John Henrik Clarke
[January 1, 1915] - [July 16, 1998]
Birthplace: Union Springs, Alabama
Resting Place: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York
Family
Spouse: Sybille Williams
Children: None
Parents: John Henry Clark, Adeline Clark
Known Relatives:
Education
Schools:
- Columbia University
- New York University
- California Miramar University
Degrees:
- M.A. in History, Columbia University
Occupation:
- Historian, author, professor
Connections
All Known affiliates:
Known peers:
Known colleagues:
Mentors:
Legacy
Bibliography:
- The Black Man’s Guide to the United Nations
- The African Past: Chronicles of the Dark Continent
- The Peoples of the Sun: A History of the African People
- Notes for a Black History of the United States
- A History of Africa in 100 Objects
Achievements:
- Founded the African Heritage Studies Association
- Received the American Book Award
- Named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans of the 20th Century
Known for:
- Promoting African history and culture
- Writing about the African diaspora
- Inspiring a generation of black scholars
Quotes
- ”We must restore to the African people their lost history."
- "The African is not a problem to be solved. The African is a people to be respected."
- "The history of Africa is the history of the world."
- "We must learn to see ourselves as Africans first, and Americans second."
- "We must never forget that we are Africans.”
Historian, Lecturer, philosopher, writer, Pan Africanist
he was born John Henry Clark on January 1, 1915, in Union Springs, a small farming community in Alabama and died Dr John Henrik Clarke in Mount Sinai, New York, July 16,1998. John Henrik Clarke was not destined to become a small farmer as his parents thought, he beat the odds to become a stalwart in the genre of African History and education. At 18 years of age he hightailed it out of Alabama, hopped a freight train to New York, where he not only changed his name but changed his expectations and his destiny.
Education and Career
Joining the migration of rural black youths from the South to the more hospitable cities towards blacks in the North, John Henry headed to Harlem, New York, where he changed his middle name to Henrik in honor of his literary hero, noted European playwright Henrik IBsen ( A Doll’s House, Peer Gynt fame). He also modified the spelling of his last name by adding an “e” to the end making it Clarke.
Dr Clarke elevated himself from the son of a sharecropper and a washer woman to become the founder and chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York from 1969 to 1986. He was the recipient of the Carter G. Woodson Medallion for Distinguished Visiting Professors of African History at Cornell University Africana Studies and Research Center 1986. In 1968 he founded the African Heritage Studies Association from which evolved the Black Caucus of The African Studies, another of his brainchild. At the age of 77 years in 1992 he earned a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Western University and went on to 2 years later to acquire his doctorate from said university (renamed California Miramar University) in Los Angeles in 1994 at the age of 79 years.
Realizing that not only the damaging effects of World War 1 on the economy in rural communities but other demographic changes had resulted in an influx of African Americans in Harlem, Clarke aligned himself to groups from which he could garner some sort of education, regardless of how unorthodox it may seem at that time. An unwritten coalition had been formed among the varying professionals who resided in that section of the city and he made full use of what was being freely offered then to launch his career. He joined intellectual groups as the Harlem History Club, Harlem Writer’s Workshop, the League of Professional Writers, he also attended New York University, Columbia University and Hunter College aperiodically based on his finances or scholarships that he pursued voraciously.
With his penchant for joining groups combined with a natural instinct to learn more about his people, it is not surprising that he played an integral role in the Black Power Movement in the late 1960’s. He was also one of the pioneers in the establishment of the Pan African Movement. Challenging the way African History was taught, Dr Clarke advocated for the study of African-American cultural,economical and social experience, insisting that Africans be aware of their authentic place in World History and not the distorted version that was being propagated and taught by europeans.
Religion
The origin of every religion have their roots in Africa. Catholicism, Christianity, Islam, all originated in Africa. Even Rastafarianism, although made popular by Robert Nesta Marley, a Jamaican native, has its roots in Africa and Dr John Henrik Clarke is one, if not the most knowledgeable Black speaker on religion as it affects the African people and their culture.
Whoever is in control of the hell in your life, is your devil. Excerpt from the book: Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust- Dr. John Henrik Clarke 1992
This opening quote is a clear indication of Dr. Clarke’s stance on religion. There are several other quotes on european religious conceptualization that cannot be ignored once one has been exposed to this eminent scholar thought provoking views. It doesn’t matter how ardent a supporter of the “white man’s” God you are, this eloquent orator, without any inflection of threat or coercion in his voice compels you to question the traditional religious texts. After reading Dr. Clarke’s works or listening to his speeches particularly those on the three major religions, it will be difficult to accept without questioning the veracity of Christianity as outlined in the Bible.
Challenging the ethnicity of Jesus Christ as purported by Europeans,in the Holy Bible may constitute blasphemy to the converted or believers in the european deity. While not condemning the Bible, Dr. Clarke stipulated that one should not believe everything that one reads as there are contradictions and parts thereof that was written to assist in the submission of Africans so as to make them more malleable to their slave masters. Afterall, they had not the capacity to totally destroy the Africans. Arguably, they could beat them, work them, starve them into submission but they could not break their inner strength.
He expressed his belief that Christianity was the stratagem of european imperialism, Islam is the instrument of Arab Imperialism, while the Hebrew faith was the contivance of (fostering belief in) a chosen people. On the authority of Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Africa has been under attack for 3,000 years. He rationalizes his religious perspectives on the hypothesis that “if God is kind and God is merciful and has no stepchildren, won’t choose one over the other.” Dr Clarke is of the view that if God chose some people over the others God would be a “bigot.” He postulated that whatever came from the outside was not meant to benefit but to “ lay siege” to the African people. He stated that if one believes that God endorsed slavery, it would be like making God an accessory to murder. Some may think this blasphemous but this signifies his deep religious beliefs. The God he believes in is one that is kind, merciful, and has no bias. By virtue of his religious convictions, his pragmatic perspective on the predicament of the African people and the root of their problems, Dr. Clarke is viewed as a black radical by many europeans. He intimated that the three major world religions; Christianity, Islam and Judaism (referred to by him as the Hebrew Faith) have in some way impacted the Africans negatively.
This self explanatory quote sums up his religious views perfectly: I have no romance with religion, I have no romance in any of them.I have romance with the truth and reality and the chips may fall wherever they lie!”
Summary
Dr John Henrik Clarke was an exceptional African American who broke family tradition at age 18 when he migrated from a small, rural farming community in Alabama to Harlem New York where he had no relatives or friends previously. A self-made man who alternated between working and the pursuit of knowledge of his ancestors, rose above his peers to become one of the most prolific speaker and writer on African culture, economy, and people. His unapologetic criticism of the european insurgence into Africa and its devastating effects are well documented. Never subordinating to the european culture and refused to be hushed he spent his life trying to revive the consciousness of the African people through his writings, lectures and speeches. He exited this world in 1998, a new state of the art library wing at —- was named in his honor. Although he was born in the USA, he endeared himself to Africans all over the globe.
In the words of Dr John Henrik Clarke: “It’s time for black people to stop playing the separating game of geography, of where the slave ship put us down. We must concentrate on where the slave ship picked us up.” “Africans in in the Americas must remember that the ships brought no West Indians, no Caribbeans, no Jamaicans or Trinidadians or Barbadians to this hemisphere.The slave ships brought only Africa people and most of us took the semblance of nationality from the places where the slave ships dropped us off.”
African people should not only be aware of where they are but should know their origin.
Link
https://www.african-warrior-scholars.com/dr-john-henrick-clarke-biography/