Frances Luella Welsing (née Cress; March 18, 1935 – January 2, 2016) was an American psychiatrist and well-known proponent of the melanin theory.

While Welsing was an assistant professor at Howard University, she formulated her first body of work in 1969, The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation.

[7] In her book Welsing talks about the genocide of people of color globally, along with issues faced by black Americans.

Welsing believed that injustice caused by racism will end when "non-white people worldwide recognize, analyze, understand and discuss openly the genocidal dynamic.

Black men are at the center of Welsing's discussion because, according to her, they "have the greatest potential to cause white genetic annihilation.

She attributed AIDS and addiction to crack cocaine and other substances to "chemical and biological warfare" by white people.

[9] Welsing defined racism as: "Racism (white supremacy) is the local and global power system dynamic, structured and maintained by those who classify themselves as white; whether consciously or subconsciously determined; this system consists of patterns of perception, logic, symbol formation, thought, speech, action and emotional response, as conducted simultaneously in all areas of people activity: economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex, and war.

She gave as an example George Washington Carver, saying that his melanin enabled plants to talk to him and reveal their nutritional qualities.

[13][14] Welsing was mourned by Benjamin Chavis, president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association,[15] by Kevin Washington, president of the Association of Black Psychologists,[16] and by Chuck D of Public Enemy, who credited her as inspiration for the album Fear of a Black Planet.