Title: Natural selection and the race problem
Description: Benjamin K. Hays, an Oxford, N.C. physician and public health officer, authored this treatise using Charles Darwin's doctrines of natural selection and evolution to explain his stance on the race issue. After providing a brief synopsis of Darwin's theory, Hays begins his commentary by discussing his belief that the black race is inferior to whites in the process of evolution. He suggests that they have benefited from their interactions with whites in this country, and that they will be protected and provided for by whites as long as they do not make attempts towards advancement and equality. Looking to the future, Hays predicts that if blacks do attempt to achieve equality, natural selection and history have revealed that the white race will prove dominant.
Subjects: Natural selection, Race, Human evolution, Social evolution, Social Darwinism, Evolution, African Americans, Race relations
Places: North Carolina, United States