"In the late 1960s through the late 1980s, the late John Henrik Clarke (1915-1998) was one of the foremost architects of the emerging discipline of Africana Studies/Africalogy as Professor of African World History in the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York and as the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor of African History at Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center. The study explores Clarke's development and conceptualization of Afrikan World History by examining his intellectual influences and training, his approach to teaching Afrikan World History, his notions regarding."--Publisher's website.

In the late 1960s through the late 1980s, the late John Henrik Clarke (1915-1998) was one of the foremost architects of the emerging discipline of Africana Studies/Africalogy as Professor of African World History in the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York and as the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor of African History at Cornell University s Africana Studies and Research Center. The study explores Clarke s development and conceptualization of Afrikan World History by examining his intellectual influences and training, his approach to teaching Afrikan World History, his notions regarding Afrikan agency and Afrikan humanity, his explorations of themes of Pan Afrikanism and national sovereignty, his ideas concerning the relevance of Afrikan culture in historical perspective, and his legacy in Afrikan intellectualism and culture, including his contribution to the Afrocentric paradigm that is the core of the discipline of Africana Studies/Africalogy. As an academician and intellectual, Clarke emerged as one of the leading theorists of Afrikan liberation and the uses of Afrikan history as a foundation and grounding for liberation. Under Clarke s formulation liberation was defined not simply as freedom from European domination, but fundamentally as the restoration of Afrikan sovereignty. He explored history s utility in moving an oppressed and subordinated people from a position of subjugation on multiple levels to full status as a self-sustaining, self-defining, self-directed, free, and independent people on a global stage. Further, the study examines the influence of indigenous Afrikan intellectualism in the United States in Afrikan cultural and intellectual history. Although a leader among European academy-trained Afrikan intellectuals who join the European academy largely beginning in the 1970s, Clarke s education and training were the product of a movement for the indigenization of Afrikan academic intellectualism in Harlem of the 1930s that can be traced back to the early nineteenth century. It is the first extensive critical examination of Clarke as an exemplar of indigenous intellectualism in Afrikan culture in the United States.

This collection of speeches covers an array of topics from the contributions of Nile Vally civilizations to the future of Pan-Africanism in the 21st century.

Originally published by A & B Books, Brooklyn, New York.

Earl E. Thorpe in his examination of Afrikan historians of the nineteenth through the mid twentieth centuries defined the historiographical problem with respect to Afrikan history as one of the neglect of the study of Afrikan people in the United States (and worldwide). This was, he argued, due to a Euro-American elitism that ignored those members of the human family who did not belong to the European group. The situation has since that time been expanded to a recognition of the paucity of critical examinations of some of the major students of Afrikan history whose influence has extended to Afrikan cultural, political, and intellectual movement in the United States and in the world and, with particular respect to historical research, has been profound.

Volume 7 of 12 Video Lectures A survey of African thought and world-view - WLIB African Americans the lonely nation away from home Black women in history The search for unity Dr. John Henrik Clarke was renowned for his dedication to the study of African peoples throughout history, both in Africa and the diaspora. Dr. Clarke was also widely regarded as a devoted and brilliant educator. His love for education, African peoples and the history of African peoples, translated directly into his work as a Pan-Africanist writer, historian and lecturer. He played a pivotal role in the creation of Africana studies and several professional institutions in academia. Interestingly enough, Dr. Clarke climbed to great academic heights without ever having earned a high school diploma. Born on January 1, 1915, in Union Springs, Alabama, John Henry Clark was the youngest child of John and Willie Ella Clark, sharecroppers. The Clark family eventually moved to Columbus, Georgia, in pursuit of better fortunes and the dream of owning their own land. Dr. Clarke, the future educator, never formally attended high school, dropping out of school in the 8th grade. Despite his mother’s desire that he pursue the family vocation of farming, in 1933, at the age of 18, he left the South as part of the Great Migration of blacks to the North, and headed to Harlem, New York. Dr. Clarke flourished in the fertile intellectual and cultural climate of the Harlem Renaissance. He joined study circles such as the Harlem History Club and the Harlem Writers' Workshop. In the Harlem History Club, he met John G. Jackson, Willis N. Higgins, and Arthur A. Schomburg, who became mentors in his self-taught study of African history. Through his association with members of the Harlem History Club as well as Richard B. Moore, J.A. Rogers, William Leo Hansberry and Josef ben Jochannan, Dr. Clarke learned much about black history. He immersed himself in the tradition that researched, wrote, and taught black history away from the formal institutions of higher learning. Despite his intensive work in black history, Dr. Clarke actually began his career in creative writing, with his first published work being a collection of poetry. He penned over fifty short stories, including "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black," his most famous. He was co-founder of the Harlem Quarterly and book review editor of the Negro History Bulletin. He sharpened his skills as a writer for the black-owned Pittsburgh Courier, the Ghana Evening News and later as associate editor of the magazine, Freedomways. He eventually changed his name to John Henrik, in honor of the playwright Henrik Ibsen; he also added an “e” to his surname, spelling it “Clarke.” During the Black Power movement in the 1960s, Dr. Clarke championed the redefinition of Africans in world history and the study of the African-American experience. In 1968, along with the Black Caucus of the African Studies Association, Dr. Clarke founded the African Heritage Studies Association, and was its first president. In 1969 he was appointed as the founding chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Studies Department at Hunter College in New York City. He was also a founding member of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters and the African-American Scholars' Council. Dr. Clarke also played an important role in the early history of Cornell University's Africana Studies & Research Center. He was the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor of African History at the Center in the 1970s, and made an invaluable contribution to the establishment of its curricula. In 1985, the Faculty of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University named the John Henrik Clarke Library after him. In keeping with his singular educational path and impressive teaching history, Dr. Clarke was the author of numerous articles that have appeared in leading scholarly journals. He also served as the author, contributor, or editor of 24 books, including collections of his own short stories. At the age of 78, John Henrik Clarke earned a doctorate from the non-accredited Pacific Western University, since renamed California Miramar University, in Los Angeles. It is easy to understand why Dr. Clarke is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of Africana Studies. He challenged the views of academic historians and helped transform the way African history was studied and taught. He was an academic pioneer and an outspoken champion of the accurate re-telling of the history of African people. John Henrik Clarke died on July 16, 1998. He is buried in Green Acres Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia. “History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. It tells them where they are but, more importantly, what they must be.”

Volume 4 of 12 Video Lectures The African impact on the American the civil war impact The African in the making of America slavery and resistance 1796-1850 The African man and Goddess The African world under siege Dr. John Henrik Clarke was renowned for his dedication to the study of African peoples throughout history, both in Africa and the diaspora. Dr. Clarke was also widely regarded as a devoted and brilliant educator. His love for education, African peoples and the history of African peoples, translated directly into his work as a Pan-Africanist writer, historian and lecturer. He played a pivotal role in the creation of Africana studies and several professional institutions in academia. Interestingly enough, Dr. Clarke climbed to great academic heights without ever having earned a high school diploma. Born on January 1, 1915, in Union Springs, Alabama, John Henry Clark was the youngest child of John and Willie Ella Clark, sharecroppers. The Clark family eventually moved to Columbus, Georgia, in pursuit of better fortunes and the dream of owning their own land. Dr. Clarke, the future educator, never formally attended high school, dropping out of school in the 8th grade. Despite his mother’s desire that he pursue the family vocation of farming, in 1933, at the age of 18, he left the South as part of the Great Migration of blacks to the North, and headed to Harlem, New York. Dr. Clarke flourished in the fertile intellectual and cultural climate of the Harlem Renaissance. He joined study circles such as the Harlem History Club and the Harlem Writers' Workshop. In the Harlem History Club, he met John G. Jackson, Willis N. Higgins, and Arthur A. Schomburg, who became mentors in his self-taught study of African history. Through his association with members of the Harlem History Club as well as Richard B. Moore, J.A. Rogers, William Leo Hansberry and Josef ben Jochannan, Dr. Clarke learned much about black history. He immersed himself in the tradition that researched, wrote, and taught black history away from the formal institutions of higher learning. Despite his intensive work in black history, Dr. Clarke actually began his career in creative writing, with his first published work being a collection of poetry. He penned over fifty short stories, including "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black," his most famous. He was co-founder of the Harlem Quarterly and book review editor of the Negro History Bulletin. He sharpened his skills as a writer for the black-owned Pittsburgh Courier, the Ghana Evening News and later as associate editor of the magazine, Freedomways. He eventually changed his name to John Henrik, in honor of the playwright Henrik Ibsen; he also added an “e” to his surname, spelling it “Clarke.” During the Black Power movement in the 1960s, Dr. Clarke championed the redefinition of Africans in world history and the study of the African-American experience. In 1968, along with the Black Caucus of the African Studies Association, Dr. Clarke founded the African Heritage Studies Association, and was its first president. In 1969 he was appointed as the founding chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Studies Department at Hunter College in New York City. He was also a founding member of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters and the African-American Scholars' Council. Dr. Clarke also played an important role in the early history of Cornell University's Africana Studies & Research Center. He was the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor of African History at the Center in the 1970s, and made an invaluable contribution to the establishment of its curricula. In 1985, the Faculty of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University named the John Henrik Clarke Library after him. In keeping with his singular educational path and impressive teaching history, Dr. Clarke was the author of numerous articles that have appeared in leading scholarly journals. He also served as the author, contributor, or editor of 24 books, including collections of his own short stories. At the age of 78, John Henrik Clarke earned a doctorate from the non-accredited Pacific Western University, since renamed California Miramar University, in Los Angeles. It is easy to understand why Dr. Clarke is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of Africana Studies. He challenged the views of academic historians and helped transform the way African history was studied and taught. He was an academic pioneer and an outspoken champion of the accurate re-telling of the history of African people. John Henrik Clarke died on July 16, 1998. He is buried in Green Acres Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia. “History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. It tells them where they are but, more importantly, what they must be.”