Who’s Black and Why?: A Hidden Chapter from the 18th-Century Invention of Race

Harvard scholar Gates (Stony Road) and Wesleyan humanities professor Curran (Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely) analyze in this eye-opening and expertly contextualized collection the links between systemic racism and the Enlightenment. Presenting essays submitted to a 1741 prize competition held by Bordeaux’s Royal Academy of Sciences on the theme of “What is the cause of the Negro’s dark skin and hair texture?,” Gates and Curran showcase how Enlightenment thinkers “made use of the rhetoric of progress and humanitarianism in order to rationalize human bondage.” Contestants included theologians, natural scientists, and amateurs, whose explanations for “blackness” included the effects of heat and humidity on the skin, “humoral imbalances,” and evidence of a “perverse disposition of the mind.” In a lengthy introduction and insightful supporting materials, Gates and Curran provide the context for the contest submissions, describe the role such evaluations played in justifying Bordeaux’s involvement in the slave trade, and analyze how “scientific” explanations for human diversity gave credence to the erroneous view that racial characteristics indicated innate moral difference. The result is a fascinating, if disturbing, window onto the origins of racism. (Mar.)