Frances Luella Cress Welsing (March 18, 1935 – January 2, 2016) was an American psychiatrist and well-known proponent of the pseudoscientific
melanin theory. Her 1970 essay, ''The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism (White Supremacy)'',
offered her interpretation of what she described as the origins of
white supremacy
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
culture. She was the author of ''The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors'' (1991).
Early life
Welsing was born Frances Luella Cress in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
on March 18, 1935. Her father, Henry Noah Cress, was a physician, and her mother, Ida Mae Griffin, was a teacher. She was the middle child of three girls, her elder sister named Lorne, and the younger Barbara. In 1957, she earned a
B.S. degree at
Antioch College
Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...
, in
Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1961, she met Johannes Kramer Welsing, a Ghanaian, while enrolled at Howard University Medical School. They eventually married but had no children.
In 1962, Welsing received an
M.D. from
Howard University
Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
. In the 1960s, Welsing moved to
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and worked at many hospitals, especially children's hospitals.
While Welsing was an assistant professor at Howard University, she formulated her first body of work in 1969, ''The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation''. She self-published it in 1970.
The paper subsequently appeared in the May 1974 edition of ''
The Black Scholar
''The Black Scholar'' (''TBS'') is a journal founded in California, in 1969, by Robert Chrisman, Nathan Hare, and Allan Ross. It is the third oldest Black studies journal in the US, after the NAACP’s ''The Crisis'' (founded in 1910) and the ' ...
''. This was an introduction to her thoughts that would be developed in ''The Isis Papers'',
released 22 years later. This was a compilation of Welsing's essays about global and local race relations.
Career
In 1992, Welsing published ''The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors''. The book is a compilation of essays that she had written over 18 years.
The title was inspired by the ancient Egyptian goddess
Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
. According to Welsing, all the names of the gods were significant; however, Welsing specifically chose the name Isis for her admiration of "truth and justice".
In her book Welsing talks about the
genocide
Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
of
people of color
The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...
globally, along with issues faced by black Americans. According to Welsing, the genocide of people of color is caused by white people's inability to produce
melanin
Melanin (; ) is a family of biomolecules organized as oligomers or polymers, which among other functions provide the pigments of many organisms. Melanin pigments are produced in a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes.
There are ...
. The
minority status of whites has caused what she calls a preoccupation with white genetic survival.
Welsing believed that injustice caused by
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
will end when "non-white people worldwide recognize, analyze, understand and discuss openly the genocidal dynamic."
She also tackled issues such as drug use, murder, teen pregnancy, infant mortality, incarceration, and unemployment. According to Welsing, the cause of these issues is white supremacy. Black men are at the center of Welsing's discussion because, according to her, they "have the greatest potential to cause white genetic annihilation."
Views
In ''The Isis Papers'', she described
white people
White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...
as the genetically defective descendants of
recessive genetic mutants. She wrote that due to this "defective" mutation, they may have been forcibly expelled from Africa, among other possibilities.
Racism, in the views of Welsing, is a conspiracy "to ensure white genetic survival". She attributed
AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
and
addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
to
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...
and other substances to "
chemical
A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...
and
biological warfare
Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...
" by white people.
Welsing defined racism as:
Welsing was against white supremacy and what she saw as the
emasculation of black men.
She theorized that white people were the first people with
albinism
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos.
Varied use and interpretation of ...
who were driven from Africa by the black natives.
Criticisms
Welsing's beliefs surrounding melanin have been criticized as pseudoscientific. She claimed that melanin gives
Black people
Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...
supernatural powers such as
extrasensory perception
Extrasensory perception (ESP), also known as a sixth sense, or cryptaesthesia, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was ad ...
. She gave as an example
George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American Agricultural science, agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent bla ...
, saying that his melanin enabled plants to talk to him and reveal their nutritional qualities.
Welsing caused controversy after she said that
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
among African-Americans was a ploy by white males to decrease the black population,
arguing that the emasculation of the black man was a means to prevent the procreation of black people.
Death
By December 30, 2015, Welsing had suffered two
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
s and was placed in critical care at a
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
-area hospital.
She died on January 2, 2016, at the age of 80.
Welsing was mourned by Benjamin Chavis, president of the
National Newspaper Publishers Association, by Kevin Washington, president of the
Association of Black Psychologists, and by
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a me ...
of
Public Enemy
Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...
, who credited her as inspiration for the album ''
Fear of a Black Planet
''Fear of a Black Planet'' is the third studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was released on April 10, 1990, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records, and produced by the group's production team The Bomb Squad, who expanded ...
''.
Film appearances
* Welsing appeared in the documentary ''
500 Years Later'' (2005), directed by Owen Alik Shahadah, and written by
M. K. Asante.
* Welsing also appeared in ''
Hidden Colors: The Untold History of People of Aboriginal, Moor, and African Descent'', a 2011 documentary film by
Tariq Nasheed.
Works
*''The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors'', Chicago: Third World Press, c 1992 (3rd printing); , .
References
External links
* Ortiz de Montellano, B. (2001
''Magic Melanin: Spreading Scientific Illiteracy to Minorities'' csicop.org; accessed June 29, 2017.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welsing, Frances Cress
1935 births
2016 deaths
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
Afrocentrists
Antioch College alumni
Anti-LGBTQ activists
Howard University alumni
Pseudoscientific psychologists
Writers from Chicago
Proponents of melanin theory
20th-century African-American writers
20th-century African-American women writers
American women non-fiction writers