The blog post, titled "Beethoven may have been black," which was published by The Concordian of Concordia College was originally posted in 2015 and speculates his racial background, beginning with his mother.

Author Naomi Swanson suggests that Beethoven's mother, Maria Magdalena Keverich, was of Moorish descent — settlers originating from northern Africa and migrating into present-day Spain.

Swanson also suggests in her writing that his father, Johann Van, was born in Moorish territory.

Highlighting the lack of reliability in portraits during Beethoven's life due to the many variances, Swanson cited physical descriptions of the musical composer from "credible sources."