produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive.)









[Illustration: JAMES MORRIS WEBB, A. M.

Evangelist of the Church of God

(Acts 20-28, Biblical)]




  The Black Man

  The Father of Civilization

  Proven by Biblical History


  AUTHOR: James Morris Webb, A. M.


  Copyright Applied For




PREFACE.


I have many objects in presenting this book to the public.

_First_: I love my race regardless of the prejudice against her, the
unenviable position she holds, and the things she is falsely said to be
guilty of.

I demonstrate my love for her by launching this book before the public as
somewhat of a defense against the prejudice of ancient, as well as modern
historical writers and lecturers, who have misrepresented her, and took
from her the good deeds and honors that are justly due her.

_Secondly_: I realize that my race has had defenders, and has some now,
men of my race and men of other races. But I am simply presenting this
book as an humble race defender, in connection with the body of race
defenders, and if my theory in this book is accepted as one of the little
fingers of this splendid body, I will feel that I have accomplished some
results and thus portrayed the story of "The Widow's Mite"--she gave all
she had, and I contribute likewise.

_Thirdly_: To appreciate my argument, the reader had best have a Bible at
his finger tips so as to examine my references and compare them with my
statements, which I make wholly and solely upon the authorities found in
the Bible, which in turn is the real and only authority on ancient history
(again my authority is not inspired in the slightest degree with malice or
hatred for the white race). My profession as a Minister of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ would not permit me to defend in the name of justice,
harboring malice and hatred or any ill feeling toward my white brethren. I
am acting with that meek and humble spirit and with a gigantic pride in my
race, which I hope, pleases God.

J. M. WEBB.




[Illustration: ABRAHAM LINCOLN

FREDERICK DOUGLAS

DR. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON]


THREE OF THE GREATEST MEN IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Frederick Douglas, the thunder-bolt, whose mighty peals of thunder awoke
the sympathy of the Christian men and women of this country in behalf of
his enslaved and suffering people.

Abraham Lincoln, the flash of lightning, who, like a streak of light from
Heaven giving hope to the black people, struck the shackles from their
hands and left them lying shattered at their feet.

Dr. Booker T. Washington, who is nobly directing a never-to-be-forgotten
battle for that moral and industrial education, which Douglas and Lincoln
made it possible for them to obtain.




INTRODUCTION


The Bible gives the first and only true account of the origin of mankind.
It is the only book containing an accurate record of the progress of man
toward civilization, and it is the indispensable reference of all
searchers after the real facts of the birth of humanity and its progress
toward the civilization of today; beginning with his creation, it is the
only authentic record of man; authentic because it is first hand, not a
copy of something else or a scientific or literary review, but a
dispassionate record of man's creation and progress, untrimmed, unshaped
and unvarnished, to suit prejudice. It would not be a complete record if
it did not show with the rest of them the origin of the black man and "Woe
for all these pinnacle thieves"--it shows that he, the "black man" is the
"father of civilization."

The black man has been misrepresented by prejudiced historians and
lecturers. It has been and is now quoted that Ham, the father of the black
man, was cursed by his father, Noah. Now, in regard to this incident let
us take the Biblical record for it, and anyone not totally blind with
prejudice will be convinced by reading in the Book of Genesis the 9th
Chapter from the 20th to the 27th verse inclusive, that Noah did not, "for
he could not curse" Ham, although he did in a fit of intoxication
pronounce a curse on Canaan, the son of Ham. In passing, I might mention
that Canaan was never inconvenienced by the curse of Noah, because he was
the Father of seven prosperous nations, foremost among them were the
Canaanites, Phoenicians and Sidonians. The Sidonians sprang from Sidon,
who was the first son of Canaan, according to Genesis 10th Chapter 15th
verse. These same Sidonians are the men "descended from black men" whom
Solomon ordered Hiram of Tyre to engage to do the skilled hewing and
designing of the timber work on Solomon's temple--Solomon declaring that
these Sidonians, "black men" were the only men possessed with anywhere
near sufficient skill to take charge of and successfully complete the
artistic timber work on "His" Solomon's temple. First Kings 5th Chapter
6th verse speaks very plainly of this fact. Solomon knew the black race
was a superior, not an inferior race. He married Pharoah's daughter--see
1st Kings, 3rd Chapter 1st verse; 7th Chapter 8th verse, also the 9th
Chapter and 16th verse. Solomon's wife might have been of as dark skin or
even as black as he was, for history shows that Egypt had two full blooded
Ethiopian Pharoahs just before and during the reign of Solomon, according
to Herodotus, the names of these two Ethiopians were Sabaco or "Sebichos"
and Sethos, so Solomon surely got an Ethiopian "Negro or black" woman for
a wife. This naturally increased the proportion of Negro blood in the
veins of the future King of the Jews. Viewing the progress of the
immediate descendants of Ham we learn that a curse laid upon one by a
mortal of that day was as foolish and ineffective as it is in this, the
story about this curse, also the story of the black man who contended that
a black skin and woolly hair is a disgrace, has, according to the Bible,
no foundation. Speaking of black skin, the greatest brain work and wisdom
ever given to this world was given by men of black skins, or at least in
whose veins the greatest portion of blood was Ethiopian or Negro blood. As
to this assertion and King Solomon, see "Songs of Solomon 1st Chapter 6th
verse." Solomon's dark skin should cause no surprise, because his mother,
Hittite, was also the widow of Uriah (see 2nd Samuels 12th Chapter 9th
and 10th verses). The Hittites are the descendants of Heth and Heth was
the second son of Canaan (see Genesis 10th Chapter 15th verse).

As to the woolly hair, Jesus, the Blessed Saviour of Mankind, will have
His head covered with woolly hair when he comes to judge the world,
(Daniel 7th Chapter 9th and 10th verses). Now, if Daniel's prophecy is
true that when Christ left this earth he had woolly hair, he naturally
will return with woolly hair, and the pictures of Him today are an
erroneous conception of Him, by the artists. This grand old book the
Bible, does not show that God ever turned a man black to disgrace him for
his sins, or anything else, but this same Bible does show that God's power
did turn a man white to disgrace him because of his sins, and said that
his seed would be likewise forever. Facts are stubborn things and often
very disagreeable, sometimes even sickening, and by reading carefully the
5th Chapter of the 2nd Kings, 25th, 26th and 27th verses, many of our
highly civilized brethren "whose ancient ancestors disgraced them" will
suffer an alarming fit of nausea. Among the many low cowardly things that
have been said and done against the Negro during this Christian era, one
poor benighted individual published a "joke" in book form, in which he
claims that, the Negro is a beast, the poor fellow tries to be serious,
and no doubt thinks he is offering at least some proof of his assertion.
The poor fellow of course, receives some sympathy, and would no doubt
receive as much as any of the rest of his class, were it not for the fact
that he holds a Professorship in one of our leading American Christian
Universities. Of course the disgust, if any, is felt for those responsible
for placing the poor devil in such a position, and the real and well
placed sympathy is for the student, who must suffer because of this
fellow. The fact remains, however, that regardless of what has been said
and done against the Negro and of whatever might be said or done against
him in future, he is the ONLY man who can trace himself back through the
ages to his origin, and find monumental evidence of his unequaled
greatness, his prowess, the laurels and great honors he won, the things he
created and perfected which have a direct influence on our civilization of
today.

The "black man" I boldly assert "was the Father of civilization," born in
the land of Egypt, and the different branches of Science and Art were
simply transmitted to other races, which, as the ages have rolled by have
only been enlarged and to some extent improved upon. Even the modern
American Negro has proven that he is original, for instance--as a
Tonsorial Artist he has no superiors and no Negro was ever known to enter
a "Barber College" to learn the trade. Negroes inherit the sweetest, most
musical voices, and if you have not heard a Negro quartette or chorus
after they have arranged the harmony of a piece they are to sing, you have
not heard what is best and sweetest in vocal music. As instrumentalists
"not forgetting the many others" I simply mention Blind Tom, and Blind
Boone, the fame of these two men needs no comment. They only displayed
that talent handed down to them through centuries by their black
ancestors. As for the Negro being original, why the Negro has given great
America the only claim she ever did or ever will have to a National music.

God honored the black man by allowing some of his Ethiopian blood to flow
in the veins of His only Son Jesus Christ, and I unhesitatingly assert
that Jesus would in America be classed a NEGRO. I make this assertion
only on the authority of the Bible, according to which Jesus was born out
of the tribe of Judah. Judah had only five children and they were males,
(1st Chron. 2nd ch. and 4th v.), three by his first wife and two by his
second wife (1st Chron. 2nd ch. 3rd and 4th vs.), and both of his wives
were descendants of Canaan, a black man who was the son of Ham (Genesis
10th ch. 6th v.). Tamar, Judah's second wife, bore him two of these sons
whose names were Phares and Zarah (1st Chron. 2nd ch. and 4th v.), these
two names appear in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the Book of Matthew
(1st Chapter 3rd verse), so it is no trouble to see that Judah of whom
Christ was to come, started out by presenting to the world children of
Canaanite women who were Hamite descendants. Now, Virgin Mary, of whom
Christ was born was beyond all doubt a woman out of the tribe of Judah,
and every Bible reference proclaims that Jesus was to spring from this
tribe of Judah (Genesis 49-10, Heb. 7-14, Rev. 5-5th). Our beloved St.
Paul tells us in (Romans 1-3) that Jesus was of the seed of David
according to the flesh. David is the 10th man named from Judah in the
genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1st Chapter, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th
verses). Added to this David's great, great grandfather "Booz" was born of
the woman Rahab, who was a direct descendant of Ham (Matthew 1st Chapter
5th verse). This also shows that David, one of God's greatest soldiers,
was one who most successfully led his people and one who had Negro blood
in his veins. Bible history is full of honors for the Black Man, Jethro
the Ethiopian or Negro father-in-law of Moses, who was the author who
first employed that, which is today, our judicial system, considerably
twisted and revised to meet the changing conditions of civilization
(Exodus 18th Chapter). This chapter tells of Jethro's visit to Moses, and
how he gave Moses the foundation of what is today our system of graded
courts for pronouncing judgments. Again Moses "The Hebrew Emancipator" was
named by a black woman "Pharoah's daughter"--she said she called him Moses
because she drew him out of the water (Exodus 2-10) and besides black men
educated Moses. At any rate he received what education he had in the
schools of the black people of Egypt (Acts 7th 22nd), so there is nothing
remarkable in the fact that Dr. Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. DuBois, W.
S. Scarborough and many other Negro or black men occupy places among the
foremost and most eminent educators of the world, and why should they not?
They are descended from fathers who ruled Egypt centuries ago and with
their great wisdom layed the foundation of learning.




[Illustration: BISHOP H. M. TURNER, D.D., L.L.D.

The Most Fearless Defender the Afro-Americans Have]


BISHOP H. M. TURNER, D.D., L.L.D.

Bishop H. M. Turner, born at Newbury, South Carolina, February 1st, 1833,
is the senior Bishop of the A. M. E. Church. He has been Bishop for
thirty-one years, and is quoted as the walking encyclopedia of Methodism,
and for this cause the last general conference that convened at Norfolk,
Va., on May, 1908, voted unanimously for the good Bishop to be the
historian of the African-Methodist Episcopal Church. It is to be
remembered that Bishop Turner was the first colored man to be a
commissioned officer in the United States Army, which appointment he
received from President Lincoln. The Bishop was twice a member of the
Georgia Legislature, and also the first of his church to be elected Bishop
to Africa.




THE BLACK MAN




FIRST CHAPTER.


"That time changes all things" is a saying so old and so true as to admit
of no argument. It is exemplified in so many different ways as to require
no comment, and yet when we hear the phrase used glibly and thoughtlessly,
every day, it is but natural to wonder if the one who uses it realizes
what he is saying, or rather, if he knows what those few commonplace words
mean, when used to form that sentence.

It is a foregone conclusion that he does not. He never stopped, "he, of
this enlightened age, I mean," long enough to examine even a little of the
abundance of indisputable proof that the saying "Time changes all things"
applies to things and conditions, seldom if ever present, to his own
narrow mind, and far away and beyond even his meaner and low prejudiced
influence. If he did, his retrospective mood, would, before carrying him
back to the very beginning, suffer something of a shock, and his attitude
would change. Instead of delighting in history, modern, medieval and
ancient, his attitude would change so noticeably that an observer would
imagine that his only interest was in tearing down and falsifying facts,
and concealing records that he could not falsify. When we hear or read the
sayings of some of our "misnamed" great men, but in reality disgustingly
conspicuous public figures, we are fully justified in making the charge of
falsifying and concealing such facts as they are not really ignorant of.
One of these conspicuous public characters delights in making the
assertion that the Hamite Ethiopian or Negro never amounted to anything,
or possessed anything, never occupied an eminence, save to which the
Semitic or white man had dragged or driven him up to. If ignorance alone
was responsible for this glaring falsehood, a great deal of sympathy would
go out to those who make the statement as well as those who believe it to
be true because of their ignorance. As harsh as it may seem sympathy would
be wasted for a great deal of the self asserted enlightenment of today is
but egotism. Much of the so-called wisdom is self praise for successfully
concealing, or at least surrounding historical facts with such mystery as
to place the descendants of Shem upon an eminence which is not justly his
and makes him in his own opinion appear much larger than what he really
is. And yet with all the egotism, some knowledge of the true origin of
mankind exists, and it is this knowledge that causes the fasifying and
hiding as much as possible the true historical records, especially of the
black man. It cannot be said that the learned historical writers, the
great Divines, Theological students and lecturers of today are ignorant of
the history of Ham, the son of Noah, and his descendants, such as Nimrod,
the founder of the great ancient city of Babylon, and also Menes the first
King of Egypt and the founder of the great ancient city of Memphis.

Ridpath says that the traditions of antiquity points to Memphis and
Babylon as the fountains of human wisdom. If those above-named are
ignorant of the history of the last-named, they are doing the world a
great injustice in assuming the position of teacher and leader. If they
are familiar with the history of the races and the deeds of men, they will
no doubt have for them and their kind good and sufficient reasons for
making false and misleading statements as to some historical records, and
totally forgetting or demeaning others.

An early Queen of Egypt was a descendant of the Ethiopian or Negro race.
This is conceded by some of the modern writers; some of them going so far
as to say that her skin was very black, and a few of them acknowledge that
it was this black queen who placed the first fleet of war ships on the
river Nile. They have no doubt traced this woman back to where they are
satisfied that she was descended in a direct lineal line from Zipporah,
the black and Ethiopian wife of Moses. We read very little of these two
women, because modern writers seek to obscure them, and our ministers of
the gospel never preach or lecture on that part of the Bible in which they
are mentioned. WHY? Because, if they do they must give credit to black
people. In this connection, I do not speak of Biblical history only. Were
it not for the fact that the dimensions of this book would be extended far
beyond what was intended, I could begin even with Hannibal, the
Carthagenian General, and record the accomplishments of black men without
the intervening of any long periods of time, down to the time of Alexander
Dumas, Toussant L'Overture, and Alexander Sergievitch Pouskin,
Russo-African poet. I could do more, I could come into the borders of this
Republic and beginning with Crispus Octikus, or Alexander Hamilton--record
the accomplishments of these same black descendants of Ham, down to this
day. This modern record would contain many references to both the war of
Independence and the war of the Rebellion. It would also mention a great
many black men who can never forget El Caney and San Juan Hill. Besides
the heroes of war, modern history is replete with the names of black men
famous in peace for their accomplishments in science and letters of art.
Space will not permit me to dwell upon these men and their accomplishments
and the towering obstacles in spite of which they succeeded. I could not
fail, however, to mention Frederick Douglas who was one of the greatest
statesmen America ever had, even though he was born a slave. Dr. Booker T.
Washington was also born a slave, and is one of the greatest educators the
world has ever known. As to the many other great things black men have
done and are doing, I cannot fail to mention the north pole, for, if human
beings have stood on the spot claimed as the north pole, the black man was
preceded by no one. I speak of Mr. Matt Henson, the Negro, who, if indeed,
the pole ever was reached, was one of the first of the only two "to date"
to reach it.




[Illustration: PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH]

Prof. W. S. Scarborough is head of the Classical Department of Wilberforce
University of Ohio, and Vice-President of the same institution. He, too,
is a great writer in defense of the Afro-American race. Here are some of
his remarks in his master-piece, "Race Integrity": (See next page.)


"The truth is that the term 'Caucasian' has little or no meaning as it is
now used. The word itself is a conventional term given at the first by
Blumenbach to designate what he considered the highest type of the human
family, shown by a skull from Mount Caucasus. When we attempt to trace
those who would claim the name as an expression of their superiority we
find the type has disappeared. There is no pure specimen now in existence.
And if we ask what is 'white' we can only say, 'that it is a term used to
designate the absence of color'--that is all, and no sign whatever of
'race integrity.' We have already indicated that science and investigation
point to the fact that primitive man was not white. It is no new theory,
but it has seemed convenient for the Saxon to let it rest as much as
possible in discrete oblivion. Bishop H. M. Turner of the African
Methodist Episcopal church has often promulgated it in his own inimitable
way, and Moncure D. Conway has also declared that the white people of the
world today are only a reflex leprosy and that the natural color is brown
or black."




SECOND CHAPTER.

HIS FIRST HOME


God but faintly revealed the puzzle of civilization to Noah and his three
sons, Shem, Ham and Japhet (Genesis 9th Chapter 1st seven verses), and it
became their duty to start to work on the first moves of the puzzle, as
well as to create nations. He, who would begin from the first, moves and
works the matter out to perfection.

Ham, the father of the black man, located in Africa. Africa was his
homestead, so to speak. David, the Psalmist, credited Ham with this
territory in the 105th Psalm 23rd and 27th verses, and also in the 106th
Psalm 22nd verse. Now, if this is not true, and we reject it on the ground
of not being sufficient proof of the black man's first and original home,
we can on quite as good ground reject any and every other part of the
Bible, for what I here state is no wild imagination, but FACTS taken from
the Bible.

Cush, Mizriam, Phut and Canaan were the first sons of Ham (Genesis 10th
Chapter, 6th verse), and these four sons including Nimrod, the grandson
of Ham, were the first to start work on the problem of civilization; in a
word they were the pioneers and the very pillars of civilized governments.

Cush located in South Egypt on the River Nile. He became the father of the
Ethiopians as well as the father of the Cushites through Nimrod who
located on the Southern part of the Euphrates River. It is to be
remembered that Nimrod is the founder of the Babylonian kingdom (Genesis
10th Chapter, 10th verse.) Mizriam located on the upper part of the River
Nile, and he became the father of the Egyptians. Phut located in the
Northern part of Africa. Canaan located in the land known as the old
Palestine country, which is modern Turkey. Canaan became the father of the
Canaanites (Genesis 10th Chapter, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th verses).
According to the Bible the above is the exact location of the first sons
of Ham, and the question which naturally follows is, "Was civilization
born in their land and given birth by Ham's first offspring?" It is
conceded by John Clark Ridpath and a few other writers on ancient history
that the Egyptians were the fathers of civilization, according to the
chronology of Manetho, an Egyptian priest. Egypt was founded in the year
B. C. 3892, and Menes was the first mortal King. The all important
question now arises, "Were the Egyptians descendants of black men, or were
they descendants of white men? Were they descendants of Ham or Shem?" It
is well known that students claim to be divided in their opinion as to the
original stock from which the ancient Egyptians came. Ridpath, among
others, says they were neither Semitic nor Negro, but concludes his
remarks on the origin of the Egyptians by saying that the ancient
Egyptians were considered a branch of that part of the Cushite family,
which settled in Asia. Probably the little matter of the Cushites being
the grand-children of Ham slipped Ridpath's mind, else his statements
would not have been so conflicting, because he just says that they were
not Negroes, but ends his argument by saying that they were a branch of
the Cushite family of Asia.

It requires no laborious research to establish the facts that Cush was the
father of all Cushite nations. He was also the first son of Ham (Genesis
10th Chapter, 6th verse). Now then, if the Ethiopians and all other
Cushite nations who sprang from this first son of Ham were not Negroes,
will some of our historians omit the word "probably," so much used by
them, and say _what_ they were. It is fair to assume that with their
boasted intelligence and superior brain power, by this time they would
have been able to search out and connect at least some of the many facts,
and plain, indisputable records in the Bible which leaves no room for
doubt or "probably."

We learn from the Bible that Ham is the father of the African family; the
Ethiopian is the darkest or blackest tribe of the Hamites. Cush was the
founder or father of this tribe. Moses selected his wife from this black
or Ethiopian tribe (Numbers 12th Chapter, 1st verse). It must be plain to
any one who will read the parts referred to in the Bible, that Ridpath's
contention that the Egyptians sprang from the Cushites was the wrong
avenue to escape the blood of the Negro, or their relation to the black
man's family. I believe, however, that Ridpath wrote in good faith for the
majority of the historical writers claim that the Egyptians descended from
a white race, notwithstanding they admit that the Old Testament gives the
truest, the most complete and reliable record on the origin of the
Egyptians of any other book, so it is not unnatural to believe that their
opinions are influenced by racial prejudice.

Now it is true that the Bible contains the only authentic, and certainly
the most ancient record of not only the Egyptians, but of all mankind, and
I CAN and will PROVE by it that the Egyptian--Hamite--sprang from Mizriam.

According to the Biblical Gazette, the word "Egypt" is derived from the
word Mizriam, and this word "Mizriam" was the name of one of the first
sons of Ham (Genesis 10th Chapter, 6th verse). By the word "Egypt" being
coined from the word "Mizriam," it strengthens my contention that the
Egyptian was descended from the black man. I will now dig down further
into the rich earth of proof for more enlightenment out of the Book of
Truth. By viewing the ancient Bible map of Africa and Asia, which map can
be found in the back of the New Testament, one can readily pick out the
spots upon which Shem, Ham and Japheth first located. You will notice that
Mizriam, the second son of Ham, and the accredited father of the Egyptians
located on the very spot, so to speak, where the great City of Memphis was
built by Menes, the first King of Egypt. Again you will notice that all
the names within African borders are names of the sons of Ham, Shem and
his offspring, located in Asia. Perhaps a better way to locate Ham, Shem
and Japheth and their first offspring is first to read the 10th and 11th
Chapters of Genesis, then locate their names on the map, and it will be
seen that not a Shemite, or white man, originally located in Africa. All
of the white men located in Asia, and according to the Bible white men
never began to travel in Africa until Abraham's time, B. C. 1921. The
Egyptians lived in a high state of civilization near 2,000 years before
Abraham's first visit to Egypt, and the appearance of white people was a
circus and a curiosity to the black people. Abraham realized this fact and
commanded his wife to represent herself as his sister, because as he said,
"she was fair to look upon," white (Genesis 12th Chapter, 11th, 12th and
13th verses). This would indicate that the Egyptians were not white, and I
will say without fear of my assertion being disproven, that until after
the time of Abraham, the Egyptians were a simon pure black race. Shortly
after Abraham's visit, the Shemitic or white travellers began to pour into
Egypt to such an extent that the Egyptians began inter-marrying with them,
and of course, this inter-marrying had its effect of contaminating the
pure Negro blood, and this inter-marrying was the cause of the black man,
or full blooded Egyptian losing the power of control in the Kingdom. In
other words--this is the loop through which the Shepherd or white or
Shemitic kings slipped through and took possession of the Egyptian
kingdom.




[Illustration: DR. W. E. BURGHARDT DUBOIS]

Dr. W. E. Burghardt DuBois is the most scholarly speaker and writer of the
Afro-American race. He is the author of the book "Souls of Black Folk,"
which is a marvellous book. On the following page are some of the phrases
from his famous address to the Social Study Clubs of Chicago University.


February 13th, 1907, on Education and Civilization:

"The doing of the world's work is a great duty and a great privilege. It
is a thing not to be aimed at but to be aimed beyond. Just so soon as a
nation or a country can put its foot upon this satisfaction of the lower
wants and step upward to the greater aspirations of human brotherhood and
the broader ideals of civilization, just so soon the real building of
civilization begins. It seems to me, therefore, that the students of
Chicago University and they that teach them, ought especially, on every
occasion to impress this broader aspect of the race problem. That instead
of putting it in its narrower, nastier channel, instead of stooping to
listen to men, who themselves represent what is lowest and least in our
national organization, that you should strive in every way to realize
yourselves and to show others that this great broad question of humanity
is not a question of petty crime, not a question of so many bales of
cotton, not a question even of mere industrial development, but is a
question of human aspiration, and that if here in America, on the very
fore front of present advance, it is possible to murder the aspiration of
10,000,000 of men, then America is not yet civilized."




THIRD CHAPTER.

HIS RULE IN EGYPT


Dr. Leonhard Schmitz, Ph. D., LL. D., F. R., S. E., says in his work on
ancient Egyptian history, that these Hyksos or Shepherd Kings were Semite
people. "White," of course, and they comprised the 15th, 16th and 17th
dynasties, which covered 511 years. Now, during this period, Jacob and his
twelve sons and their families moved from Canaan to Egypt, and other
Semite or whites from Asia did likewise, because the white man had begun
to rule Egypt. At the 18th Dynasty, however, fortune turned against the
white rulers of Egypt, and the black men or the Negroes regained
possession of their country, and banished the whites from their land,
except the Jews, whom they held as slaves. They reorganized the Kingdom
with their own blood, "the blood of the Negro." Aahmas was the first King
after the whites were driven out, and his wife was Nefruari, the Ethiopian
Princess, greatly celebrated for her dusky charms, her wealth and her
accomplishments. The beginning of this reorganization of a period is
recorded in the 1st Chapter of the Book of Exodus, which shows that at the
beginning of the slavery of the Jews, God told Abraham that his people
would be held in bondage in Egypt for 400 years (Genesis 15th Chapter,
13th verse). Those 400 years marked the period of Egypt's most rapid and
substantial progress, as Dr. Schmitz says in writing on ancient Egyptian
history, those years were the most brilliant in Egypt's record, and the
period at which her art reached its highest point. It is but reasonable to
suppose this to have been so, for the Shepherd, or "white Kings" had
destroyed all of the former brilliancy of Egypt, and did not because they
could not do anything to replace or imitate its grandeur or beauty. The
black people when they regained possession of their Kingdom and again
began to rule, made slaves of the Jews and compelled them to do all the
heavy, dirty, unskilled labor, such as carrying bricks and mortar and
working in the field (Exodus 1st Chapter, 13th and 14th verses). While the
Egyptians turned their attention to science and art and reorganizing and
drilling their army, so as to be able to protect their country against all
nations. As Dr. Schmitz says, the Eastern boundaries of Egypt were well
protected by strong fortresses. This is but natural, because on the East,
the Semitic or white races reigned, and no doubt they were unfriendly to
the Egyptians, or "black" people, because they had expelled the Shepherd
or "white" Kings from their land. Now, when the Egyptians had attained "in
that Age" to the highest degree of intelligence and wisdom, and were
possessed of the greatest human power, God deemed it wise to make His own
Infinite wisdom and power felt over that of human wisdom and power, by
using Moses as an instrument to knock at the door of the Egyptian
government and ask for the release of the enslaved Jews. Moses did not
appear in Egypt by any human authority, or power, but by the authority and
the power of God, for it would have been useless for not only Moses, but
for any nation or number of nations to approach Egypt with hostile
intentions, without God, because Egypt with her wisdom and power had the
world at her mercy. There it required God with His immeasurable wisdom and
power to overcome the wisdom and power of these black Egyptians. The
evidence of God's power was displayed to the "Pharoah Meneptah," who is
generally conceded to be the "Pharoah of the Exodus," by His, "God's"
instruments, Moses and Aaron who were to appear before the Pharoah and
cast down their rods which turned to serpents (Exodus 7th Chapter, 10th
verse). When they had cast down their rods before Pharoah, and they turned
to serpents, Pharoah called the wise men, or magicians of Egypt with their
enchantments, and they cast down their rods which also became serpents
(Exodus 7th Chapter, 11th and 12th verses). This was the performing of two
miracles, one by God's power, and one by human power. This vieing with
God, though only for an instance of time is what no white man has had the
power to do since his creation. But, however, God, in order to demonstrate
His supreme power, caused the serpents transformed from the rods of Moses
and Aaron to swallow the serpents transformed from the rods of Pharoah's
or Egypt's wise men (Exodus 7-12). This rod and serpent incident was the
beginning of a series of plague miracles (read the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th
Chapters of Exodus), which wrecked the Egyptians' or black man's kingdom,
and also destroyed that great power which he had over all other nations
and released the Jews from slavery.

The black man's power, as the first power among the nations had now begun
to decay, and as the black race began to die, as a power among nations,
the white race began to rise to where it had never been before, but this
was 2,500 years after the black man had worked out all the problems of
civilization.

In reading Revelation, 13th Chapter, 11th verse, of St. John, the Divine,
I am very much impressed by the description of one of his revelations
which God unfolded to him, and which he describes as follows:

"I behold another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns,
like lamb's, and he spake as a dragon." Now, to my mind, the foregoing
vision of St. John the Divine, was this very country, the United States of
America, revealed to him ages ago before this country was discovered and
named, the two horns I interpret to be the two great political parties,
that have done so much to corrupt this Government and misrule its people
from their infancy to the present day. Again, the American Government
spake like a dragon when it permitted slavery to exist, especially when
its Constitution says "That ALL MEN WERE BORN FREE AND EQUAL."

Now, concerning the creating and enthralling of nations, their rise and
fall, that is the will and the work of God. (75th Psalms, 6th and 7th
verses.) (Jeremiah, 27th and 5th verses.) (Daniel, 2nd Chapter, 21st
verse.) (Daniel, 4th Chapter, 17th verse.)

So, since it is true that the black man is the father of civilization, it
is just as true that the white man is now at the helm, and the big "I AM"
of the civilized world. But the fact remains that he took his civilization
and his position after the black man had created it, and passed from the
stage of action, just as the white man must do at God's own appointed
time, to make room for some other race, probably the yellow race, Chinese
or Japanese. David, the Psalmist, said: "Egypt was the land of the black
man--Ham not Shem, the white man," and he further said that the
Tabernacles which were the houses and dwellings from the lowest to the
King's palaces were Ham's, and not Shem's, the white man--(Psalms, 106th
Chapter, 22nd verse; 105th Chapter, 23rd to 27th verse; 78th Chapter, 51st
verse).

It is easy to understand why the Negro or black man is not identified with
his Egyptian brother; that reason is seldom honestly and earnestly sought
for. The reason is--that the historians, with a very few exceptions, write
from a prejudiced standpoint, together with the fact that they do not give
credit to the Old Testament, if indeed, they study it at all, especially
that part of it which is the most ancient, and beyond all shadow of a
doubt the first and only TRUE account of the origin of mankind it is easy
to understand.

It is impossible for God to forget that the black man and his land (Egypt)
was the cradle of rescue that rocked and nursed the Son of God in his
first two years of life, when Herod's decree to destroy all children under
two years of age was issued. It was known that the decree was issued for
the express and only purpose of destroying the infant Christ, but God
chose Egypt, the black man's land, as a haven of rest and safety during
the life of the displeased and would-be infant murderer, Herod. (Matt.,
2nd Chapter.)

This might be the origin of that old, old saying, "Blood is thicker than
water," for Jesus in going into Egypt, went among black women and men, who
were the founders of the tribe from which he sprang.

When God in His infinite wisdom, His great love, justice and mercy, and at
His own appointed time, summons mankind to take his rightful place in the
wavering human line to be rewarded for that smallest of virtues, in
proportion as he for the greatest of virtues, will say to the black man,
who will be found heading the line, "Well done, thou good and faithful
black servant, thou, My instrument, the Father of Civilization."


THE END.




COMMENTS ON LECTURE TOURS OF THE WRITER.


_To Whom It May Concern_:

"I beg to say, after hearing Elder Webb on the subject, that the blood of
the Negro coursed through the veins of Jesus and Solomon. I am frank to
say I have seldom, if ever, enjoyed such an intellectual treat. The
position he assumed as the subject of his lecture touching the Hametic
blood and race is difficult and requires a practical knowledge of Biblical
and historical lore. But I am pleased to say that he not only shows
himself an expert, but the master of the situation, and I commend him to
the ministry and churches of our race of every denomination. Truly,

  "BISHOP H. M. TURNER."




COMMENT FROM ONE OF THE LEADING PAPERS OF THE WRITER'S HOME.


"The evidence submitted by Elder Webb tending to prove that the Saviour of
mankind was a black man seems to be sufficient to put those who oppose the
proposition upon their proof. Now that the chain of evidence presented by
Mr. Webb appears so complete, it is strange that none of the delvers in
the Biblical records have not advanced the sensational proposition before.
Not only was Christ a Negro, but it seems that Solomon, who has been held
up through all of the ages as the personification of wisdom, had Ethiopian
blood in his veins also."--_Seattle Daily Times._




[Illustration: HENRY O. TANNER

The World-Famous Afro-American Artist]


Henry O. Tanner is the world famous Afro-American artist. He is the oldest
son of Bishop Tanner of the A. M. E. Church. He was born in Pittsburg,
Penn., but was trained in the public schools of Philadelphia, to which
place his parents moved soon after his birth. His first steps in his life
work were taken in the art schools of Philadelphia from which training he
went to Paris where his genius developed and flowered in the studies of
Benjamin Constant and Julien. In 1895 his "Sabot Maker," was shown in the
salon exhibit and received friendly treatment from the French critics.
Frenchmen, as a rule, are not too favorably inclined to the works of
foreigners and their appreciation of Tanner is truly significant of the
real value this work--a merit which puts it beyond the limitations of race
and country. In 1896 he exhibited "Daniel in the Lion's Den," the first of
a line of religious works with which his fame has been since connected.
This picture received Honorable mention from the French Jury and was
bought by the Pennsylvania Academy.

Mr. Tanner's picture, "The Two Disciples at the Tomb," was purchased by
the Chicago Art Institute for $1,600.




  In Memory of

  Paul Lawrence
  Dunbar

  Famous
  African-American
  Poet




THE COLORED SOLDIERS

(From Dunbar's "Lyrics of Lowly Life.")

  If the muse were mine to tempt it
    And my feeble voice were strong,
  If my tongue were trained to measures,
    I would sing a stirring song.
  I would sing a song heroic
    Of those noble sons of Ham,
  Of the gallant colored soldiers
    Who fought for Uncle Sam!
  In the early days you scorned them,
    And with many a flip and flout
  Said "These battles are the white man's.
    And the whites will fight them out."
  Up the hills you fought and faltered,
    In the vales you strove and bled,
  While your ears still heard the thunder
    Of the foes' advancing tread.

  Then distress fell on the nation,
    And the flag was drooping low;
  Should the dust pollute your banner?
    No! the nation shouted, No!
  So when War, in savage triumph,
    Spread abroad his funeral pall--
  Then you called the colored soldiers,
    And they answered to your call.

  And like hounds unleashed and eager
    For the life blood of the prey,
  Sprung they forth and bore them bravely
    In the thickest of the fray,
  And where'er the fight was hottest,
    Where the bullets fastest fell,
  There they pressed unblanched and fearless
    At the very mouth of hell.


Below are written some of the comments on his poetry and prose:

Dr. Adams, editor of "The Advance," says: "Dunbar was a genius bound in
ebony."

Former President Theodore Roosevelt said: "I was a great admirer of his
poetry and his prose."




[Illustration: P. KA ISAKA SEME

A NATIVE BORN AFRICAN]


P. Ka Isaka Seme, who delivered such a wonderful oration on the subject,
"THE REGENERATION OF AFRICA," which oration is reproduced from the Colored
American Magazine of New York (June, 1906). This oration substantiates me
in my article wherein I claim that the black man was the FATHER OF
CIVILIZATION.


The Regeneration of Africa

Curtis Medals Oration, First Prize, April 5, 1906, Columbia University

I have chosen to speak to you on this occasion upon "The Regeneration of
Africa." I am an African, and I set my pride in my race over against a
hostile public opinion. Men have tried to compare races on the basis of
some equality. In all the works of nature, equality, if by it we mean
identity, is an impossible dream! Search the universe! You will find no
two units alike. The scientists tell us there are no two cells, no two
atoms, identical. Nature has bestowed upon each a peculiar individuality,
an exclusive patent--from the great giants of the forest to the tenderest
blade. Catch in your hand, if you please, the gentle flakes of snow. Each
is a perfect gem, a new creation; it shines in its own glory--a work of
art different from all of its aerial companions. Man, the crowning
achievement of nature, defies analysis. He is a mystery through all ages
and for all time. The races of mankind are composed of free and unique
individuals. An attempt to compare them on the basis of equality can never
be finally satisfactory. Each is self. My thesis stands on this truth;
time has proved it. In all races, genius is like a spark, which, concealed
in the bosom of a flint, bursts forth at the summoning stroke. It may
arise anywhere and in any race.

I would ask you not to compare Africa to Europe or to any other continent.
I make this request not from any fear that such comparison might bring
humiliation upon Africa. The reason I have stated,--a common standard is
impossible! Come with me to the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes, the city
of one hundred gates. The grandeur of its venerable ruins and the gigantic
proportions of its architecture reduced to insignificance the boasted
monuments of other nations. The pyramids of Egypt are structures to which
the world presents nothing comparable. The mighty monuments seem to look
with disdain on every other work of human art and to vie with nature
herself. All the glory of Egypt belongs to Africa and her people. These
monuments are the indestructible memorials of their great and original
genius. It is not through Egypt alone that Africa claims such unrivalled
historic achievements. I could have spoken of the pyramids of Ethiopia,
which, though inferior in size to those of Egypt, far surpass them in
architectural beauty; their sepulchres which evince the highest purity of
taste, and of many prehistoric ruins in other parts of Africa. In such
ruins Africa is like the golden sun, that, having sunk beneath the western
horizon, still plays upon the world which he sustained and enlightened in
his career.

Justly the world now demands--

  "Whither is fled the visionary gleam,
  Where is it now, the glory and the dream?"

Oh, for that historian who, with the open pen of truth, will bring to
Africa's claim the strength of written proof. He will tell of a race whose
onward tide was often swelled with tears, but in whose heart bondage has
not quenched the fire of former years. He will write that in these later
days when Earth's noble ones are named, she has a roll of honor too, of
whom she is not ashamed. The giant is awakening! From the four corners of
the earth Africa's sons, who have been proved through fire and sword, are
marching to the future's golden door bearing the records of deeds of valor
done.

Mr. Calhoun, I believe, was the most philosophical of all the
slave-holders. He said once that if he could find a black man who could
understand the Greek syntax, he would then consider their race human, and
his attitude toward enslaving them would therefore change. What might have
been the sensation kindled by the Greek syntax in the mind of the famous
Southerner, I have so far been unable to discover; but oh, I envy the
moment that was lost! And woe to the tongues that refused to tell the
truth! If any such were among the now living, I could show him among black
men of pure African blood those who could repeat the Koran from memory,
skilled in Latin, Greek and Hebrew,--Arabic and Chaldais--men great in
wisdom and profound knowledge--one professor of philosophy in a celebrated
German university; one corresponding member of the French Academy of
Sciences, who regularly transmitted to that society meteorological
observations, and hydrographical journals and papers on botany and
geology; another whom many ages call "The Wise," whose authority Mahomet
himself frequently appealed to in the Koran in support of his own
opinion--men of wealth and active benevolence, those whose distinguished
talents and reputation have made them famous in the cabinet and in the
field, officers of artillery in the great armies of Europe, generals and
lieutenant generals in the armies of Peter the Great in Russia and
Napoleon in France, presidents of free republics, kings of independent
nations which have burst their way to liberty by their own vigor. There
are many other Africans who have shown marks of genius and high character
sufficient to redeem their race from the charges which I am now
considering.

Ladies and gentlemen, the day of great exploring expeditions in Africa is
over! Man knows his home now in a sense never known before. Many great and
holy men have evinced a passion for the day you are now witnessing--their
prophetic vision shot through many unborn centuries to this very hour.
"Men shall run to and fro," said Daniel, "and knowledge shall increase
upon the earth." Oh, how true! See the triumph of human genius today!
Science has searched out the deep things of nature, surprised the secrets
of the most distant stars, disentombed the memorials of everlasting hills,
taught the lightning to speak, the vapors to toil and the winds to
worship--spanned the sweeping rivers, tunneled the longest mountain
range--made the world a vast whispering gallery, and has brought foreign
nations into one civilized family. This all-powerful contact says even to
the most backward race, you cannot remain where you are, you cannot fall
back you must advance! A great century has come upon us. No race
possessing the inherent capacity to survive can resist and remain
unaffected by this influence of contact and intercourse, the backward with
the advanced. This influence constitutes the very essence of efficient
progress and of civilization.

From these heights of the twentieth century I again ask you to cast your
eyes south of the Desert of Sahara. If you could go with me to the
oppressed Congos and ask, what does it mean, that now, for liberty, they
fight like men and die like martyrs; if you would go with me to
Bechuanaland, face their council of Headmen and ask what motives caused
them recently to decree so emphatically that alcoholic drinks shall not
enter their country--visit their king, Khama, ask for what cause he leaves
the gold and ivory palace of his ancestors, its mountain strongholds and
all its august ceremony, to wander daily from village to village through
all his kingdom, without a guard or any decoration of his rank--a preacher
of industry and education, and an apostle of the new order of things; if
you would ask Menelik what means this that Abyssinia is now looking across
the ocean--oh, if you could read the letters that come to us from
Zululand--you, too, would be convinced that the elevation of the African
race is evidently a part of the new order of things that belong to this
new and powerful period.

The African already recognizes his anomalous position and desires a
change. The brighter day is rising upon Africa. Already I seem to see her
chains dissolved, her desert plains red with harvest, her Ayssinia and her
Zululand the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glory of the
rising sun from the spires of their churches and universities. Her Congo
and her Gambia whitened with commerce, her crowded cities sending forth
the hum of business, and all her sons employed in advancing the victories
of peace--greater and more abiding than the spoils of war.

Yes, the regeneration of Africa belongs to this new and powerful period!
By this term regeneration I wish to be understood to mean the entrance
into a new life, embracing the diverse phases of a higher, complex
existence. The basic factor which assures their regeneration resides in
the awakened race-consciousness. This gives them a clear perception of
their elemental needs and of their undeveloped powers. It therefore must
lead them to the attainment of that higher and advanced standard of life.

The African people, although not a strictly homogeneous race, possess a
common fundamental sentiment which is everywhere manifest, crystalizing
itself into one common controlling idea. Conflicts and strife are rapidly
disappearing before the fusing force of this enlightened perception of the
true intertribal relation, which relation should subsist among a people
with a common destiny. Agencies of a social, economic and religious
advance tell of a new spirit which, acting as a leavening ferment, shall
raise the anxious and aspiring mass to the level of their ancient glory.
The ancestral greatness, the unimpaired genius, and the recuperative power
of the race, its irrepressibility, which assures its permanence,
constitute the African's greatest source of inspiration. He has refused to
camp forever on the borders of the industrial world; having learned that
knowledge is power, he is educating his children. You find them in
Edinburgh, in Cambridge, and in the great schools of Germany. These return
to their country like arrows, to drive darkness from the land. I hold that
this industrial and educational initiative, and his untiring devotion to
these activities must be regarded as positive evidences of this process of
his regeneration.

The regeneration of Africa means that a new and unique civilization is
soon to be added to the world. The African is not a proletarian in the
world of science and art. He has precious creations of his own, of ivory,
of copper and of gold, fine, plaited willow-ware and weapons of superior
workmanship. Civilization resembles an organic being in its
development--it is born, it perishes, and it can propogate itself. More
particularly, it resembles a plant, it takes root in the teeming earth,
and when the seeds fall in other soils new varieties sprout up. The most
essential departure of this new civilization is that it shall be
thoroughly spiritual and humanistic--indeed a regeneration moral and
eternal!


O AFRICA!

  Like some great century plant that shall bloom
  In ages hence, we watch thee; in our dream
  See in thy swamps the Prospero of our stream;
  Thy doors unlocked, where knowledge in her tomb
  Hath lain innumerable years in gloom.
  Then shalt thou, waking with that morning gleam
  Shine as thy sister lands with equal beam.






