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Beyond Roots II: If Anybody Ask You Who I Am
First Edition, 1994. Paperback. Authors, William Dwight McKissic, Sr. Anthony T. Evans. Printed in the USA. Total 146 pages. The pages and book are clean and without markings. Renaissance Productions, Inc., New Jersey, publishers. "Is it an accurate and honest portrayal of history to depict all Bible characters as European? Are the images of European Bible characters a result of objective historical reasearch or the personal biases of the image producers? Do these images reinforce the notion of White superiority? Is it true that Moses, Solomon, the Queen of Sheba and Jesus were of Black lineage? There are some startling answers to these questions packed between the covers of this book." Excellent reading and a must read religious book. *6BC4
150 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1994
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May 25, 2026
THE FOLLOW-UP TO McKISSIC’S FIRST ‘BEYOND ROOTS’ BOOK
William Dwight McKissic (b. 1958) is a Southern Baptist minister who is senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. He is also a leader of the ‘Bapticostal’ movement (which rejects ‘cessationism’ and supports use of charismatic gifts in the modern church). Anthony ‘Tony’ Evans (b. 1949) was pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas from 1976-2024 (he resigned this position in 2024 due to a past undisclosed sin).
Roland G. Hardy Jr. wrote in the Foreword to this 1994 book, “In ‘Beyond Roots I, Rev. McKissic clearly proves the case that the Black presence in the Bible is unmistakably clear… In Dr. Evans’ work, ‘Are Blacks Spiritually Inferior to Whites?’ he argues that the Black church, during slavery, is probably the greatest demonstration of biblical Christianity in the history of America… In this collaborative work, McKissic and Evans fill in the gaps between their works to show why a proper biblical view of the Black race is essential if Black people are to recognize, understand and appreciate their position in God’s eternal program. This work further authenticates the Black presence in Scripture through the eyes of Black and White biblical scholars while pointing to the racial abuse of historically accepted biblical scholarship.”
They wrote in the first chapter of this 1994 book, “This book represents the efforts of two African-American evangelical brothers to discover and disseminate information about our ancestors in biblical anthropology and early Christian history in order to address an area of interest that is seldom addressed in colleges, seminaries, and churches. It is also our goal to provide answers to many who raise questions regarding our race and our faith. Why is it important that we trace our biblical and early Christian history and ancestry? Identity and definition are probably the two more important contributing factors to success in life… [The] questions each of us ask ourselves that must be ultimately answered from the Bible, reliable historical and technical information, and our relationship with God. There is a growing awareness toward the acknowledgment of our glorious African heritage, which many heretofore have viewed as information left only to a select few.” (Pg. 7)
They report that biblical scholar Arthur C. Custance shared with J. Vernon McGhee “his belief that people of color were the originators of civilization.” They add, “We consider Custance’s study the singular and most significant writing in existence from the viewpoint of a White evangelical scholar which objectively and comprehensively addresses the contributions of the Hamitic (Black) people in scripture and ancient history.” (Pg. 42-43)
They explain, “We do believe that this message should be used to refute the teaching handed down from one generation to another in modern history that blacks are innately inferior to other races. What better witness can we call to the stand to testify about the Black man other than God who said that the Ethiopians (descendants of Ham) were great from their beginning (Is 18:1-2). Although we obviously believe that the most important use of this message (Blacks in the Bible) is to serve an evangelistic (defense of the faith) objective, we also believe this message should be used in Christian education and cultural celebration.” (Pg. 58-59)
They outline, “There are four basic arguments that we have chosen to present to document the plausibility of a pervasive and significant Black presence in Scripture. They are: (1) biblical and genetic insights; (2) linguistic, etymological, and genealogical evidence; (3) archaeological, anthropological and artistic clues; (4) scholarly and eyewitness testimonies. However, let us begin this section by defining what we mean by the term ‘Black.’… the significant disagreement between Black commentators and White commentators is in the coining of the races. As it relates to the biblical and ancient world, many Whites tend to adopt what we consider to be a devious or deceptive definition of Causasians. This definition of ‘White’ includes people who otherwise would be thought of as Blacks or people of color… On a mug shot in America these people would be considered Black.” (Pg. 95)
They summarize, “It has been our contention that the Black presence in Scripture is undeniably clear. It is unfortunate that so many have chosen to ignore the clear historical and biblical data supporting this thesis. We further maintain that the Black presence clearly continues beyond the biblical record and can be traced to significant contributions throughout church history… The pages of history reveals the extensive contributions of people of color; yet the River Lethe has to some degree rinsed history’s memory of these indispensable contributions. Where history has maintained these contributions, it has not credited them to those to whom the credit truly belongs; people of African descent.” (Pg. 125)
They note, “Numbered among the Christian intelligentsia from antiquity were men of color who stemmed from African lineage… in antiquity the Negro of North Africa was thought of as the ‘normal’ inhabitant of North Africa rather than the exception… we must readdress the notion that the Church Fathers of Africa Romana were only the offspring of Roman (Italian) colonists. The belief that they were Caucasian must be taken… with skepticism. The burden of proof is upon those who would make the African Church Fathers anything other than black, and not vice versa.” (Pg. 129-130)
This book is a fine extension of McKissic’s first ‘Roots’ book.
William Dwight McKissic (b. 1958) is a Southern Baptist minister who is senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. He is also a leader of the ‘Bapticostal’ movement (which rejects ‘cessationism’ and supports use of charismatic gifts in the modern church). Anthony ‘Tony’ Evans (b. 1949) was pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas from 1976-2024 (he resigned this position in 2024 due to a past undisclosed sin).
Roland G. Hardy Jr. wrote in the Foreword to this 1994 book, “In ‘Beyond Roots I, Rev. McKissic clearly proves the case that the Black presence in the Bible is unmistakably clear… In Dr. Evans’ work, ‘Are Blacks Spiritually Inferior to Whites?’ he argues that the Black church, during slavery, is probably the greatest demonstration of biblical Christianity in the history of America… In this collaborative work, McKissic and Evans fill in the gaps between their works to show why a proper biblical view of the Black race is essential if Black people are to recognize, understand and appreciate their position in God’s eternal program. This work further authenticates the Black presence in Scripture through the eyes of Black and White biblical scholars while pointing to the racial abuse of historically accepted biblical scholarship.”
They wrote in the first chapter of this 1994 book, “This book represents the efforts of two African-American evangelical brothers to discover and disseminate information about our ancestors in biblical anthropology and early Christian history in order to address an area of interest that is seldom addressed in colleges, seminaries, and churches. It is also our goal to provide answers to many who raise questions regarding our race and our faith. Why is it important that we trace our biblical and early Christian history and ancestry? Identity and definition are probably the two more important contributing factors to success in life… [The] questions each of us ask ourselves that must be ultimately answered from the Bible, reliable historical and technical information, and our relationship with God. There is a growing awareness toward the acknowledgment of our glorious African heritage, which many heretofore have viewed as information left only to a select few.” (Pg. 7)
They report that biblical scholar Arthur C. Custance shared with J. Vernon McGhee “his belief that people of color were the originators of civilization.” They add, “We consider Custance’s study the singular and most significant writing in existence from the viewpoint of a White evangelical scholar which objectively and comprehensively addresses the contributions of the Hamitic (Black) people in scripture and ancient history.” (Pg. 42-43)
They explain, “We do believe that this message should be used to refute the teaching handed down from one generation to another in modern history that blacks are innately inferior to other races. What better witness can we call to the stand to testify about the Black man other than God who said that the Ethiopians (descendants of Ham) were great from their beginning (Is 18:1-2). Although we obviously believe that the most important use of this message (Blacks in the Bible) is to serve an evangelistic (defense of the faith) objective, we also believe this message should be used in Christian education and cultural celebration.” (Pg. 58-59)
They outline, “There are four basic arguments that we have chosen to present to document the plausibility of a pervasive and significant Black presence in Scripture. They are: (1) biblical and genetic insights; (2) linguistic, etymological, and genealogical evidence; (3) archaeological, anthropological and artistic clues; (4) scholarly and eyewitness testimonies. However, let us begin this section by defining what we mean by the term ‘Black.’… the significant disagreement between Black commentators and White commentators is in the coining of the races. As it relates to the biblical and ancient world, many Whites tend to adopt what we consider to be a devious or deceptive definition of Causasians. This definition of ‘White’ includes people who otherwise would be thought of as Blacks or people of color… On a mug shot in America these people would be considered Black.” (Pg. 95)
They summarize, “It has been our contention that the Black presence in Scripture is undeniably clear. It is unfortunate that so many have chosen to ignore the clear historical and biblical data supporting this thesis. We further maintain that the Black presence clearly continues beyond the biblical record and can be traced to significant contributions throughout church history… The pages of history reveals the extensive contributions of people of color; yet the River Lethe has to some degree rinsed history’s memory of these indispensable contributions. Where history has maintained these contributions, it has not credited them to those to whom the credit truly belongs; people of African descent.” (Pg. 125)
They note, “Numbered among the Christian intelligentsia from antiquity were men of color who stemmed from African lineage… in antiquity the Negro of North Africa was thought of as the ‘normal’ inhabitant of North Africa rather than the exception… we must readdress the notion that the Church Fathers of Africa Romana were only the offspring of Roman (Italian) colonists. The belief that they were Caucasian must be taken… with skepticism. The burden of proof is upon those who would make the African Church Fathers anything other than black, and not vice versa.” (Pg. 129-130)
This book is a fine extension of McKissic’s first ‘Roots’ book.
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