Sometimes it is hard to comprehend how a society that achieved such wondrous scientific feats as placing a man on the moon can also tragically be linked to the barbarisms of Jim Crow segregation. Even though slavery officially ended with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the twin evils of racism and segregation continued well into the 20th century.
In fact, in the waning years of the 20th century violence born of racism was responsible for the death a Texan James Byrd, in 1998, whose body was beaten and dismembered after being tied to the rear of a truck. Such an atrocity and others like have now been labeled as “hate-crimes” and reminds us that racism still exists. While there can be intense debates as to the historical causes of racism’s enduring legacy in this country, there is no question that religion and science have been used at various times in defending racism and segregation.
The so-called “Curse of Ham” is perhaps the most referenced biblical justification for the enslavement of blacks in the United States. While most are familiar with Genesis’s account of Noah and the flood, many are not aware that his story does not end with the ark’s arrival on Mount Ararat. Genesis 9:20-25 describes why Noah cursed his grandson Canaan, who would be the “lowest of slaves.” This religious justification made American slavery palatable to those who continually professed their belief and adherence to Biblical scripture.
The scientific rationale for racism arguably began the moment white Europeans set foot in Africa and began the rape of natural resources (including humans) when it was believed that blacks were lower the whites on the evolutionary scale. However, this argument gained momentum in the latter half of the 19th century with the acceptance of Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution and natural selection.
By perverting Darwin’s research, racists finally had the “scientific” proof they needed to justify centuries of black enslavement. They argued that blacks were genetically inferior to whites and therefore should be subjected to the guidance that the white race had to offer. Furthermore, they believed the benevolence of the Peculiar Institution would one day civilize the black race, inferring that all blacks in Africa were uncivilized, even those that built the great pyramids of Giza.
By the time W.E.B. Dubois declared that race would be the crucial issue of the 20th century, the evils of racism and segregation had not yet begun fading from America's identity. Instead, by the First World War President Woodrow Wilson was solidifying Jim Crow’s presence. Thankfully, scholars and practitioners from the religious and scientific communities have soundly rejected these myths of racism by the end of the 20th century. Still, the violence perpetrated against blacks in the name of racism and segregation remains a sad part of our national history. Or, maybe, as in the horrific slaying of James Byrd in 1998, racism and segregation are still with us in the 21st century.
Reference
Aptheker, Herbert, Afro American History, New York: Citadel Press Book, 1992 (1971)
