BLACK PRESIDENTS

When you look at the pictures of all the presidents, you see all white males. At least, they look white. If you use the standard one drop methodology of race used still in many parts of the United States, then some presidents may be black.

E.R. Shipp (2004) of the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS in her ‘Kerry gives the melting pot a stir” notes that Kerry is Catholic, but is really Jewish. It is a long story left for another time, but roots do matter. Shipp states “I hate to burst bubbles, but according to research by late historian J.A. Rogers, five presidents have documentable black roots.”

Race also matters.

One would want to state this cautiously. So, go to your favorite search engine and key in J.A. ROGERS   FIVE BLACK PRESIDENTS. The author of the site and reviewer of Roger’s book indicates the following. Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Harding and Coolidge were black. There are suggestions that there may be other black presidents, but this should suffice. Make your own judgment.

MIXEDFOLKS.COM is another site that suggests so many individuals who have an outward white appearance and yet are partially something other than white do so to stay in the public spotlight and keep their jobs. There is also a section on politicians.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN (2003) suggests these folks are not alone. They are all around us. There are black people in white skins. Let’s call them white Africans. With one drop or more, about 22% of whites are black.

If you do some number crunching, you find that there are more white Africans then there are black people. To complicate matters even further, most black people have white heritage. Remember Strom Thurmond’s first child? She was bi-racial. While alive, Senator Thurmond never mentioned her publicly. At any rate, a lot of black people have black skins but white heritage.

At any rate, it is not likely that you will see an American history book for K-12 or even college and university level mention the above.

During the birthdays of some of these black presidents, one may want to write a letter to the editor of the local paper mentioning the race issue. If you really want to be cautious, write a letter on Harding’s birthday. Of all the black presidents, he is the one with the most information supporting his racial heritage.

At any rate, after the Shipp article was published in the author’s newspaper, I sent a letter.

It didn’t get published.

REFERENCES

____________, (2003) SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, 10, 2003, PP.33.

Schipp, E.R. (2004) THE GAZETTE, Kerry gives the melting pot a stir, 3/19, pp6a