Since we are wrapping up Black History Month, let’s tackle the age old question: WAS JESUS BLACK? Let’s start with what He was. Jesus was a 1st-century Middle Eastern Jew from Galilee. He likely had olive-brown skin, dark hair, and brown eyes, optimum word, “likely,” because we weren’t there and there’s nobody left to confirm what he looked like. Isaiah 53:2, describes Jesus as having “no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.” It focuses on his humble appearance rather than race and depicts him as that everyday person who’s goal and mission was to help everybody get to know who God was and to build a relationship with the Father. Some Black theologians, such as James Cone, argue that Jesus is “Black” because he identifies with the oppressed. He came to the conclusion that since he was helping out those who were being held down and forgotten by those in power, he must have been Black because he could relate so well with the poor and those who were being mistreated. Certain groups, like the Hebrew Israelites, point to Revelation 1:14-15 (describing hair like “wool” and feet like “fine brass… burned in a furnace”) as evidence of Black features, though most scholars view this as symbolic imagery rather than a literal description.
So how did we get to the place where Jesus is portrayed as a Caucasian? How did “White Jesus” get to be on the cover of all of the Bibles that were on our coffee tables back in the day? Jesus is depicted as white, primarily due to European artists during the Renaissance portraying him with their own features to make him relatable to their culture, and used politically by colonizers to symbolize superiority, despite Jesus being a Middle Eastern Jew. The European image of Jesus became dominant through widespread dissemination in art, books, and media, even though historical accuracy points to Jesus to having a darker-skinned, Middle Eastern appearance. The “White Jesus” I mentioned earlier that was on the cover of the bibles on our coffee tables. That was the work of American artist Warner E. Sallman. In 1940, he painted Jesus as a white man with blue eyes and blond hair and it became incredibly popular in the U.S., making that image the universal image of Jesus in our homes, schools, and churches, including African American churches. White Jesus was in all the Black churches, through the 60’s and 70’s for sure. I personally started to see a transformation in the 80’s to a more darker-toned Jesus.
At the end of the day, we may never know for sure if Jesus was Black and does it really matter? I know we all want bragging rights, but at the end of the day, what really matters, what is most important is His message, who He represents, how He was born and raised to die for our sins so that we may have eternal life with God. That transcends all races, ethnic groups and cultures. So to some, He may be “Black Jesus,” to some He may be “White Jesus,” but for most, I think He’s ALL JESUS, for ALL PEOPLE.
With Agape Love,
Willie Mae