I’m just now catching up on a week’s worth of e-mails and came across a bunch of Boondocks that brought a well needed smile to my face. The end of the thread about The Passion of the Christ took me back to my college days. We had some very heated debates over whether or not Jesus was black/brown. The thing that was most disturbing to me was how so many people couldn’t even conceive the possibility that Jesus wasn’t white. It’s as if their whole world would be turned upside down if that were the case. (That made the debate so much more fun!) Anyway, here are the strips:
This posting is funny since I have been saying this since the movie came out. I had everyone at the job reading the 4th strip. Its always been deep that a person/people can describe themelves or even give picture (i.e. the Egyptians, Beethovan) and be portrayed totally the opposite. I told my boys I would love to make a movie about the Revolutionary War. The premise is everything is as factual as possible and have Wahington, Jefferson, and Franklin played by Denzell, J Wright, and Don Cheadle. When the questions of race for the main characters is raised my answer is “who said they were not Black?” “I believe they were brothers because I its fact” Big up McGruder.
Most of what I’ve read from theoligists broaching the topic has said he probably looked something like what we’d recognize as an Egyptian, though nobody really knows for sure. Now, the portrayal of Jesus is usually modeled after the majority race in a given locale. For example, if you go to Mexico, Jesus is often portrayed with black hair and darker skin (and bleeding and crying instead of the sanitized “Buddy Christ” we get here in the U.S.). I assume if you went to other Christian countries with a non-white majority, you would often find interesting variations of his appearance.
Mike, you are correct in your allusion that it would turn the world upside down. As a Christian, what is really important to me are his teachings, not his race/ethnicity. But as a Pan-Africanist and someone interested in truth, I continue to try to convince others that, most likely, Jesus did not resemble Michaelangelo’s cousin or even Jim Caviezel. This is about as likely as the Garden of Eden having existed in Europe. Publicly revealing Christ’ true ethnicity to the world (and via popular culture i.e. ‘The Passion’) would shake the foundations of white supremacy and deconstruct the widespread myths of white infallibility and predisposition to rule others. As America continues its hegemonistic designs through the mythology of American “rightness”, “greatness”, “justice” and “fair play”, so does white supremacy continue to thrive through its own myths. Jesus as a non-white? Hell no, that can’t possibly be! You mean we [whites] have to bow down to a brotha? Ain’t happening!