This month, as we celebrate black history, we would like to commemorate a black scientist who was a person of God as well as a person of science—George Washington Carver.  Carver was born into slavery near the town of Diamond, Missouri July 12th, 1864.1  An interesting and tragic fact is that the infant George and his mother were kidnapped by civil war guerillas, like William Quantrill or Jesse James.  These men fought against union or anti-slavery sympathizers like George’s future foster father Moses Carver.  Moses sent a Union scout after the pair to rescue them from the bandits.  Only George was able to be found, and his mother’s fate was never known.  The Carvers took George and his brother Jim into their home and raised them as their own.
 
George was a sickly child and spent time helping his foster mother Susan Carver around the house and in the garden.  George became known around the village of Diamond as the “Plant Doctor.”2  The Carvers recognized George’s special gift for learning and applying his inquisitive nature.  They did what they could to educate him and nurture his interests.  However, George felt the need to pursue learning and life elsewhere beginning at the age of 14.  Despite his foster parents’ objections, he set out on an adventure that would find him meandering around Kansas.
 
His path was not a straight one.  He did many things to support himself over the next decade including cooking, housework, laundry service, working at a grocery, homesteading etc.  He seemed to find encouragement and assistance most everywhere he went and wrote affectionately of the people in the places he lived.  But he also ran into the harsh reality of racism and mob justice during an instance where he witnessed the lynching of a black man who had been pulled out of jail after being arrested for the rape of a 12-year-old white girl.  He left town immediately afterward.  During his time in Kansas, he took a brief trip back home to see his family.  A short time later, his brother Jim (the stronger and healthier of the two brothers) died of smallpox.  Gone was his only known blood relative.

About five years after being rejected by a college because of his skin color, he was encouraged by a Christian family, who he met attending a church in Winterset, Iowa to apply again to another school.  Thankfully, he was accepted with open arms into Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa in 1890.  He enjoyed his time there and studied piano and art for which he had a talent.  He took no science classes.  His art teacher noticed his affection for botany because he was always drawing plants. “As it happened, she was the daughter of a horticulture professor at Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts…”3 and as the story goes, the rest is history.

He continued to paint at Iowa state, with one of his paintings being chosen to represent the state in the 1893 fair called, the “World’s Columbian Exposition”, also known as the “Chicago World’s Fair”.  But he felt as if God was calling him to greater things.  He worked with an expert on plant disease and co-authored several scholarly papers while at Iowa State.  Carver graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1894 and then a master’s degree in Agriculture two years later.  As a master’s student they gave George a graduate teaching position with freshman as he had a gift for teaching.  Iowa State didn’t want to lose him, but he had several job offers.
 
The one he accepted was from Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now known as Tuskegee University.  The reason was clear.  He wanted to help black Americans gain economic prosperity.  According to Adair, “He believed that the sort of education Tuskegee provided ‘is the key to unlock the Golden door of freedom to our people.’”4 Washington had started an annual conference to help farmers.  Carver turned it, the results of his study, and work at the Tuskegee experiment station into a monthly “Farmers Institute”.5

Carver excelled as a teacher, wanting his students to be actively involved in their learning and discover for themselves, stating, “each individual, no matter of what his color or creed, has his particular task to do in life”.6 He linked his Christian beliefs with his work as a scientist. “He talked about the way ‘the Creator’ was revealed in the wonders of nature.  He believed that science and religion in no way contradicted one another. “‘We get closer to God’, he wrote years later, ‘as we get more intimately and understandingly acquainted with the things he has created.’”7  

As a scientist, he made a tremendous impact upon the time in which he lived and thereafter.  He designed a mobile demonstration lab which was known as the “Jesup Wagon” after Morris K. Jesup, a New York banker who helped fund the project.  The project became so successful that it took the notice of the USDA who later took over the project.  A student of Carver’s became the USDA’s first black demonstration agent.

Dr. Carver (honorary degree) had a servant’s heart, which manifested itself in doing everything he could for the poorest and most vulnerable farmers.  He set up trainings, extensions and wrote pamphlets.  He knew that the subsistence farmer was very vulnerable to weather, crop disease, and poor soil as well as lack of nutrition.  It is one reason he promoted crops other than cotton, which robbed the soil of nutrients, replacing it with crops such as soybeans, peanuts, and sweet potatoes.
 
Those crops and their promotion took him away from his teaching, spending more time in the lab trying to help people by extending the market for their products with 300 or so uses for the peanut and 100 for the sweet potato.  This is where he gained his fame and notoriety.  His efforts took him so far away that one day he ended up testifying before congress in Washington, D.C.  They told him he had ten minutes to speak.  He so captivated them with his wit and wisdom that the Republican Chairman of the committee said, “Go ahead brother, your time is unlimited.”8 Carver’s testimony helped the committee decide to implement a tariff on imported peanuts.

Yet, despite a drastically reduced classroom teaching influence he continued a close relationship with his students and those he mentored.  Passing on what he learned was part of that servant’s heart.  He taught his “boys,” as he called them, more than agriculture and science.  It should be noted that “In many cases, it is clear that Carver's personal example did indeed change minds that had previously held to prejudiced notions of black inferiority.  ‘You have shown me the one race, the human race’, one of his boys wrote.  ‘Color of skin or form of hair mean nothing to me now’.”9  Believing deeply in the Golden rule, Carver felt that love would win out over racial prejudice in the end.
 
While Carver is most famous as an agricultural scientist and inventor, especially for uses of the peanut (he did not invent peanut butter) and sweet potato, he impressed me most for his character and service to those in need.  And despite conditions and experiences that could have left him bitter and resentful, he was known for his Godly character.  According to author Gene Adair, “In his speeches and interviews, he almost always referred to the Bible and divine guidance. His accomplishments, he was fond of saying, were not his doing but we're the work of God.”10

Born into slavery, a teacher, school administrator, scientist and science ambassador, George Washington Carver was a man that all Americans should know about because he exemplified Christ to many…I know he did to me.





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1 Tuskegee University “The Legacy of George Washington Carver.” https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/george-washington-carver
2George Washington Carver National Monument “Not Just The Peanut Man”.  George Washington Carver National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
3Adair, Gene “George Washington Carver. pp33-34
4 Ibid, p. 41
5 Ibid, p. 59
6 Ibid, p. 85
7 Ibid, p. 54
8 Ibid, p.14
9 Ibid, p. 87
10 Ibid, p. 83
Morris, Henry "Men of Science Men of God"

     In a few weeks our thirteen-year old son will be taking the United States Constitution test.  He must pass it in order to move to eighth grade, so over lunch we studied flashcards to prepare.  One question dealt with ‘unalienable rights.’  In the Declaration of Independence these well-known words are penned, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”[1]    
     A few flashcards later the question was posed, “Did the Constitution abolish slavery?”  He quickly said “no,” which was the correct answer.  So much in our human existence consists of juxtaposition.  Our worldviews don’t always line up logically or morally.  The stark contrast of the founding fathers allowing slavery while eloquently stating mankind’s equality is as glaringly opposed as darkness is to light. 
     Just as Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes, “there is nothing new under the sun,” our sinful condition is evident in all periods of time in human history, even now.  Slavery did not begin in the United States.  The first account of harsh bondage of one group to another is described in the book of Exodus when the Egyptians were enslaving the Israelites.  Yet, racism and slavery are grievously unmistakable in our country’s history. 
Slavery, in what became the United States, most likely is traced to the arrival of approximately twenty enslaved Africans to the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. It ended legally when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified in 1865.[2]  Some slave buyers, transporters and owners tragically used erroneous “Biblical theology,” designated ‘the curse of Ham,’ to rationalize their heinous deeds. 
     Thousands of years ago, shortly after the global flood, Noah’s youngest son, Ham, sinned against him.  After the incident, described in Genesis 9, Noah cursed Canaan (who was Ham’s youngest son.)  Noah said, “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren,” In Exodus 9:25. 
     Why did God curse his grandson Canaan if it was Ham that sinned against him?  Biblical scholars disagree on this topic.  Professor James J.S. Johnson theorizes that Canaan may have been to blame for the sinful act, and therefore received the punishment.[3]  Dr. Jonathan Sarfati proposes several possible reasons why Canaan was cursed instead of Ham.  One, God already blessed Noah’s three sons, so Noah couldn’t counteract God’s blessing with a curse.  Two, since Ham sinned as the youngest son, he would be punished with a curse on his own youngest son.  Three, Canaan may have been the perpetrator of the sinful act.  Four, it was an act of mercy, because only one of Ham’s sons was affected.  Five, Noah discerned that the evil that appeared in Ham had developed to a greater degree in Canaan.[4]
     Regardless of the reason, Canaan received the curse.  Why then did people cite the ‘curse of Ham’ when they justified enslaving African-Americans?  David Goldberg, a historian, states that errors were made when interpreting the Hebrew word ‘Ham’ to mean ‘dark,’ ‘black’ or ‘heat.’[5]   The descendants of Ham included the Sumerians, the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and there is a good possibility it included some of the Asiatic nations of the present as well.[6]   Although not all of these people groups have black skin, (the Canaanites were painted in Egyptian murals to have olive skin), misguided individuals proclaimed that dark-skinned people were doomed to be slaves because of the prophecy given to them from Noah.[7]
     As Tony Evans states, when addressing this issue, “This process is known as sacralization, the development of theological and religious beliefs to serve the interest of a particular ethnic or racial group.”[8]Slave owners dolefully used twisted beliefs to give themselves ‘permission’ to treat others in ways God would not approve.  God is clear in His Word when He tells us the entire law is fulfilled when you love others as you would love yourself.  He does not advocate, anywhere in His Word or express in His character, that slavery is acceptable.  In fact, anyone caught kidnapping a person and keeps or sells him, is to be put to death, God says in Exodus 21:16.  God’s two greatest desires are that we love Him and that we love others.  Anyone striving to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ would honor what He asks us to do.  When Abraham Lincoln said, “slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature,”[9]  he rightfully identified selfishness, and not the curse of Ham, was the root of slavery in America.
 
[1] www.usconstitution.net/declar.html.  Accessed February 10, 2019.
[2] www.nationalgeographic.com/interactive/slavery-united-states.  Accessed February 10, 2019.
[3] Johnson, James J.S..  “Mankind’s Social Dynamics After Eden.”  Institute for Creation Research. 2011.  Page 12-14.
[4] Sarfati, Dr. Jonathan D..  “The Genesis Account.”  Creation Book Publishers.  2015.  Page 621
[5] Lee, Felicia R..  “From Noah’s Curse to Slavery’s Rationale.”  www.nytimes.com/2003/11/01/arts/from-noah-s-curse-to-slavery-s-rationale.html.  2003.  Accessed February 14, 2019.
[6] Morris, Henry M.  “The Genesis Record.”  Baker Books.  2009.  Page 238.
[7] Sarfait, Dr. Jonathan D.  “The Genesis Account.”  Creation Book Publishers.  2015.  Page 623
[8] Evans, Tony.  “Are Black People Cursed?  The Curse of Ham.”  www.epm.org/resources/2010/Jan/18/are-black-people-cursed-curse-Ham.  January 18, 2010.  Accessed February 15, 2019.
[9] www.brainyquote.com/topics/slavery

     One of the things that I remember growing up and going to school was the teaching of evolutionary theory.  We were taught that there were different races of people and some were just better than others.  Fortunately for me, the humanistic philosophy of evolution taught in schools never became racism.  I never really thought much about people being of other races, and I treated them all the same. When my parents were working, a Japanese couple on the Air Force base we lived on took care of me as if I was one of their own.  I’m told they loved me very much.
 
     In high school I was chosen to be my school’s representative at a weeklong cultural diversity camp called “Anytown Arizona”.  At the student union in college, I lunched every day with Asians, Blacks and people from the Middle East.  I ignored “racial divisions” as best I could.  Sometime after my college years I had a deal with a neighborhood friend from my elementary years that if neither of us were married by a certain age we would get married.  Her black skin didn’t hinder me from strongly caring for her.  But there was still a very ugly world out there whose history came directly out of the “scientific” notions of Charles Darwin. 

     According to the book, Darwin’s Plantation, “Biological arguments for racism may have been common before 1850 but they increased by orders of magnitude following the acceptance of evolutionary theory.”[1]  Darwin did more than anybody to give people an excuse for racism based upon physical differences through his books “On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man.[2]  Because he “proved” that humans descended from apes it was natural for scientists to theorize that some races had descended further than others.[3]  In his opinion, some races (i.e. the white ones) had left the others far behind.  Particularly pygmy people, according to evolutionary thought, had hardly matured at all.[4]

      Of course, we know sin is the ultimate cause of racism. But Darwin’s theories gave people scientific “proof” that some people were just inferior to others.  Darwinian scientists have been trying to place some races closer to apes and others higher on the evolutionary scale since its inception.  The justifications are formed solely on outward appearance, even though modern genetics have clearly proven our slight differences are no deeper than our skin color.

     Humanistic ideas are most dangerous when put into practice.  The concepts of evolution were put into a social framework by Friedrich Nietzsche, who strongly believed in the “science” and the concept of a “master race.”[5] Sound familiar?  Well, it should.  Adolf Hitler was an ardent evolutionist, as were Stalin and Mao.  Sir Arthur Keith, one of the twentieth centuries premier evolutionary anthropologist’s, said, “The German Fuhrer…has consciously sought to make the practice of Germany conform to the theory of evolution.”[6]  I won’t go into great detail of Hitler’s genocide against the Jews, Gypsies and others who he saw as inferior.  He was just following Darwin’s so called “science” of evolution and putting it into practice for his own gain.  While Darwin saw darker skinned people as inferior, Hitler expanded the concept to other Europeans.  Evil knows no bounds and will use any intellectual concept of man to further its agenda of serving the “god of this world.”

     One of the great, but lesser known, atrocities of Darwin’s time was the genocide of the Aborigines who were “studied” with the desire of finding the “missing link” between apes and humans.[7]  As a side note, there has never been a verified “missing link” anywhere along the evolutionary tree.  Skeletal remains of perhaps ten-thousand Aborigines were sent to British museums as evolutionary “scientists” engaged in a feeding frenzy of study.  The Smithsonian Institute in America holds over fifteen-thousand remains.   Unfortunately, grave robbing did not satisfy these evolutionists.  Edward Ramsay, who was curator of the Australian Museum beginning in 1874, not only put out a pamphlet on grave robbing but also described how “…to plug bullet wounds from freshly killed ‘specimens’”. Ken Ham further describes in his book Darwin’s Plantation that at Ramsay’s request a scientist sent him the skulls of the last two members of the Bungee Blacks tribe that he had shot. [8]

     Unfortunately, there are many more horrible examples of evolutionary racism in action.  Ota Benga, a Pygmy from Africa, was put on display at the 1904 St. Louis World’s fair after his family was slaughtered. [9]   This despite evidence that pygmies were actually very intelligent and monotheistic.  Those facts, among others, didn’t suit the evolutionary dogma.  Racism continued strongly in practice with groups like the Ku Klux Klan and policies like “Separate but Equal.”  It continues now in the hearts and minds of individuals because no law can convince them that “… all men are created equal, that they are all endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”

     So, why didn’t I go down the path of racism since I was a person who really enjoyed science and was taught evolution? I would have to say it had a lot to do with my parents, who were Christians, Jesus who is my Savior, and His word.  God’s word contains no reference or support for racism.  What it says is exactly the opposite, “…there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all…”.  Romans 10:12

     Tragically, some people with racist philosophy have tried to use scripture to support their arguments.  Genesis 4:3-8 is misinterpreted to be the curse of Ham, which some have used to justify slavery, and we will address this in a separate blog.  Instead, the Bible talks about “nations, peoples and languages” in scriptures like Revelation 7:9 and Genesis 10:5 showing us that God created many different people groups.  Modern science shows there is little difference between any two people genetically, perhaps 0.1 percent.  Only a fraction of that percentage deals with racial differences.[10]  Of course, God created language divisions, Genesis 11:9, at the “Tower of Babel”.  But the intent wasn’t to discriminate but instead to get people to obey his command to “fill the earth” in Genesis 9:1.
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     The Bible’s intent is born out in the New Testament in the book of Acts which says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings”[11].  The language of the Bible is one of love, hope and promise for all people.  The only real division in the Bible is between those who know Him and those who don’t.  Let’s live as a people not divided, but united, through the one blood of Christ.

[1] Ham, Ken and Ware, Charles A.  Darwin’s Plantation.  Master Books.  2007, p. 91. 
[2] Ibid, pp. 90-91.
[3] Ibid, p. 91.
[4] Ibid, pp. 16-21.
[5] Morris, Dr. Henry M.  “Evolution and Modern Racism.”  www.icr.org/article/evolution-modern-racism.  Accessed January 21, 2019.
[6] Morris, Dr. Henry M.  “Evolution and Modern Racism.”  www.icr.org/article/evolution-modern-racism.  Accessed January 21, 2019.
[7] Ham, op. cit. p.  91.
[8] Ibid, pp. 24-25. 
[9] Ibid, pp. 16-21.
[10] Ham, Ken.  “There’s Only One Race.”  www.answersingenesis.org/media/audio/answers-with-ken-ham/volume-129/only-one-race.  Accessed January 21, 2019.
[11] The New King James Version. (1982). (Acts 17:26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.