Runoko Rashidi said he was surprised yet "exhilarated" when Dr. John Henrik Clarke joined him on stage during a conference presentation appropriately entitled "Race Women and Race Men: In Recognition of the African Intellectual Genealogy." No better introduction could have been planned for the preeminent scholar, Clarke, who appeared on stage accompanied by his new wife, Sybil Clair Williams, Dr. Leonard Jeffries of City College and Clarke’s assistant, Barbara True.
"Race Women and Race Men" was part of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization’s (ASCAC) 15th Annual Ancient Kemetic Studies Conference, which was held at City College March 13-15. The conference attracted hundreds of participants from all over the world.
On the first day of the conference, Rashidi was showing a slide presentation highlighting the lives of various men and women who’ve contributed to the field of Black Studies when he was interrupted by Nzinga Ratibisha Heru, International President of ASCAC.
"I would like to introduce to the African family, Mr. and Mrs. John Henrik Clarke" Heru announced. The crowd stood literally exploded with applause. Heru also introduced Clarke’s assistant, "Sister Barbara," and she introduced Jeffries as "A black man from the Nile, walking in the footsteps, standing on the shoulders of Dr. John Henrik Clarke."
A hush filled the crowded auditorium as Clarke began to speak. "I’m very pleased to be here, to be at home on my way back to work," he said to more applause. "I had an unfortunate illness to blame it on…but it’s not going to keep me from going back to work doing what I’m supposed to do…"
"The most important thing I have to do is stay in the struggle," he continued. "I’m glad that all of you are here…I have not lost my enthusiasm or my drive."
Clarke concluded his brief statement saying, "[If] you are in the struggle, I will be with you. Thank you very much."
Clarke remained on the stage while Rashidi, continued his presentation talking about Bishop Henry McNeal Turner referring to him and Edward Wilmont Blyden as "Garveys of the 19th Century." Turner lived during the post-Reconstruction era and in 1898, he wrote an article entitled "God is a Negro" in a publication called The Voice of Missions. In the article Turner wrote, "in my mind I believe we will ultimately have to go back to Africa."
Later in the chronological presentation, Rashidi showed a picture of Marcus Garvey and said "He is the closest thing I’ve found to God in my lifetime." Garvey(1887-1940) was the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, which headed the largest back to Africa Movement in history.
Concluding the presentation, Rashidi showed three slides of children. The last slide was of a young girl from Gambia looking directly into the camera. According to Rashidi, she "seems to be asking the same question the last poets asked in the early 1970’s, ‘Black folks what y’all gonna do?’"
Rashidi, being a link in what he calls "the intergenerational transmission of wisdom," said he dedicated his presentation to Clarke and Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, two current scholars who were both featured in the slides. He went on to say during the presentation that Clarke is like a father to him. "He is the father of all of us in so many ways."
In Rashidi’s own words, Clarke is like a father and Marcus Garvey is close to God. If looking at his statements using the Christian paradigm of the trinity, that would make Rashidi "the son."
Rashidi is living up to his legacy as "the son." He is a cultural historian who since 1981 has been lecturing on African history throughout the country. He travels extensively to other parts of the world researching the presence of African people. His articles and historical essays have appeared in Afro-Am, Return to the Source, and the Journal of African Civilizations. He is the author of a book entitled Introduction to the Study of African Classical Civilizations, and is a founding member of Amenta, Southern Cradle Research Organization and the Egyptian Civilization Monitoring Committee.
It’s important to note, however, that Rashidi is not an only child. Clarke has many "sons and daughters." Marimba Ani and Booker T. Coleman, who like Rashidi presented at this year’s Ancient Kemetic Studies Conference, give credit to Clarke for playing an important role in their development. Ani wrote in the acknowledgements to her groundbreaking book entitled Yurugu that "I owe my awakening and growth toward a Pan-African Nationalist consciousness to Professor John Henrik Clarke."
Coleman, public school curriculum evaluator and author of several curriculums including "The Kemetic Origin of the Universe" and "The Kemetic Origin of the Earth," says he has been studying under Clarke since he was 12 years old.
Clarke has trained many scholars, and is the author of numerous books including Africans at the Crossroads: Notes for an African World Revolution and most recently My Life in Search of Africa, an autobiographical sketch of his more than sixty-year career in the field of Black Studies.
Another one of Clarke’s contributions is the founding of ASCAC 15 years ago along with Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, Dr. Jacob H. Carruthers, Dr. Asa Hilliard, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, and Dr. Maulana Karenga. The mission of ASCAC is to promote the study of African civilizations by developing study groups and research institutions. The Ancient Kemetic Studies Conference has been an annual event ever since the organization’s inception.
This year’s conference theme was "Sebayet (The Instructions): The African Curriculum." According to Heru, who in the conference journal wrote that the theme "acknowledges and celebrates our scholars and activists who have participated in the thirty year movement of Black Studies." Clarke, Rashidi and the other scholars and participants who attended the conference definitely deserve this recognition.
Posted by RUNOKO RASHIDI
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