A Legacy of Black Intelligence pt. 7: John Henrik Clarke
Peace,
Here’s a quick and simple introduction (and blogger’s tribute) to the work of John Henrik Clarke: a historian, intellectual and primary initiator in the field of “Afrocentric Studies.”
I haven’t done a black history post in a while, so I figured I’d start back up with someone SERIOUS…and this’ll be a great start-up session if you haven’t heard of him yet.
He was born in 1915 (January 1st actually),and some of his works include
>> World’s Great Men of Color, Volume I: Asia, Africa and Historical Figures Before Christ…
>> The Image of Africa in the Mind of the Afro-American: African Identity in the Literature of the Struggles
>> New Dimensions in African World History: The London Lectures…
>> Christopher Columbus & the African Holocaust: The Rise of European Capitalism…and a lot more.
I also just got my hands on a copy of his “Rebellion in Rhyme” too – a short, RARE collection of some of his poetic works.
What makes this guy so important though is his contribution to what’s called the Afro-centric Perspective: he’s one of the first guys to come along and promote (and defend in the most intellectual circles) a perspective of history that DOES NOT place European accomplishments and European politics at the center of emphasis.
From the work of other scholars (Wade Nobles, Jawanza Kunjufu, Marimba Ani, etc.) we now understand how vital that is to the psychological development of Black people (especially the youth).
So his work – the hardcore, evidence-based historical science – layed the scholastic groundwork for a revolution in consciousness for African people worldwide. Thanks to him (and many other scholars like Cheikh Anta Diop, Ivan Van Sertima, etc.) people of African descent no longer have to look at themselves as secondary entities – as people with no significant contribution to civilization as a whole…
In fact, quite the opposite is true, and here’s a video to prove it:
“History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It’s also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography…most important, history tells a people where they still must go and what they still must be. The relationship of history to the people is the same as the relationship of a mother to her child…” ~ John Henrik Clarke
Peace,
+B
>> More videos of Clarke on Youtube…
>> More from the Black Intelligence Archives…
>> John Henrik Clarke at “Africa Within”
>> Join everyone on the facebook fanpage…
>> & check out the latest from “Today’s Transcendence…”
Leave your response!