Is a zebra black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?

This site explains the patterns. Very funny actually, as white people say white with black stripes and Africans say black with white strips.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/11/03/zebra-stripe-patterns.aspx

According to a university research associate, who was answering this question:

It is generally believed that zebras are dark animals, with white stripes where the pigmentation is inhibited. The pigment of the hair is found solely in the hair and not in the skin. The reasons for thinking that they were originally pigmented animals are that (1) white horses would not survive well in the African plains or forests; (2) there used to be a fourth species of zebra, the quagga (which was overeaten to extinction in the eighteen hundreds). The quagga had the zebra striping pattern in the front of the animal, but had a dark rump; (3) when the region between the pigmented bands becomes too wide, secondary stripes emerge, as if suppression was weakening.

http://10e.devbio.com/article.php?id=342

It could be either. Not only is the hair black and white, its skin is actually black and white too.

There seems to be as many answers as a Zebra has, well stripes! It really depends on who you ask. You can check out these sites and come to your own conclusions.

The zebra is a black animal with white stripes.
  [ duke.edu/~carl/pattern/zebra_notes.htm no longer exists ]

The body is white with black stripes.
  [ torontozoo.com/meet_animals/details.asp?nav=3&AnimalId=405 no longer exists ]

It is also believed that zebras' skin colour is black with white stripes.
  [ aucklandzoo.co.nz/candoatakzoo/animals_zebra.html no longer exists ]

A zebra has neither black nor white stripes. Their hair color is the product of their skin color.
  [ louisville.edu/~bjwurt02/canwetrustwhatweknow.html no longer exists ]

Three different answers here: http://www.nilemuse.com/ZebraFAQ/

The logical answer (in black and white) is yes.

Another answer would be that perception of stripes depends on their background. A zebra lying in daylit snow is white with black stripes. A zebra at night appears black with white stripes. Zebras against a background of other colours could be seen as either.

Could be both...

White with black stripes or black with white stripes?

This is one of the most-asked questions about zebras. So what's up with the stripes? Zebras are generally thought to have white coats with black (sometimes brown) stripes. That's because if you look at most zebras, the stripes end on their bellies and toward the insides of the legs, and the rest is all white. However (there had to be a catch, right?), some zebras are born with genetic variations that make them all black with white stripes, or mostly dark with the striped pattern only on part of their coats. And as it turns out, zebras have black skin underneath their hair. So it kind of depends on how you look at it!

So, why the stripes? They serve as a kind of protection from predators! When zebras are grouped together, their stripes make it hard for a lion or leopard to pick out one zebra to chase. Different zebra species have different types of stripes, from narrow to wide. In fact, the further south on the African plains you travel, the farther apart the stripes on the zebras get!

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-zebra.html

Apparently, most Africans think zebras are black with white stripes. Zebra skin color is mostly black, but what we see are rows of white and black hair. This question is something similar to "which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

[ zoo.org/educate/fact_sheets/savana/zebra.htm no longer exists ]

Zebras are either white with black stripes, or black with white stripes: Gould, S. J. (1983) Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes: Further Reflections in Natural History. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
In particular refer to Chapter 29: How the Zebra Gets Its Stripes. One of the strongest pieces of evidence for black with white stripes, rather than white with black stripes comes from abnormal zebras where the 'stripes' form as dots and blotches rather than lines. These appear as white blotches on a black background, which is only understandable if it is normally a black animal with white stripes. An interesting picture of this phenomenon can be found here:
http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/Kenya/photo33224.htm
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra#_note-0

They are black with white stripes.

Some zebras have white fur on their bellies, which suggests that white is the background colour and the black stripes are a pattern that is added. But if you shaved a zebra, you would find a black-skinned animal underneath. As a zebra embryo develops in the uterus, it starts out black all over. The white stripes emerge afterwards as the genes that code for the dark pigment melanin are selectively deactivated for the hair follicles that cover certain areas of skin. This serves as effective camouflage.

https://www.howitworksdaily.com/are-zebras-black-with-white-stripes-or-white-with-black-stripes/