Was the Green Lantern originally black or white?

My mother, father, and my uncle all said that the Green lantern was originally black. And I've seen a lot of pictures with him being african american. Then, I was at school, and I saw a Green lantern book. But, the Green lantern was white, with blonde hair. I looked up pictures of him agian and it showed him being white. Im really confused now. Is the Green Lantern white or black?