Jean and Reagan were unable to have children of their own, so they adopted me.
Since I was adopted three days after my birth, I knew nothing about my heritage. To find out about my ancestors, I did a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test and discovered my genetic family dates back thousands of years. It was interesting to learn some of my ancestors were not white. They had dark skin.
In fact, I am a descendant of “Cheddar man,” a fossil unearthed in 1903 in Gough’s Cave, located in Somerset’s Cheddar Gorge, England. Thanks to leading-edge scientific analysis, we now know my very distant relative lived around 10,000 years ago and had dark brown skin and blue eyes.
In addition, I have another ancestor who lived between 1690 and 1780 who was one hundred percent West African black. And another who lived in the early1800s who was one hundred percent Native American. Rounding out my DNA ancestors are people who were Iberian, Balkan, Irish, English, French, German, and Scandinavian.
To love God and love one another like God desires we do, let’s recognize that having a skin color of white, black, or brown does not mean all of our ancestors were white, black, or brown. We also appreciate our skin is made up of three layers, with the color being found only in the outermost layer, the epidermis.
The job of skin pigment is to protect us from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Dark skin is more effective at sun protection, while light skin is better at making more vitamin D using less sunlight. Our ancestors’ skin pigment changed over thousands of years due to their migration patterns and how they processed vitamin D. This is how our ancestors’ skin color adapted as they migrated out of Africa to populate the planet.
Isn’t it logical and loving to appreciate, and teach children, it is God’s design each of us—black, brown, and white—can trace our common dark-skinned ancestors back to Africa?
I am considered white, yet my DNA proves I am a combination of the colors and cultures of my ancestors. I am as proud of my dark-skinned genetic relatives as I am of my white ones.
Isn’t it logical and loving to admit we made up our race problem?
James King, author of The Biology of Race, states in the book:
Race is a concept of society that insists there is a genetic difference behind human variations in skin color that transcends outward appearance. However, race has no scientific merit outside of sociological classifications. There are no significant genetic variations within the human species to justify the division of “races.”
We do not have a race problem. We have a racism problem, with rigged rules against black and brown communities. Which means we have a respect problem. Respect for one another’s experiences and life struggles. Respect for our sameness. Respect for our differences. Respect for the idea we are to look for the good in one another and treat each person as we want to be treated.
We practice the Golden Rule by associating with people of different religions, skin colors, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic groups. We expose ourselves and our children to different cultures, customs, and religions.
When we embrace all members of our human family, we will learn to have compassion for one another’s challenges. We will listen to one another in order to understand, not just respond. We will get to know one another in order to relate in intelligent and informed ways. We will appreciate our sameness and our differences.
Viewing ourselves as members of the human race, we will no longer judge or elevate ourselves, fear difference, disrespect other people, or devalue what they care for. We will focus on living with integrity in order to value compassion, responsibility, and kindness. We will teach these values to our children as important skills they need to create a peaceful, courteous, and successful life. Consequently, Jesus would ask each Christian, and follower of any religion, to remember: God looks past our outer human shell to determine the quality of our heart.
God desires we do the same, by leading with our soul to see ourselves in all people. God wants us to value the beautiful tapestry of humankind so we can create the world Jesus envisioned.
