Nature Knows No Color-Line

J. A. Rogers

Published by self-published, 1952

About this Item

Nature Knows No Color-Line Research into the Negro Ancestry in the White Race; by J. A. Rogers, author - From Superman to Man; Sex and Race; World s Great Men of Color; etc, etc. Beauty, though wild fantastic ape, who dost in every country change thy shape, here black, here brown, here tawny and there white - Abraham Cowley 1618-1677; Thou are white and I am black but day must join with night to bring forth the dawn and the twilight which are more beautiful than they Victor Hugo; J. A. Rogers, 37 Morningside Avenue, New York 26, N. Y., $5.00 postpaid. Copyright 1952 J. A. Rogers, all rights reserved, first edition of 2,000 copies, second edition 3,000 copies. From the blurb Nature Knows no Color-Line comes at the right moment. The United Nations has announced a History of Mankind, going back to 300,000 B.C. on which 1,000 of the world s leading historians are working. Care must be taken that the Negro isn t given the usual treatment in this history. This book will make sure oversight more difficult. Joel Augustus Rogers (1880/3 1966) was a Jamaican-American author, journalist, and historian who contributed to the history of Africa and the African diaspora. One of eleven children, he was the son of mixed-race parents who were a minister and schoolteacher. After settling in the United States in 1906, he lived in Chicago and then New York City. He became interested in the history of African Americans in the United States. His research spanned the academic fields of history, sociology and anthropology. He challenged prevailing ideas about scientific racism and the social construction of race, demonstrated the connections between civilizations, and traced achievements of ethnic Africans, including some with mixed European ancestry. He was one of the earliest popularizers of African and African-American history in the 20th century. Rogers' theories about race, sex and color can be found in his books Nature Knows No Color-Line (this book), World's Great Men of Color. His pamphlet Five Negro Presidents provided what he said was evidence that some 19th- and 20th-century presidents of the United States had partially black ancestry. In this book, Rogers examined the origins of racial hierarchy and the color problem. He stated that the origins of the race problem had never been adequately examined or discussed. He believed that color prejudice generally evolved from issues of domination and power between two physiologically different groups. He thought that color prejudice was used as a rationale for domination, subjugation and warfare. Societies developed myths and prejudices in order to pursue their own interests at the expense of other groups. He was trying to show that there is nothing innate about color prejudice; that there is no natural distaste for darker skin by lighter-skinned people; and that there is no natural aversion for lighter skin by darker-skinned people. The text is well illustrated, including many titled - Negroes in Coats-of-Arms of Noble Families. This book, 242 pages, is in fine condition in a very-good dust jacket that is now enclosed in a protective mylar wrap. A beautiful copy of a very scarce and important book on the subject of race and race relationships.

Seller Inventory # 2117a

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Nature Knows No Color-Line
• Publisher: self-published
• Publication Date: 1952
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good