievements. I could have spoken of the pyramids of Ethiopia,\nwhich, though inferior in size to those of Egypt, far surpass them in\narchitectural beauty; their sepulchres which evince the highest purity of\ntaste, and of many prehistoric ruins in other parts of Africa. In such\nruins Africa is like the golden sun, that, having sunk beneath the western\nhorizon, still plays upon the world which he sustained and enlightened in\nhis career.\n\nJustly the world now demands--\n\n  \"Whither is fled the visionary gleam,\n  Where is it now, the glory and the dream?\"\n\nOh, for that historian who, with the open pen of truth, will bring to\nAfrica's claim the strength of written proof. He will tell of a race whose\nonward tide was often swelled with tears, but in whose heart bondage has\nnot quenched the fire of former years. He will write that in these later\ndays when Earth's noble ones are named, she has a roll of honor too, of\nwhom she is not ashamed. The giant is awakening! From the four corners of\nthe earth Africa's sons, who have been proved through fire and sword, are\nmarching to the future's golden door bearing the records of deeds of valor\ndone.\n\nMr. Calhoun, I believe, was the most philosophical of all the\nslave-holders. He said once that if he could find a black man who could\nunderstand the Greek syntax, he would then consider their race human, and\nhis attitude toward enslaving them would therefore change. What might have\nbeen the sensation kindled by the Greek syntax in the mind of the famous\nSoutherner, I have so far been unable to discover; but oh, I envy the\nmoment that was lost! And woe to the tongues that refused to tell the\ntruth! If any such were among the now living, I could show him among black\nmen of pure African blood those who could repeat the Koran from memory,\nskilled in Latin, Greek and Hebrew,--Arabic and Chaldais--men great in\nwisdom and profound knowledge--one professor of philosophy in a celebrated\nGerman university; one corresponding member of the French Academy of\nSciences, who regularly transmitted to that society meteorological\nobservations, and hydrographical journals and papers on botany and\ngeology; another whom many ages call \"The Wise,\" whose authority Mahomet\nhimself frequently appealed to in the Koran in support of his own\nopinion--men of wealth and active benevolence, those whose distinguished\ntalents and reputation have made them famous in the cabinet and in the\nfield, officers of artillery in the great armies of Europe, generals and\nlieutenant generals in the armies of Peter the Great in Russia and\nNapoleon in France, presidents of free republics, kings of independent\nnations which have burst their way to liberty by their own vigor. There\nare many other Africans who have shown marks of genius and high character\nsufficient to redeem their race from the charges which I am now\nconsidering.\n\nLadies and gentlemen, the day of great exploring expeditions in Africa is\nover! Man knows his home now in a sense never known before. Many great and\nholy men have evinced a passion for the day you are now witnessing--their\nprophetic vision shot through many unborn centuries to this very hour.\n\"Men shall run to and fro,\" said Daniel, \"and knowledge shall increase\nupon the earth.\" Oh, how true! See the triumph of human genius today!\nScience has searched out the deep things of nature, surprised the secrets\nof the most distant stars, disentombed the memorials of everlasting hills,\ntaught the lightning to speak, the vapors to toil and the winds to\nworship--spanned the sweeping rivers, tunneled the longest mountain\nrange--made the world a vast whispering gallery, and has brought foreign\nnations into one civilized family. This all-powerful contact says even to\nthe most backward race, you cannot remain where you are, you cannot fall\nback you must advance! A great century has come upon us. No race\npossessing the inherent capacity to survive can resist and remain\nunaffected by this influence of contact and intercourse, the backward with\nthe advanced. This influence constitutes the very essence of efficient\nprogress and of civilization.\n\nFrom these heights of the twentieth century I again ask you to cast your\neyes south of the Desert of Sahara. If you could go with me to the\noppressed Congos and ask, what does it mean, that now, for liberty, they\nfight like men and die like martyrs; if you would go with me to\nBechuanaland, face their council of Headmen and ask what motives caused\nthem recently to decree so emphatically that alcoholic drinks shall not\nenter their country--visit their king, Khama, ask for what cause he leaves\nthe gold and ivory palace of his ancestors, its mountain strongholds and\nall its august ceremony, to wander daily from village to village through\nall his kingdom, without a guard or any decoration of his rank--a preacher\nof industry and education, and an apostle of the new order of things; if\nyou would ask Menelik what means this that Abyssinia is now looking across\nthe ocean--oh, if you could read the letters that come to us from\nZululand--you, too, would be convinced that the elevation of the African\nrace is evidently a part of the new order of things that belong to this\nnew and powerful period.\n\nThe African already recognizes his anomalous position and desires a\nchange. The brighter day is rising upon Africa. Already I seem to see her\nchains dissolved, her desert plains red with harvest, her Ayssinia and her\nZululand the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glory of the\nrising sun from the spires of their churches and universities. Her Congo\nand her Gambia whitened with commerce, her crowded cities sending forth\nthe hum of business, and all her sons employed in advancing the victories\nof peace--greater and more abiding than the spoils of war.\n\nYes, the regeneration of Africa belongs to this new and powerful period!\nBy this term regeneration I wish to be understood to mean the entrance\ninto a new life, embracing the diverse phases of a higher, complex\nexistence. The basic factor which assures their regeneration resides in\nthe awakened race-consciousness. This gives them a clear perception of\ntheir elemental needs and of their undeveloped powers. It therefore must\nlead them to the attainment of that higher and advanced standard of life.\n\nThe African people, although not a strictly homogeneous race, possess a\ncommon fundamental sentiment which is everywhere manifest, crystalizing\nitself into one common controlling idea. Conflicts and strife are rapidly\ndisappearing before the fusing force of this enlightened perception of the\ntrue intertribal relation, which relation should subsist among a people\nwith a common destiny. Agencies of a social, economic and religious\nadvance tell of a new spirit which, acting as a leavening ferment, shall\nraise the anxious and aspiring mass to the level of their ancient glory.\nThe ancestral greatness, the unimpaired genius, and the recuperative power\nof the race, its irrepressibility, which assures its permanence,\nconstitute the African's greatest source of inspiration. He has refused to\ncamp forever on the borders of the industrial world; having learned that\nknowledge is power, he is educating his children. You find them in\nEdinburgh, in Cambridge, and in the great schools of Germany. These return\nto their country like arrows, to drive darkness from the land. I hold that\nthis industrial and educational initiative, and his untiring devotion to\nthese activities must be regarded as positive evidences of this process of\nhis regeneration.\n\nThe regeneration of Africa means that a new and unique civilization is\nsoon to be added to the world. The African is not a proletarian in the\nworld of science and art. He has precious creations of his own, of ivory,\nof copper and of gold, fine, plaited willow-ware and weapons of superior\nworkmanship. Civilization resembles an organic being in its\ndevelopment--it is born, it perishes, and it can propogate itself. More\nparticularly, it resembles a plant, it takes root in the teeming earth,\nand when the seeds fall in other soils new varieties sprout up. The most\nessential departure of this new civilization is that it shall be\nthoroughly spiritual and humanistic--indeed a regeneration moral and\neternal!\n\n\nO AFRICA!\n\n  Like some great century plant that shall bloom\n  In ages hence, we watch thee; in our dream\n  See in thy swamps the Prospero of our stream;\n  Thy doors unlocked, where knowledge in her tomb\n  Hath lain innumerable years in gloom.\n  Then shalt thou, waking with that morning gleam\n  Shine as thy sister lands with equal beam.","title":"The Black Man, the Father of Civilization, Proven by Biblical History","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":9363}