WHAT IS BLACK?

Late last week, during our business camp for teen entrepreneurs, I walked over to a table of adolescent boys in the middle of a heated but cordial conversation. I quietly sat down at their table and inquired about the topic of discussion. "He's saying Moses was black," blurted out one of them, as he pointed to the boy on my left. The boy of my left repeated his main points: Moses was dark-skinned and was raised as an Egyptian; ergo, he's black.

I asked the group, "What is black? Is it cultural?" Most heads nodded. "Is it skin color?" Some heads nodded, while others seemed to hedge themselves: "Well, not exactly." "Is it genetics?" On this, even fewer at the table seemed to agree. "Well, what is it, then?" We revisited Moses' story: indeed, he "passed" as an Egyptian, himself being as dark-skinned as an Egyptian. And culturally, he was raised an Egyptian. Did that make him black?

It was quite a treat to discuss such a controversial and complex topic with boys ages 14 and 15 and have it take place at such a high and thoughtful level. I was impressed by the students' Bible knowledge, and their ability to apply it to the issues of race and culture. We concluded our dialogue without much resolution a few minutes later, and they moved onto the next topic: video games. I left the table, happy to have taken part when I did.