By Kwaku Person-Lynn, Ph.D.

There has been a clarion call for the scholarly community to respond to the depiction of Jesus, the Christ in the latest religious Hollywood blockbuster "The Passion Of The Christ." A subterranean discussion has continued for decades centered on whether Jesus was a Black man. Before tackling this issue, let us first look at what various sources say about his mother.

When attempting to discover who a person was, an effective methodology is to investigate that person's ancestry.

In one of the most important books on this subject, 'The Cult of the Black Virgin' by Ean Begg, author, former member of the Dominican Order and psychoanalyst, a telling statement was made, "Emile Saillens (author of 'Nos Vierge Noires, leurs origines') estimates from the evidence that is available that by the middle of the sixteenth century, before the depredations of the Huguenots, there were 190 statuettes of the Black Virgin in France."

Continuing with Begg, a conversation he quoted in his book is very revealing. "In 1944, Leonard W. Moss, entering the church at Lucera in southern Italy, came across his first Black Virgin and asked the priest, 'Father, why is the Madonna black?' The response was, ‘My son, she is black because she is black.’" 

One of the most poignant pieces of evidence hangs in The Church Of The Nativity in Bethlehem, Palestine. The Discovery Channel aired a documentary on Jesus some time ago. Before entering the room of Jesus reported birthplace, at the top of the portal hangs an elaborate painting of Mary and her son, both Black. It seems the authorities in charge would not do such a thing without a valid reason.

William LaRue Dillard, minister and author, in his book 'Biblical Ancestry Voyage', cites the following, "When Pope Pius was head of the Vatican state, an official postage stamp was issued with the Virgin Mary as a Negro on it. There was a similar stamp in Spain commemorating the Black Virgin and Child."

Having taken a cursory look at the mother of Jesus, the Christ, let us now turn our attention to the main character. There are numerous portrayals

throughout the globe, but the first to be found were in Europe, where the image of Jesus being Black is an old idea. Depictions can be found in France,

the Cathedral of Millan; in Germany, the Cathedral of Augsburg; in Italy, the Church of San Francisco (at Pisa). There are several places where Jesus and Mary are both portrayed Black. For example; Our Lady of the Hermits at Einsiedeln, Switzerland; the Russian Black Madonna, the Notre Dame of Kazan; Shrine of the Black

Madonna, Queen of the Pyrenees, Spain; The Sicilian Black Madonna, the Black Virgin at Tindari; the Black Madonna, Notre Dame of Hal, near Brussels, Belgium; Our Lady of Czestochowa, in Poland.

The Bible, King James Version, which many refer to as the word of God,

has several chapters that refer to the color of Jesus. In Daniel (Old

Testament) 7:9 says, "and the hair of his head like the pure wool.” Revelation (New Testament) 1:15 reveals “his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." Additional references one can turn to are: Ezekiel 1:27 and 8:2.

The beloved elder and the most published Black biblical scholar to date, Dr. Charles B. Copher, in one of his popular lectures, "Black People In and Of the Bible," traces the Black ancestry of Jesus, primarily using a genealogical approach. He also states that the original Hebrews, Israelites and Jews, including Abraham and Moses, were Black.

Dr. Cain Hope Felder, the very renowned biblical scholar at Howard University, in his three essential works: 'Troubling Biblical Waters:

Race, Class, & Family'; 'Stony The Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation'; and the 'African Heritage Study Bible', which illustrates the role Afrikans played in shaping Judaism and Christianity, has provided tons of evidence describing Jesus physical appearance. According to Dr. Dillard, he also suggests the entire Old Testament has no Whites in it.

We cannot blame Mel Gibson for making the movie. After all, moviemaking is a business first, and he knew he had an instant hit. What is most important is what you believe. There is an abundance of evidence to confirm what has been stated. The key question is, are you strong enough to wipe away long held beliefs that can be mentally crippling, but continue the path of a spiritual consciousness?

Kwaku Person-Lynn, Ph.D is the author of On My Journey Now - The Narrative

And Works Of Dr. John Henrik Clarke, The Knowledge Revolutionary. E-mail address: DrKwaku@hotmail.com. Website: www.drkwaku.com