If we infer from the dogmatic Euro-American definition of a black man as someone with any trace of Negro blood in his ancestry, most people in history, indeed Biblical history would be termed as black. The proponents of intellectual and ideological racism have committed a great error by not considering the fact that there has been a considerable level of mixing amongst the different races of the world, with a consequence that many people today do not belong to any distinct race. Today, people with a trace of black lineage like Mariah Carey and Beyonce are considered as Negroes.

A long time ago in Europe, there arose an idea that suggests that, since blacks are descendants of Ham, Noah’s wayward son, they are bound under the curse of Ham. Note that the term “curse of Ham” is a mis-statement because Ham himself was not cursed; it was Canaan, his last born that was cursed. Nevertheless, this despicable idea was used as an excuse in justifying slavery and colonization. The Europeans of the colonial period saw a backward, almost primitive Sub-Saharan Africa and concluded that Africans are naturally backward, primitive people and so are incapable of initiating civilization.

Different suggestions were given as to the reasons for the primitive nature of blacks. Some suggested that blacks cannot be equal in intellect and must always remain servants to the whites because they are not full human beings. This idea was common in the middle ages and was called the Pre-Adamite school of thought. According to this idea, the ancestors of blacks were Pre-Adamite creatures. Cain committed an abomination by marrying into this race, and the black race came into existence. Another school of thought said that Blacks are a result of God’s punishment on Eve. When Eve ate the apple, there was intercourse between her and the serpent and the result of that union was the black man. Another, but more moderate school of thought suggested that Ham committed an abomination by lying with his father’s wife (Gen 9: 25-27). The claim lies in the inference from the Bible and Jewish tradition that, seeing one’s father’s nakedness is the same as lying with one’s father’s wife.

However, beyond all the propositions and racial dogma that has dominated the ideas about the origin of blacks for centuries, it is necessary to make it clear that blacks have equal intellect and equal rights with any other race in the world. Though, this is not a debatable issue, yet there is still need for enough knowledge so as to erase all misconceptions about the black man. There is considerable evidence to show that all human beings originated from one common source and it is only by variation in their environments that they have different colors. Grogers law proposed that all creatures living near the equator are bound to secrete a black pigment on their skins. It is significant for mankind to gain more us insight into the origin of the black man so that we will be able to appreciate why race is only physical appearance, beyond that, human beings are the same in all aspects.