Are Black People Cursed? What is the Curse of Ham?
Many of you have heard about the "Curse of Ham." It is an antiquated and rejected "theology" regarding Black people being "cursed" by God according to Genesis 9:25. This "theology" teaches that Black people were destined for servitude because of the curse. Sadly, some still believe this doctrinal error. Historically, I think this belief has been the most significant factor in how we have been both perceived and treated. This error has also been the seed of black genocide.
Here are the biblical facts:
1) What Noah actually said (when he awoke from his wine) was, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants he shall be to his brethren." He didn't say "Ham."
2) Canaan was one of the four sons of Ham, so Ham was not cursed by Noah.
3) Canaan was not the progenitor of black people.
4) Noah woke up after being drunk. What Noah said WAS NOT what God said. In other words, a drunk man cannot pronounce a curse on what God has blessed.
5) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Genesis Chapter Nine begins with these words, "SO GOD BLESSED NOAH AND HIS SONS, and said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.'"
6) Noah could not curse whom God blessed.
7) CONCLUSION: The "Curse of Ham" lie was created and promulgated by white supremacist "Christians" to justify dehumanizing and enslaving Africans in the past, as well as subjugating and abusing Black people until the present day. At a minimum, African Americans are sometimes relegated, or limited to, servile functions in some churches and organizations. Of course, we are all servants, but the expectation of servitude exists for Black people.
~ Bryan Hudson
___________________________
Further reading: The Curse of Ham: How Bad Scripture Interpretation Inspired Genocide
