Dr Frances Cress Welsing (1935-2016)

MD; Psychiatrist; Writer

Overview

“Dipped in chocolate, bronzed in elegance, enameled with grace, toasted with beauty. My lord, she’s a black woman.” … Ben Jochannan, Historian 1918-2015.

The above quote is the most apt introduction to Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

Born Frances Luella Cress on March 18, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, her  parents were married professionals; her father a medical doctor and her mother a teacher. With this background Frances Cress  inherited and developed strong mental capabilities which influenced her to question the social norms of that period, also to discover practical answers to her questions. In 1957 at age 22 years Frances earned a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc) at Antioch College and five years later a Medical Doctor degree (M.D) from the then  predominantly black but most prestigious Howard University, Washington District of Columbia (Washington DC) Howard University is now more integrated and rated among the top medical schools /universities worldwide. Not much is revealed about her personal life before her college or university years,including her husband or family life. Owing to this,  speculations were made regarding the ethnicity of her husband and although it was rumored that she had at one time been married to a white European, this was never proven. The name Welsing which is of German origin may have sparked this speculation, however, it is said that her husband Johannes Kramer Welsing was a Ghanaian and that they had one child, a son. Her husband was deceased long before her but she never remarried.

Career/ Achievements

In 1960 Frances moved to Washington DC, the home of Howard University which she was attending as a medical student pursuing a career in general medicine and  child psychology. After receiving her M.D in 1962, Dr. Cress continued to study and worked at mostly children’s hospitals. Dr Cress Welsing later accepted a position as an assistant professor at her alma mater; Harvard University School of Medicine (HUSOE) where she wrote her first literary work: The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism in 1969 which she also published by herself in 1970. The inclusion of this paper in Black Scholar magazine in 1974, heralded the arrival of the first and most potent psychoanalysis on the origin of the ‘artificial’ white supremacy, and the introduction of Dr Cress on the African- American literary scene. ”The Cress Theory of Color —”  may also be regarded as a prelude to her later publication: The Isis Papers. In 2008, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing received the Community Award at the National Black LUV (love, unity, vision) Festival in Washington D.C.

The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors

The Isis Papers:The Keys to the Colors, is a compilation of essays concerning local and global race relations spanning 18 years and although related, was published approximately 22 years after The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation was published. The title has no connection to isis, the infamous terrorist group, but was inspired by the Egyptian goddess Isis, who according to ancient history was sister to the Egyptian god Osiris. In accordance with Egyptian mythology, gods were named based upon their realm of responsibility or characteristics. “Osiris means “lord of the perfect Black”. Wesling specifically chose the name Isis for her admiration of “truth and justice” that allowed for justice to be stronger than gold and silver.[6] As ruler of the dead, Osiris was also sometimes called “king of the living”: ancient Egyptians considered the blessed dead “the living ones”.

Dr. Welsing theory on the origin of racism as it relates to White Supremacy not only challenged but shocked the established ‘european’ scientific reports of cultural and behavioral science. Dr. Welsing theorized that racism is embedded in the effects that the amount of melanin has on pigmentation of the skin; “varying degrees” of melanin have on the pigmentation of the skin effects “racial perception and development”. “The quality of whiteness is a genetic inadequacy or a relative deficiency or disease based upon the inability to produce the skin pigments of melanin which are responsible for all skin color,” This statement must have angered many white folks as, although other writers had hinted at it, no one had stated outrightly that having no melanin (being white to state it mildly) is a form of illness or genetic mutation. This is a theory that was not easily rebutted as there is irrefutable proof that: “The majority of the world’s people are not so afflicted, suggesting that the state of color is the norm for human beings and [its] absence is abnormal.”  

Previous Egyptologists have stated numerous times that ancient civilization originated in Africa and was populated with “black”, melanin rich people. This theory that “white skin” is a type of deficiency is very credible as whenever one’s blood is weakened or deficient in some way, their skin tend to look pale or ashen. It is therefore reasonable to assume that white or colorless skin is a result of some form of deficiency whether it be melanin or otherwise. Based on this line of reasoning the Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism is more than plausible as there is scientific proof that the more the melanin–, the deeper the skin pigmentation, therefore, the lesser the melanin–the paler or more lacking the pigmentation. Also, being a both a medical doctor and a psychiatrist, Dr. Welsing was qualified to speak authoritatively on both the physical, social and cultural impact of this obvious deficiency on the white people.

Dr. Welsing theorized that as a consequence of their “numerical inadequacy” and “color inferiority,”white people may have defensively developed “an uncontrollable sense of hostility and aggression”towards people of color which has led to “confrontations” between the races throughout history. Repressing their own feelings of inadequacy, whites “set about evolving a social, political and economic structure to give blacks and other ‘non-whites’ the appearance of being inferior.”

In layman’s terms, White people realized that the lack of melanin in their pigmentation is an incurable disease that transcends generation and can only be cured eventually by cohabitating with Africans so as to inherit their melanin rich genes. They realized that all humans have the same basic characteristics; the only basic yet glaring difference, is the difference in pigmentation among the ethnic groups. They were not so much envious of the intelligence of the ‘Black Africans’ as they could study and learn from them, they were envious of the African male. Their melanin rich ebony pigmentation, their naturally regal posture whether they were sitting or standing, their magnetic attraction and almost animalistic sexuality were traits with which they could not compete. Regardless of how much they burned themselves to get color or tried to outdo them sexually by raping and degrading black women, they could not match the masculinity or prowess of  the African male.

Segregation failed to prove white supremacy, Instead, it promoted black superiority. In the immediate post-slavery eras, Africans were given ‘ramshackled, unequipped buildings to be used as schools; yet they were able master similar curriculum, excelling where they were designed to fail, thereby proving they were highly intelligent.

This resulted in white males developing an inferiority complex but instead of accepting and trying to overcome this inadequacy, their incompetencies morphed into aggressive, hostile physical behavior towards blacks. Their fear of being compared to the black male and ridiculed by the white female was greater than their will or ability to cope with the comparisons. As a consequence of this fear, white people have plotted against and indiscriminately killed, maimed or “crippled” blacks in their subterfuge  to rid themselves of the competition. This genocidal tactic may have impacted the cultural, social and economical status of Africans in the diaspora but could not rid the white society of their nemesis; the black man. The fertility and stamina of the African people is incomparable and barring full scale global warfare against all Africans, these spurts of genocidal attack such as unfair incarceration, forced birth control, AIDS, and other germ or biological warfare are all futile conspiracies to get rid of blacks.

Envy of the African physique is nothing new as proof may be found in ancient Egyptian history; the story of Potiphar’s wife and Joseph is one example. During slavery, the bolder white females seduced the black male and cried rape when caught. Likewise, the African female has one of the most alluring figure and is able to maintain firmer, younger looking skin much longer, thereby aging more gracefully than their white counterparts. Blacks are survivalists and need to embrace Afrocentrism in order to free themselves from mental slavery and reclaim their status in world history.

In her essay,  Welsing contends that because of their “numerical inadequacy” and “color inferiority,”white people may have defensively developed “an uncontrollable sense of hostility and aggression”towards people of color which has led to “confrontations” between the races throughout history. It is not surprising that in a “white controlled” society, her theory on color confrontation and racism as it relates to white supremacy was considered controversial. Stating outright that whites were suffering from an inferiority complex was particularly irritating to “white supremacists”. How dare a “black woman” to not only discover their secret fear but to make it known globally? This revelation sparked debates at the ‘grassroots’ and national level to include television broadcasts- The Phil Donahue Show. Regardless of the disputations brought about by the “Cress Theory of Color-”, Dr Frances Cress-Welsing was lauded in the (media) Los Angeles Times for being the “first scientist to psychoanalyze racism.”  Owing to the profundity of her racism theory, Dr Welsing was invited to speak and lecture at various universities nationally. She also lectured in England, a predominately white European country.

Concepts of The Isis Papers: The Keys to Colors

Written over a period of 18 years, Dr. Frances Cress-Welsing have succeeded in achieving what numerous writers, thousands of pages, umpteen years have tried to do; debunking the myth of white supremacy. The Isis Papers: The keys to Colors may be exasperating to the ‘colorless’ but the feasibility and scientific proof cannot be ignored. With the exception of her first self-published paper; The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism which was a prelude to The Isis Papers, Dr Cress-Welsing has not published any other works. However, this one book of essays, comprising 18 years of historical and scientific research combined with analytical and psychological deductions commensurate with documentary evidence  of years of hostility towards the black race has the impact of 100 books exploring similar themes. Where others had failed or were reluctant to expose the basis of white supremacy, Dr Welsing had no qualms in citing the underlying fear of blacks by their pale, colorless counterparts.

In her appearance on the Phil Donahue Show, a white television host, Donahue himself reluctantly acquiesced  to the feasibility of The Color Theory. Dr. Welsing’s theory that if blacks and whites are allowed to fraternize freely, whites would be phased out eventually as whites were propagating at a lower rate in comparison to black reproduction. Dr Welsing brought up the fact that white women wanted their mates to be “tall, dark and handsome.” While white males particularly, live in trepidation of their ethnicity being wiped out, blacks had no apprehension of their color being obliterated by whites. Whites have been trying over the years to get some color or tan; even as far as getting sunburned in the process. Dr. Welsing brought up the tragedy of the holocaust as one of the examples of how the whites tried to annihilate the black Jews.

As a believer in Afrocentrism and a Pan-Africanist, Frances Welsing was not one to mince her words and to conceal her ideologies. Unabashed, proud of her heritage,  equipped with the knowledge to support and defend her theories Dr Cress-Welsing advocated her theory of ‘white envy’ of the black physiognomy and sexual prowess. Stated simply, white males coveted the black male sexual organ also their ability to stimulate and satisfy the sexual appetite of the white females. It is an unspoken but well-known fact that the African male phallus is well endowed not only in size but in genetic composition, compared to their european counterparts. There is a popular saying alluding to the sexual potency of the black male and their popularity among white females: “once you go black, you never go back”; meaning that once a white female has consummated with black male, she is never satisfied with any other ethnic partner afterwards. It is this feeling of inadequacy and the fear that they will eventually be wiped out in a reversal of evolution if the colored are allowed to freely exist and intermingle with the colorless. This poses the “threat” of having white females becoming pregnant and giving birth to “colored babies” as one single drop of “black” (African) blood in the genes makes one no longer white but automatically become a person of “color.”

Europeans were able to somewhat subdue the Africans with their powerful “fire-sticks” aka guns which aided in enabling modern slavery. Therefore, one can understand their stance on keeping their firearm laws intact regardless of how innocent persons are being massacred over the years. It gives them a feeling of power to be equipped with this weapon. It helps to bolster their “manhood”.

Dr. Frances Cress-Welsing Quotes

Racism—is a universal operating system of white supremacy and domination in which the majority of the world’s white people participate” pg3, The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism

“White skin is a form of albinism. There is no difference, microscopically speaking, between the white skin of a white person and the skin of a person designated as an albino.”

“Historically, white males worldwide have suffered the deep sense of male inferiority and inadequacy because they represent a mutant, genetically recessive, minority population that can be genetically annihilated by all non-white people.”

“(Melanin is the black pigment which permits skins to appear other than white)…Melanin is a superior absorber of all energy. The fact that the whites lack melanin may also help to explain why they have quite a different concept and understanding of God…and why, in the view of many non-white peoples, they (whites) lack “spirituality” and the capacity to tune in to, and thereby establish harmony and justice in the universe. Because they lack the melanin sensory system, they cannot intuit that ALL is ONE.”

Summary

Dr Frances Cress Welsing is one of the bravest, greatest  Afrocentric writer of all times. Her book: The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors, although published 18 years after her first publication is a continuation of her original paper: The Cress Theory of Color – Confrontation and Racism. It is her belief backed by scientific proof that white people are genetically defective in the production of melanin, the substance that provides color in skin pigmentation.  She also put forward the theory that the notion of white supremacy was bred out of the feeling of inferiority and inadequacy by whites when compared to their black male counterparts. In order to fully grasp the concept of Dr. Welsing’s  Color Theory, one needs to read and reread her book: The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors, also her first publication; The Cress Color Theory of Color -Confrontation and Racism. Dr. Cress-Welsing died at age 80 years old in 2016. She left 12 “commandments” which she believed if blacks adhere to, they will once more be the dominant race:
1. Stop name-calling one another.
2. Stop cursing at one another.
3. Stop squabbling with one another.
4. Stop gossiping about one another.
5. Stop snitching on one another.
6. Stop being discourteous and disrespectful towards one another.
7. Stop robbing one another.
8. Stop stealing from one another.
9. Stop fighting one another.
10. Stop killing one another.
11. Stop using and selling drugs to one another.
12. Stop throwing trash and dirt on the streets and in places where Black people live, work and learn.
“We must revolutionize ourselves…. Whether white people are consciously or subconsciously aware of it, they are behaving in a manner to ensure white genetic survival. We must know this truth. And the truth is the first step toward real strength.”

Finally:

“The facts of our true identity are that we, as Black people, are persons whose dominant genetic and historic roots extend to Africa, ‘the land of the Blacks’. Africa was the birth place of humankind and that for many hundreds of centuries thereafter Africans, meaning Black people, were in the forefront of all human progress. As John Henrik Clarke states, ‘It can be said with a strong degree of certainty that Africa had three Golden Ages. The first two reached their climax and were in decline before Europe as a functioning entity in human society was born.’ BLACK WOMEN AND BLACK MEN ARE THE PARENTS OF THE ENTIRE FAMILY OF PEOPLE -black, brown, red, yellow and white varieties.” The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors; Frances Cress-Welsing, 1982

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