Was Simon of Cyrene a white or black man? by: Anonymous
I would beg to differ with your automatic assumption that he was black. North Africa has been inhabited for thousands of years, with even pre-historic drawings that have been found by various cultures and peoples. After pre-historic times, it has had Phoenician, Greek and during Jesus time, Roman rule. The indigenous population of North Africa are the Amazigh, but during that period there were many Greek, Roman and Cretan populations as well. Centuries later, with the spread of Islam, the Arabs also arrived from the Arabian peninsula and also settled there.
Simon of Cyrene was assumed to be Jewish from what is today eastern Libya, so ethnically he would be the same as the Libyans from that area, an ethnic mix of all that have come through the area. Physically, they range from light skinned (fair hair, blue eyes) to olive skinned, like most of the Mediterranean countries, to a minority of black people.
I am from Libya and this is why I'd like a correct reflection. This is not meant to deny anything, but I've seen this happen too many times that assumptions are made.. that because one is from Africa they're automatically assumed to be black, without taking into account geography, history or other complexities. As they say, things are never so black and white..
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