If any of this information is true, it would seem that President Barack Obama is only the first Black president to embrace his African ancestry.

BY KUSHAZRAEL
Staff Reporter

The ascendancy of two-term President, Barack Obama, has resurrected a debate that has existed for years. There have been a lot of questions as to whether any other Black presidents served theUnited States.

Several historians have written on the subject, such as J.A. Rogers, in “The Five Negro Presidents,” Auset Bakhufu, in “The Six Black Presidents – Black Blood: White Masks” and Leroy Vaughn, in “Black People and their Place in History.”

Black blood mixed with anything made you Black according to the “one drop rule.”

The rule says that any person with a trace of African ancestry is considered Black. This form of thought was developed in the years of institutionalized slavery and still plays its part in American culture, today. This rule did not focus on the looks of an individual, but instead, focused on the person’s ancestry.

Mainly because of the “one drop rule,” there are many pale-skinned people who could be considered Black.

During slavery miscegenation took place, and since one of the people was of African ancestry, the children of these relationships were considered Black.

Many of our presidents seem to have tried to hide their African ancestry as well as define themselves as totally White. They even looked more White than Black.

However, because the “one drop rule” applied during their lifetimes, they still can be considered black.

The following list gives an explanation of how Black blood popped up in the White House.

John Hanson  was actually the first President of the United States. He served from 1781-1782 and he was said to have been Black (a Moor) . He was president under the Articles of Confederation, prior to the Constitution, when President Hanson ordered all foreign troops off American soil and ordered all foreign flags be removed

Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President of theU.S., and he served from 1801 – 1809. His mother was a half-breed Indian and his father a mulatto (half White and half Black) fromVirginia according to a book written by Thomas Hazard in 1867 called The Johnny Cake Papers. He fathered several children with Sally Hemmings, a mulatto slave.Jefferson also was said to have destroyed all documentation attached to his mother.

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president. He served from 1829-1837. His mother was a White woman fromIreland who hadJackson with a Black man an article in the Virginia Magazine of History. His father’s other children were sold into slavery.

Abraham Lincoln was the 16^th President. He served from 1861- 1865. His mother was from an Ethiopian Tribe and his father was believed to be Black also according to J.A. Rogers. He had dark skin and coarse hair. It was said that his father was Thomas Lincoln but was sterile from childhood mumps and was later castrated, making it impossible for him to be his father.Lincoln was often called “Abraham Africanus the First.”

Warren Harding was the 28^th President serving from 1921 – 1923. Harding reportedly never denied his ancestry. According to William Chancellor, a White professor of economics and politics atWoosterCollege who wrote a book on the Harding family, Harding had Black ancestors from both parents. When Republican leaders called on Harding to deny his Black history, he said, “How should I know whether or not one of my ancestors might have jumped the fence?”

Calvin Coolidge was the 29^th President and served from 1923-1929. He is said to have proudly admitted his mother was dark, but claimed it was because of mixed Indian ancestry according to Leroy Vaughn. His mother’s maiden name was “Moor.” In Europe, “Moor” was given to all Black people just as in America the word “Negro” was used.

Dwight E. Eisenhower was the 33^rd President, serving from 1953 – 1961. His mother, Ida Elizabeth Stover Eisenhower, an anti war advocate, was half Black according toRogers.

If any of this information is true, it would seem that President Barack Obama is only the first Black president to embrace his African ancestry. He is also the first to have his race fully acknowledged by others. Although Obama is half white, he strongly resembles his Kenyan Father. Not to mention that he can’t hide his African ancestry. Obama is open about his ancestry and most people identify him as Black; that’s why people see him as the first Black president.