From Superman to Man. J.A. Rogers

only one side of the story. Venus and Apollo, as you will remember, are as famous for their beauty of bodily outline as for their facial contour, perhaps more so. And in a matter of bodily beauty certain primitive tribes easily excel the white man. The Zulus, a black people, are the successors of the ancient Greeks in beauty of physique. J. H. Balmer, explorer and lecturer, says:

      “ ‘The Zulus are the physical superior of other races. A male Zulu has the strength, endurance and body of a prizefighter in the pink of condition. Their shoulders are broad, their chests deep, their waists slim. Their women are the strongest females propagated.’

      “But here in America,” resumed Dixon, “it is not a matter of facial contour or physique. It is a question of color and texture of hair, sometimes color alone, sometimes hair alone, since there are many Negroes who possess the regular profile of the conventional Caucasian whilst there are many Caucasians who, but for color and hair might be representatives of any other human variety, except the true Mongolian. I have remarked many Swedish and Irish persons with Negroid features. Then, too, the beauty of colored women commands consideration. In all those parts of the British Empire where black and white live, those women who have what is known as a ‘touch of the tar-brush’ easily excel the average white woman in beauty and grace of expression. The white women of these countries are mostly English, and the Englishwoman, generally speaking, is not considered beautiful. And even here in America, where the blending of the various peoples and the superior economic conditions have combined to produce types perhaps of world-excelling beauty, certain types of colored women are the peers of any. The bewitching languor of form and voice, the placid depth of the soft, sparkling eye, and flawless texture of skin, combine with a disposition of artless amiability to make a charm that must move the hearts of all who venture to behold her. I must not forget to add that a large number of white people do think Negroes more beautiful than members of their own group. But I consider this question of facial beauty a wearisome one. The ultimate question has always been that of the mental and moral worth of the individual. Measured by the Greek standard of facial contour, Socrates, Herbert Spencer, Darwin, Voltaire and Steinmetz were ugly, and yet, the services they rendered to humanity are almost inestimable. Whilst ideas of beauty are purely individual, the standard of nobility of soul is universal. Character, then, should be the standard by which to judge human beings. After all, man is not like cattle which we rear for appearance’ sake. I think that any face lit up by right living and high ideals is beautiful regardless of contour.”

      The senator seemed agitated. He got up and again paced the room. After a few turns he sat down and drew deep inhalations from his cigarette, blowing out the smoke very slowly. He was marshalling in his mind all the many points regarding Negro inferiority.

      Suddenly, as if struck by an inspiration, he said triumphantly: “I can positively prove the Negro is inherently inferior. The Jews were slaves to the Egyptians who, according to you, were Negroes, for four hundred and thirty years, one hundred and eighty years longer than were the Negroes in America. Did they emerge in the debased condition of the Negro? No! Why? You also said that the Irish were slaves in New England, didn’t you? Well; today these former slaves dominate the United States politically. Here’s where the inferiority comes in. There are twelve millions of Negroes in the United States—a greater number than the population of Canada, greater than the combined population of Holland and Switzerland—and yet there is not a single Negro in any position of political importance in this country. A few, it is true, hold federal positions, mostly unimportant, however. If the Negro were not the inferior, would he allow himself to be thus outclassed?”

      “I will first answer your question about the Jews. When they emerged from slavery they had, according to the Bible, their Jehovah to perform wondrous miracles for them, feeding them free, capturing cities, etc., hadn’t they? The Negro started with nothing and has had to fight his own battle every inch of the way.

      “Again the Negro’s inferior position isn’t due to inferiority of human variety, but to inferiority in numbers.”

      “To inter-racial jealousy, you mean; the surest sign of a consciousness of inferiority among any people. Race prejudice only hurts those who have a consciousness of their racial inferiority. The Negro can’t trust himself. He hates to associate with his own people.”