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What Color Was Jesus - Blair Underwood and Phil Donahue.pdf

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What Color Was Jesus - Phil Donahue and Blair Underwood

What color? Black. Black? Yeah. What color was he? Caucasian. Black.

Jesus was a human. If you're a Christian, you believe that he was the second son of the Blessed Trinity. He was the Son of God. He was divine. But he was expressed in his 33 years on earth as a human being. And now coming forward are not a few very, very active people to say that the presentation of a white Jesus. Down through history. Before people of color has served. To characterize the Caucasian as superior, as the best, as better than others, and more than that has perpetuated a lie on the people of color and continued their enslavement. That's right. Here's

who's here. Blair Underwood joins us. From L.A. law. How? Blair. Blair needs no lecture on this. A lot of black folks don't go for this black Jesus at all. Been praying to a white Jesus all their lives. This is their Jesus and no. Activist of the moment is

going to come along and rip that imagery out of their soul, and they're just as proud of their blackness as anybody else. It doesn't have to do with all this psychological stuff that you new fangled people keep bringing on. Blair Underwood has produced a it's, you know, it's a misleading to call it a movie. It's a 30 minute, uh. Short film. Yeah. 30 minute film in which he plays Jesus. Let me show you just a piece of that, Blair. And then we'll we'll gab here a little bit. Jesus, this is the crucifixion. This is

right at the beginning of the film. Just a moment to show you here. the beginning of the film, uh, titled The Second Coming, which was written, produced and as you see, uh, starred in by Blair Underwood. Um, you should also know, without giving the story of this film away, that the historical Jesus then appears in your film as a contemporary black male, right, who is in a mental institution and they're scared to death of this guy. And I mean almost to

the point where, you know, they're just beating him down. Did the Rodney King thing inspire you?

Oh, most definitely. I have talked. I've been very outspoken about things that I have dealt with with the Los Angeles Police Department. Friends of mine, young African-American males with the so-called justice system. And when the Rodney King the first verdict came out a year ago, it hit me. He said. I said, you know, it doesn't matter if you're a so-called celebrity. It doesn't matter if you're Rodney King. Even Christ, if he were a man of color, were to come back, he would be treated the same way. So in the film, that's why he's accused of this, this heinous crime without giving too much of it away. But I need to make the point before you get into this, because this can

get very heated as it has before. Well, I don't know. We got a pretty well, a pretty thoughtful audience here. You know, they will offer their own insightful, civilly structured commentary here in just a moment. But it's important for people to realize that this film is not about dividing people. You see, this audience has seen the film. It's about understanding. It's about enlightenment. It's about what this

man, Jesus, whatever he looked like, what he taught, his philosophy of love. But we're dealing

with this historical figure. Yes they are.

What color was he, Blair, in your own? Are you? You are a Christian. Yes I am, you were raised a Christian? Yes. And you know this is not an investigation, but I mean, was it? You better get to church or mama's going to have to know why, I don't know.

It was pretty much like that. Yeah. Um. All right. So that you. Was it Baptist? Baptist. All right. So you sang all those hymn to Jesus. And I'm sure that Jesus throughout your childhood was white. Is that so? Uh, that's that's correct. But we were always told that he was a man of color. Before we get into it, you have to understand what is black. What is blackness? Blackness is one of three things. It's either a perception. What you see when you look at me, Phil, you see a man of a darker hue. It's either a state of mind, a consciousness. That's why I have friends of mine who are white. And

you'll say, and they know more about African-American heritage and culture than some black people. And you'll say, well, this white guy, he's black. He's a brother. Thirdly, when we talk about blackness, it's defined by your ancestral lineage, your genealogical line. If you go to the genealogical line of Jesus, there are people of color throughout his lineage completely. And the thing is, before anybody can take issue with this film or with this entire issue, and it's not a novel idea, the significance of this film is it's never been on camera. A black Jesus has never been on camera, certainly not a crucifixion. Um, so it's been there. And it's important to establish that

because of all the things you said, we talked about the justice system, but but once we get beyond that, then and only then, it becomes irrelevant. Yeah. Let me just I want to make sure I understand your position here. Blair. Um, you do seem to

be finessing a bit. Uh, that color is a matter of the heart. And you're right. There are white people who have been so very, very, uh, exemplary in their continued effort to ensure that the civil rights of all people are, are protected, that that people of color, minorities have started to refer to them as brother or sister, great, great. Um, but they're still white, I think you are. You are suggesting that there's some pretty good historical anthropological evidence suggesting that Jesus just probably was black? Am I correctly stating your, uh. That's right. Yeah. Okay. In that, was he a Jewish black guy? Who. And. Oh, there's no question. We were talking about a Jewish man from Jerusalem who more than likely there were no camcorders or Polaroid cameras then, but more than likely had to have been a man of color.

We're talking about probabilities.

Are you there, caller? Uh, yes. Phil, I just want to say that when God said he was going to make man in his image, he

did not mean white, green, or any color. It was supposed to be spiritually like him. Very good. And

that's what is important.

Yes. Well.

Wait a minute. Hold it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

No, that's that's. I tell you, caller, I very much appreciate your thoughtful comment. Except you are

kissing a baby here. Uh, and you're waving a flag. These politically active people who want to. As

you'll see in a moment, there are people who are taking down the white Jesus, because that is,

he was. He was. He has been presented for 2000 years before peoples of all color. As a a

Caucasian European. I got through Europe. Oh, we got you got two lines coming in on one. That's

a pretty good sign. Blair. You've kind of rung the bell here with the phone call, so please don't

miss the point. It's not enough to say, hey, we're all God's children. If you continue to present

Jesus this way before little African American children or people of color all over the world, they

grow up somehow believing that way down inside white is better.

Thank you. Plus the fact we're talking about the historical figure. We are created in God's image,

in God's image. But this man, Jesus, the actual human being, were speaking.

Of are you there, caller? Yes I am. You wanted to say.

Yeah, I wanted to say I'm a 32 year old white female who was raised Catholic, and I have I just

have to say that no matter if Jesus is black, white, green, red, I believe in the Supreme Being.

And I think that's what we all have to look at.

And may I ask the Catholic this question? Yes. How would it be? Okay. Do you I assume you're a

churchgoer?

Well, no, not as much as I was.

Well, but you've been all right. Well, that's not just, uh. Would you, uh, would you would you

approve of your pastor changing the color of Jesus statues to black in your church?

If that was what my church did, that as I view, I don't look at a picture of Jesus and say, oh, that's

Jesus. I have a feeling within me, right, that there's a supreme being. But what color has what.

Color has Jesus been throughout your childhood? White.

What color? That's ridiculous.

What color was his mother?

You know, who knows? And I don't think anyone.

I don't think any those people that are on your show that are there were.

I must tell you this, I'm older than you are, but there were no black statues in my childhood.

Well, right there were.

I mean everybody, Saint Theresa, Joseph, everybody, everybody. I had a guardian angel was

white, right?

They were all white. And I'm just saying. But just because that's how we were raised doesn't

mean. Doesn't mean that we have to be so narrow minded and so focused. Blair agrees. I'm sure

we can't open up our minds and our hearts to something different.

She's missing the point. It is twofold. You have to answer this question in twofold. It's important

because when you speak of this man, when all the evidence points to that, it's an affirmation of

people of color. I'm speaking of Latino, Asian, African Americans, Native Americans, people of

color. It's an affirmation of our place in the history that we contribute it. I'm telling you, people

wonder why there are riots and why there are blacks and Latinos in jail so much. There's no selfimage

when you when you're when you deal with revisionist history that has been revised and

altered as it has, it deals with your self-image and you don't care about life anymore.

The Reverend George Stallings, now referred to as Bishop former Catholic priest sense, has split

himself from mainstream Catholicism, has his own church, Washington, D.C. he preaches a

sermon. Here he is, Good Friday of this year. The Reverend Stallings from Washington.

We must make one thing clear on this Good Friday that the Jesus of history that you saw walking

up the street just a few minutes ago is only an imposter. The white Christ.

Is only a figment of Michelangelo's imagination. The White Christ is an imposter of white

Christianity.

Now, what I'm seeing is we're starting to divide. It's not about dividing people, it's about speaking

about the truth. And then that's the second fold of the question. You have to deal with this man.

This man was about love. This man was about embracing everybody. This man was about

forgiveness. This man was about enlightenment. This man was about tolerance. And that's what

this film that we did, the Second Coming, is about tolerance for each other and tolerance for each

each other's religious beliefs, I have to say. And I have to make this point, with all respect to

Archbishop Stallings, I don't agree with tearing down other images. You can't you can't force

people to believe like you believe. I believe in speaking about the truth.

Uh, speaking of tearing down. Here. Here is, uh, here is, uh, the Reverend Stallings. I'll tell you

what, uh, whether you're on Saturday Night Live or standing in the public square in Washington,

DC. Uh, seems everybody's putting the match to something today. Um, so, uh, so this is not going

to be met with the approval of everybody. Uh, some people communicate differently than others.

And if I'm understanding, Mr. Underwood, you are, among other things, saying that, uh, you

believe it can be established very credibly that Jesus was a man of color and that if I'm

understanding you, you have a certain empathy for those, especially those older Christians of all

colors, who have spent a lifetime worshiping a white Jesus. You're not going to go in there and

break anybody's statue, but you are stepping forward to say.

I'm stepping forward. 2000 years later, you have to understand the initial images of Christ and the

Madonna and countries like Poland, Spain, Italy. These are white Caucasian countries worship a

black Madonna and a black Jesus. These images were altered and changed.

All right. Are you there? Caller. Hi.

Hi, Donahue.

Hi.

I'm calling from Pennsylvania, and I'm a white female, and I don't see where there's any

difference in whether or not Jesus is black, just like the first caller. Uh, first, I'd like to commend

Blair Underwood for the relevance of what this is bringing out to the surface. Um, uh, in these day

and ages, people need to get beyond the color factor. Yes. Uh, who we pray to does not matter.

Uh, we were created in his image. Uh, if I go to heaven, I might see him as white. Uh, if someone

else goes to heaven, they might see him as. As black. Who do we know what? We're going to

perceive him as well.

Except that we are left to, uh, at least leave the door open for at least an inquiry, as Mister

Underwood has already offered us with his film titled The Second Coming. I agree, if if we accept

the humanity of Jesus that Jesus was that Jesus was a human being who happened to be divine,

and that is traditional Christian doctrine, then we have to deal with his ethnicity. And that's what

Blair is doing. I'm glad you called Pennsylvania. Are you there? You had a brief comment. Go

ahead.

Yes, I would like to say that. Number one. Yes, Jesus Christ was a black man. Jesus Christ was

from the Mediterranean region. And if you were to read in your Bible, it will tell you that he had

matted hair and webbed feet. White people always said that Christ black people had webbed feet.

But that's not the issue here. The issue is look to the true facts. Right over in the Mediterranean,

people were of dark skin.

You know, this revelations quote. Are you familiar with the one verse 15? Yeah. You know this.

You want to talk about it? Here we go. As you know, the Bible is of course, I'm a brilliant biblical

scholar. But, uh, here's from revelation. His head and his hairs were white. Like wool as white as

snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a

furnace. So it's the brass metaphor that you that you think lends support to his being a person.

That is what you usually hear, the brass metaphor and also about the hair. But more specifically,

like I said before, because that can be talked away and rationalized away into symbolism. Yes it

can. I'm talking about the ancestral lineage of this man. And in fact, as scientists have told us, we

all come. The first man and woman were black. So really we all have, yes, blackness in us.

Are you there, caller? I'm glad you waited. Hi.

Hi, Blair. Hi. Hi. Hi, Jill. Hi. Um, I am a white Christian woman, and I believe I agree with Blair that.

You're five for five.

Yeah, right. I agree, I believe just because of geographically where Jesus was born that he was of

color. I don't know particularly what shade, but I know he was of color. And I also think that, you

know, when it comes down to it, everyone who's a Christian believes in Jesus blood, and that's

what matters, the color of his blood.

I do thank you for your call. Uh, I assume Blair is, uh, encouraged by the support you're receiving.

You come out here waiting to hear some self-righteous white Christians stand up and say, who do

you think you are messing with my Jesus?

Well, that is part of it. We have gotten that and we will get more of that. But these are people who

have missed the point.

And we'll be back to talk to young people, white and of color, about this issue. We'll talk to a

leading member of the Baptist National Baptist Convention from Indiana, uh, as well as other

Christian, uh, people about how they feel about the effort to reexamine. The man who was called

Jesus. What color was he? And we'll be back in just a moment.

Deliver the order. Yes, ma'am. You wanted to say.

Oh, um, the reverend that was shown on the TV. I think that was as bad as what Sinead

O'Connor did when she ripped up the Pope.

I don't think Sinead O'Connor should have ripped up the picture of the Pope. And you don't think

he should.

But what he did was 20 times worse and I haven't heard a word about what he did.

Uh oh. Yes.

I would just like to say that due to Robin to tell you, you're not supposed to use these images

anyhow. Read your Bible. Yes, Jesus was black, and he's coming back again. He wants you to

get your act together. Cain.

Hope Felder. Thank you, thank you. Praise the Lord. I don't want the Lord to have it. Yeah.

Yeah. You wanted to say, um, first of all, I want to commend you, brother. Truth. The spiritual

significance of Jesus Christ is that African Americans have suffered from institutional racism,

which diminishes their spiritual and cultural self esteem because of the color of Christ, and that

should not go unnoticed. I commend you, brother.

Bless you. Young people have been asked to be with us, some not so young people. You just

might be older than the host here. Um, well, then I should be deferential to you. And to your age,

sir, and I will. These are people who are church active, and I think most are Christians, and want

you to know that. I think you all, uh, are very supportive of Blair's effort to share with the nation

and the world, uh, the idea that Jesus was a man of color. Cain Hope Felder, PhD, joins us.

You're a professor at Howard University School of Divinity. Uh, and you wanted to say, what

about this issue? I want to say, first.

Of all, it's important to recognize that the Bible is, uh, represents a world before color prejudice.

The Bible represents a world that has a very favorable attitude towards blacks. It's a multicultural

world. Yes it is. One of the great tragedies has been that in the last 400 years, Europeans and

white Americans have created the whole ideology of white supremacy. And they have in the

process taken the images, sacred images, as well as secular images of that of victorious and

positive, and made those images white. Uh, and and by the same token, they have recast black

into a negative image. And I think that is a very important thing to keep in mind here. We are

interested in corrective historiography, setting the record straight so that our people, African

American people, will begin to sense this, I think was pointed out in a very wonderful way earlier,

uh, have much in history that has been neglected.

It is not a reach to suggest that the slave who worshiped on Sunday, the Messiah, who was

Jesus, who was white in all his, uh, temporal, uh, manifestations, as offered to us by Michelangelo

and other of the classical artists over the centuries. Yes, would be likely to bring the same kind of

obsequious deference to the slave master who was white as well. So I think you are here to say,

among other things, that inside there's nothing overt about this, and it's it's insidious, but it's there

is the notion that somehow white people are to be obeyed, respected, and looked up to by the

slave.

Particularly when the white slave master has a whip and a gun to the slave's head. Particularly

when this this image, uh, is presented in such a way that the black has no option. The black

cannot believe anything else. It cannot even suspect, cannot express anything but the quiet inner

pain of seeing the inconsistency between the whole teachings about a God of love, and somehow

the Bible is being used to keep them oppressed and feeling negative about themselves. And that

is a tradition that we have received in America. And the average white person needs to be

instructed on these matters, not just young black kids. The average white person in America is as

misinformed and miseducated as the average black person. And I think that this is a very

substantial issue in all of the colleges and the universities of this country.

Muhammad Ali called our attention a long time ago to the color of devil's food cake. And angel

fruit cake. Are you there, caller? I'm glad you waited. Hi. Is the caller there? Probably a good idea

if I push the button. Hello? Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. You wanted to say yes.

Uh, if Jesus is supposed to be black all of a sudden, why wasn't he portrayed as black 2000 years

ago? Why did they start him out as white? And all of a sudden, he's black?

You got a lot of white reporters intervening. Yeah. I mean, it was a, you know, I mean, I think

these folks are suggesting that the image of Jesus was co-opted by the white establishment over

the years. All the all the artists were white.

They were all liars then.

Well, liars, I mean. Right. And they.

All lie over one black.

To the caller. I want to say this to the caller. Over 100 references to to Egypt are in the Bible over

over 50 references to biblical Ethiopia, which is present day Sudan, are in the Bible, Old

Testament, and New Testament Bible scholars, most of whom have been white, have translated

and interpreted the Bible in a way that would be distinctly favorable to Europe and a way that

would be distinctly unfavorable to Africans and people of color. And this is an issue that we really

have been suffering under for a long time.

And we'll be back. I got a break. Caller I'm truly sorry. Give us a one liner and I got to get out of

here.

In that case, we can't believe the Bible either.

Yes, you're right, she's right.

Well, now, just be careful here.

Uh, and we'll be back in just a moment.

Hi. Thanks for waiting. Caller, you wanted to say briefly.

Yes, Phil, I'm a black female and I'm married to a white male, and my in-laws are so prejudiced

against me now, I just wonder what's going to happen to all these people that are so prejudiced

and so hateful towards black folks when they do see a black Jesus? If it is a black Jesus, and

what's going to happen to them? Most of the media that has just been terrible to black media.

What are they going to say then?

Yeah. Uh, well, first of all, uh. There's not going to be one decision about what color Jesus may

be in your church. This would obviously be something that the church itself. Incidentally, many

churches have already made this step forward. Not a few are predominantly black churches in

urban areas. Um, hang on a minute, caller. Uh, because next to Doctor Felder is Corinne Stewart.

You're a real live 15 year old, uh, teenager. Well, we should know how you feel. Uh, Mr. Stewart,

sir, uh, what are your thoughts about this issue?

Well, I just think that throughout history, our history has been denied. If you look at we know we

don't have to just look at Jesus. We could go back to Cleopatra when? When they was played.

Cleopatra. We didn't see that on television. We saw a white woman as Cleopatra. We saw Moses

on television portrayed as a white man. Yeah, but this is not something new. This is not

something that just jumped out the cracks all of a sudden. We have been discussing this for a

while.

What inspires you, Corinne? You're very obviously you've done your own scholarship on this. At

age 15. You were raised in a Christian church, huh? Yes. Did you sing in the choir? I mean, were

you there every Sunday? And I don't lie to us.

I think the choir, my mother, my mother had me to come.

I bet she did. Yeah.

Well, are you still singing in the choir? Corinne, this is none of our business. So you want to take

the fifth? Go ahead. Oh, I.

Can't, I can't, I tell you, I don't sing in a choir because I can't sing. Oh.

Another another stereotype down the drain.

Yes it is.

Yes it is. Very good point. And you're probably not too good with a three shot three point

basketball shot either. So let's put down a lot of these stereotypes while we're at it. You're you're,

um, you, uh, you were inspired to look into this how, uh, Kareem.

Well, like most children and stuff, I really didn't pay any attention to it. When you walk through the

church, Jesus was white, Mary was white. Heck, every picture on the wall was white. But then

one day, I just took a step back and looked and thought about, why is this? Why do we have

these images? Where are we? We didn't. We're not just slaves. We are more than ex-slaves.

We're from Africa. We have a very rich heritage. We were the first architects. We built pyramids.

We were the first astrologers. So I just take I just took a step back and said, heck, we're not this.

We're more than gang members. We're more than killers. Basketball players, musicians,

entertainers.

And I think it's the. It's the time. It's the time. It was time 25 years ago when Martin Luther King

was assassinated, when Malcolm X was assassinated. I want somebody else to step up to the

front plate. It's not. We just didn't sit here and just say, oh, well, heck, they let us go to a

bathroom. It's time for us to change this.

And we'll be back in just a moment.

Hi. I'm glad you called.

Caller, you had a brief comment.

Um, yes. I'm an African American female who's about to become a mother, and my comment is in

reference to the depiction of biblical characters throughout the year. If it wasn't such a big issue,

then they would also involve people of color throughout the year, right? I mean, what am I

supposed to tell my child when it's born? When it says, mommy, why isn't there people my color

up there?

Yes, you're thinking, mom, your wheels are turning, uh, Santa.

Claus up in a household where there was a white Jesus or Caucasian person depicted. Yeah.

And you never saw anyone of color. It's like we didn't exist.

Hang on a minute.

Jesus role was a man of love. When I'm seeing and hearing isn't but sacrilegious.

In other words, Jesus is what color.

Jesus role was was a man who taught love. What color? Color has nothing to do with it. All right,

so in reality, Jesus was bronze. What do you got? Okay. But what I'm seeing, hearing is nothing

but sacrilegious destroying of the pictures. It's horrible. Excuse me.

I'm hearing this. Destroying the.

Pictures here. Say, um.

If you look in the Bible, it tells you that the first man, Adam, was formed from the dust. Dust is not

white. And the Bible says that Jesus is the second man. Adam. All right, so excuse me.

Now, we're going to.

Have a lot of biblical stuff from you. No, no, because I want you to know something. I don't want

to get any arguments with you. Uh, you wanted to say briefly.

What? Sir, I want to.

Ask a question. And that is why it is, uh, everybody is up in arms about the truth. The truth of the

matter that Jesus was not a European, Caucasian person. He was a person of color. Now, the

white people have determined what color is. If you're not white, then you're black. So that means

that Jesus Christ was the Old Course. Doctor Felder is the leading scholar in this field.

Wendy Rightmire.

Is here. You get to talk today, Wendy. You say, among other things, that it shouldn't matter. That's

the first thing I think you want to know. What else would you like to share with this audience? May

we assume you are a good Christian person? Yes. Doesn't have your age here, so I don't know if

I'm allowed. You're 28. Kindly tell us what you think.

Um, I really don't think it should matter. I think that if you really believe that it changes how you

feel about him, then maybe you should reevaluate your relationship with him. You know, it's either

it doesn't matter if he's black or white because it's stated again and again and again in the Bible

that he he walked through all the nations. It didn't matter who they were. He loved him regardless.

What upset you if his if he's portrayed as black? No it wouldn't. No. So if that would be the choice

of certain congregations and within the Christian tradition, that's okay with you. Sure. Uh, well,

guess who else is here, my good man. You get the award for humility. You've said nothing here.

You've been very, very, uh. We can only assume that you're ready to say something. However,

you are the Reverend Doctor F Brennan Jackson. You are pastor of the Calvary Institutional

Missionary Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana. Proud tradition. Here's a church that wasn't formed

yesterday. Uh, you've been around a while. You then have, I assume, worshiping in your church,

people of all ages. But you also have, I would think, a considerable number of seniors who work,

who worship in your church, who happen to be African-American. How am I doing? Right. So you

have to be sensitive to their feelings, right? And you can't come up in the 11th hour of their life

and start tearing down pictures. Do I understand some of the challenges do you face with this, or

would you want to or tell us how you feel?

I don't think it's a challenge.

We don't face a challenge. I've never been under the assumption that God is a man. As such, we

preach God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

He's a God of all mankind, not a certain group of people. Right? And our whole is white.

On the statues of your church?

No, I bet.

He's white in the pictures in your church.

The picture in the pool depicts him as black, but everybody know that's not Jesus. That's just a

picture. Jesus Christ is the son of the living God.

So the so that there is one other thing. Yeah.

Jesus said in the book of John, other sheep have I. That's not of this fold. If a brother just wants to

think that Jesus is of color, it's all right. But I haven't heard nothing said here today about

salvation. It's all been about color, and that is sock religion.

Well, that isn't.

That isn't fair. Yeah. Mr. Donahue. Yeah. Wait a minute. You have any idea?

Yeah, I got an hour show, and you come here with.

12 books now, right? So we got. I got to.

Do the work of Caesar here now. So don't take me around the world.

No, no. Here, here, here, here, man, I can't show you. All right, well, just make your. I want to

challenge them. All of them on your show. What color was Jesus? Jesus was black. If he lived

and he didn't exist. Here is the Pope of Rome praying in his private. Chapel to the Black

Madonna.

Black Madonna.

The private chapel in the Vatican. For anyone very well.

Woven into the Polish tradition, our Pope is a pole, and we should not be surprised that the Black

Madonna has been worshiped by our Pope. All right, I got it. Hang on just a minute, boy. I'll tell

you. You make me nervous.

Now, wait a minute. I don't want you mad at me. Um, let's take another look at Blair's film. Here.

Now. Jesus, as you saw it, opens with the crucifixion. Three crosses. Uh, and and Blair plays the

role of the Christ. And now he here he is expressing himself in contemporary times. They got this

guy locked up real good, scared to death. I mean, we got chains and doors and locks and a lot of

frightened white people locking up this man who in this, as you would accept it in the in the

manner in which Blair has written this would be a, a a suggestion of the Second Coming. And he's

got some of the brothers shook. Watch this.

How the hell are you supposed to be? Christ.

You as black as me? Come on, brother, come on.

You know. Christ. What? No, nigga.

Blackness is far more than perception. Underhand.

Blackness is also that which is inherited through ancestral lineage.

Is irrelevant what? My skin color is. Light or dark. I am black. Because black ancestral blood flows

through my veins.

The roots of the tree.

Are black and the.

Fruit must be. Black.

Hand of the master with blond hair and blue eyes. Just as you know him to be.

Must understand, my friend. That my father created me from all people.

For all people.

Did you see? I am what I am?

All right, Blair, what would you want to add to that scene?

I'd like to say it's important to note that in the film, he's not in prison only by white people in the

film. It goes both ways, good and bad, on both sides. And that actor, by the way, is Ben Brown in

that scene?

Yes. Well done, brother Ben. Thank you. By.

But I think what I was saying before manifests itself in that scene. It's important to say this man

was a man of color. It's important. And we're talking about and I agree with you, sir. God is a

spirit. But we are talking about this human being that walked the earth. And for you, sir, here, right

here. Christianity. If you want to move that aside, that's fine. This film is from a Christian

standpoint. I'm not getting into your beliefs. If you don't believe in Christ or know the gentleman

here.

And he had to be, let the.

Reverend let the river make his point. Sir.

He had a mother and a heavenly father. Yes, sir. God. The Catholic Church called in 325 called

the first Church Council, and they sit there and debated for 320 some years who Jesus is. And

they finally came out saying, he's part human and divine. Now, it's not the human expression of

Jesus that was fully.

Human and fully divine.

Yes, if he.

Was a human, he had to have a.

Big difference in part and fully. He was. Yes.

He was divine, who for 33 years expressed himself in a human form.

In human form? Yeah.

You know, you you.

Got me to contend with here.

Two things that we saw. Yeah.

What we see.

Yes. What's given to us that we would be able to withstand these kind of things. And as far as the

church being in trouble over what's being exposed here now, the church has always been in

trouble. The church was born in trouble. So this will not make a difference. And if these brothers

want to believe and brothers want to believe, if this will help brothers to believe Jesus is of color.

That's right.

I'm with you. Right, Kareem?

You wanted to say it. I have to break here, sir.

This is very nice to know. He says he's a human being. If he's a human being, he has to have a

color. Have any of you seen a human being walk around with green, purple? Uh, no. Orange

yellow. But it all had a color.

The Bible that he that he is all and he is in all.

Regardless, I don't think.

Yes, yes. We'll be back.

Stop with anybody saying that Jesus, the color of Jesus do not matter, especially when you're

looking at a people that has been demoralized, degraded, uh, by using the Jesus concept as

white. And that's something we have to really look at. I think.

So too. Yes, ma'am. You wanted to say.

I just want to take you.

Take the mic, please. Take your shoe, please.

I just want to find out. Why is it that we have a problem with Jesus being black? No. Why is there

a problem? I mean, why is it okay for him to be white all these years he has been? Why isn't.

It okay for him to be white if he.

Is? Because we have grown, we have learned from we were born that the image of this man has

been white. Why can't we put a black image in there now?

Did you want it? It's awful. Give the mic.

You'll stand.

Please. Hello?

Yes. No, the. The only thing that that I think that needs to be brought out here is that the issues

are being confused. There's a spiritual aspect of Jesus. We all love him. He's in our hearts. He's

in our soul. He lives. Right. Okay. But there's a human aspect. And I think that that's what has to

be addressed. You're mixing the issues, and that's why you said that everything was sacrilegious.

This, that and the other thing, I understand your point, but the issue is, is human not spiritual.

Religious. Yes.

No it's not. Yes.

Is it for anybody to say.

He hasn't had.

A chance? Please.

Come on, give me a young man right there. You had a black Judas. Nobody said anything. Yes

we did.

Yes, sir. You wanted to say yes?

Uh.

I basically am not concerned about how white folks, um, view Jesus Christ. My concern is about

black people. Yeah. Uh, and the reason why I say this is because, uh, if you if you examine, uh,

all civilizations, they had an image. The gods were in their image. Right. And we have to

understand that we as black people are a dominated people. And as a result of that, our

oppressors are going to are going to put their gods and their beliefs on us. Right. And and as a

result of that, that that is the reason why you find out our kids, our young children growing up kind

of project themselves or see themselves into any, uh, anything substantial in life.

Your point is made, right? I thank you. Kareen Stewart is a you are you Corinnes mother? Yes

you are. Well, you raise this young man to do a lot of thinking. By the time he was 15 years old,

his own, uh, presentation here about the importance of the ethnicity of Jesus is very, very

compelling and shows a lot of hard work on his part. And you wanted to say.

I just wanted to say when Karina and I pray, we don't pray because Jesus is black or white. What

Kareen is trying to portray to you is that as a human being and the way he's depicted it has an

effect on our black people. As young people, when they look up, they want to see someone that

they can say that did something in their life and career looked. He said, well, mom, why do we

have white? Jesus was Jesus white? I said, no, he wasn't white. The Bible depicts him as a man

of color. I said, but from the European aspect, this is the way they portrayed him. Because how

would it look for enslaved days to have a white or a black Jesus as a savior?

Yeah. Yes. Are you there.

Caller good to me? Yeah. Are you there? Caller yes, I am.

You wanted to say.

I wanted to say I don't think it makes any difference. White or black. If Jesus in effect was black,

well then, should the white children not have somebody to look up to as they're claiming that the

black children do, what is the difference? God, and ask them to look up for.

Years and years and years? This young woman wanted to say.

I don't know what color Jesus was. Um, I was, but I'm moved by Blair Underwood's film and I'm

impressed with it. And Corinne, I hope to raise my child as Queen. Mom has raised Corinne just

to think about how we are in society and what color. I don't know if it matters. I don't know if Jesus

was white or black, but it's okay. And and we'll be.

Back in just a moment.

Chapter one of Doctor Felder's works is troubling biblical waters. Here is a. Here is a look at, uh,

the Bible, its scholarship, its history. Oh, I'll tell you, they never call you chicken. Wade into this.

Wendy, briefly, you wanted to say there's one.

Thing that I don't want to happen from all this. Because this issue is going to keep getting hotter

and hotter and hotter. I don't want to see young kids fighting because Jesus was black or white. I

want to see them all come forward and say he was. He loved us all. Good point three you wanted

to.

Among us is black people. We need to stop pointing the finger at white people. We need to look

at ourselves and see why we collected. We let everybody else Jews, Koreans coming to our

community, control the economics of our community, and we can't even open a store in our own

community. But we all want to point the finger.

Take a look at ourselves. You wanted to say briefly.

Yeah. Hi. I'm very annoyed over not that. Not the point that Jesus would be white or black, but it's

just another issue again, thrown into the media. I'm the mother of a four year old child, and while

shopping one day he asked, mommy, is that man black? And I said, yes, he is. And the man

practically attacked me and said, that's, that's what's wrong with this white world.

No, no, the gentleman was wrong. You are quite correct in answering truthfully your your son's

question, and we trust that you put a positive spin as well on the answer. But wouldn't a black

Jesus, to be at least occasionally exposed to your young child, help him with his curiosity? Oh,

sure, he's been.

He's been to a black Santa Claus, and I live in a white area, and that didn't I mean, he was more

excited about.

And I want to point out a good geography doctor.

Doctor Felder commenting.

Yeah, a good geography lesson for us all. You take some people, you put them, one of them, to

tell them to walk to Berlin, see how long it takes them, tell them from Jerusalem to Berlin and then

tell them to walk from Jerusalem to, to to Britain. Tell them to walk to, to Germany, and at the

same time tell another person to walk to Africa. That person walking to Africa from Jerusalem will

get there in many, many days ahead of the others. We fail to realize exactly that, that Palestine is

exactly where it's always been. And it's a tragedy that America and our higher education system

continuously uses the politics of race to present distorted information, which has worked against

black people and for white people. That's what needs to be looked at carefully. I think Julian.

Pope Julius the Second, back in 1509, had the same agenda that perhaps some of the Catholic

ministers had when I was growing up.

Exclusive interview Officer Ted Bruscino was found not guilty in the LA verdict, his first and only

interview next. Donahue.

Stony. The Road We Trod is another work by Doctor Felder. I'm pleased to call your attention

once again to Blair Underwood's work, titled The Second Coming. More immediately, you should

know that tonight if you're watching us on Monday. Tonight, Blair stars with Lou Gossett. Uh, Lou

Gossett in, uh, they're both in prison, and they look up to discover that Lou's his father. And, yes,

Blair is his son. This is tonight on NBC. Uh, and we will be watching it. Yes.

I'm really sad that this is an issue now because I