BOOKS BY JOHN HENRIK CLARKE

Dr. John Henrik Clarke is considered the grandfather of African History.  His presence, knowledge base, even temper, and greatest of all, his love for African people have come together in perfect proportion to create a great human being.  The only characteristic that surpasses his scholarship are his storytelling skills.  A natural born griot, he will draw you into a topic as boring as sitting in traffic as if it’s a live play-by-play of a football/tennis game.  Thankfully this Ancestor has left an important collection of books to further ponder his well researched ideas.

John Henrik Clarke Book List

1. African People in World History Clarke, John Henrik
2. Black American Short Stories: A Century of the Best Clarke, John Henrik
3. Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust: Slavery and the Rise of European Capitalism Clarke, John Henrik ; Jeffries, Leonard ; Scobie, Edward
4. Marcus Garvey and the Vision of Africa Clarke, John Henrik
5. My Life in Search of Africa Clarke, John Henrik
6. New Dimensions in African History: From the Nile Valley to the New World: Science, Invention & Technology, the London Lectures of Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochan John Henrik, Clarke
7. Notes for an African World Revolution: Africans at the Crossroads, by John Henrik Clarke John Henrik, Clarke
8. Who Betrayed the African World Revolution?: And Other Speeches Clarke, John Henrik
9. William Styron's Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond Clarke, John Henrik
10. World's Great Men of Color, edited by John Henrik Clarke, by J. A. Rogers

When I first got my hands on “Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust” years ago, the title alone startled me.  Prior to that point, I hadn’t even called into question the exploits of this geographically lost slave trader.  What Clarke would expose me to was a much deeper and critically thinking look into his life and the events that followed.  Dr. Clarke says in this book, ​

“Columbus was a thief, an invader, an organizer of rape of Indian Women, a Slave Trader, a reactionary religious fanatic, and the personal director of a campaign of mass murder…”
-- Dr. John Henrik Clarke, “Christopher  Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust”

That certainly got my attention.  After reading more into how he was actually attempting to travel to India, I was so done.  The way traditional history books read, this man was a regular sailor trying to find gold.  The bloodbath left in his wake was not mentioned, nor his seedy activities onboard his ship.  Even if this book is not assigned reading for high schools, it should at minimum be a part of an extracurricular book club, or maybe excerpts could be compared and contrasted with the assigned material.  There are only 123 pages and he always shares a meaningful bibliography for the curious to follow up on.  School systems have already started updating some of their curriculum choices in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.  I discussed details of how this is being done in a post called, "Black YA Fiction Books to close out 2020."

How fortunate we are that we can view this eminent scholar on Youtube for a potent dose of his wisdom at our leisure.  I remember seeing him live years ago at Kennedy King College in Chicago.  It was packed.  Some dared to get on the microphone and ask a question.  He had a way of almost assassinating the question with his sharp and poignant answers.  He wasn’t boastful or argumentative.  He just calmly picked apart every sentence, and offered references for his responses which sent every student back to the library or wherever they came up with their theories.  He wasn’t even able to use any notes at the time because he had lost his eyesight.  His recollection was so keen, no notes were needed.

​His understanding and command of world events allowed him to summarize and give conclusions that last the test of time. In his interview with Tony Brown called, “John Henrik Clarke Interview (1973)” he commented on the word “Negro” with this:

“A people must have a name that relates them to land, history and culture… a name of a people has to relate to a land of origin.”
- John Henrik Clarke

He went on to say the term “African-American” or “Afro-American” would serve us well, as Italian-Americans do for example.  His use of the term in the interview of 1973 occurred before Rev. Jesse Jackson announced a movement to use the term at a news conference in 1989, as reported in the NY Times.

Dr.  Clarke almost seemed to draw on his knowledge of the past as if consulting a crystal ball to best address current events. One of my favorite books written by Clarke is his autobiography called, “My Life in Search of Africa.”  He recounts a story of his childhood which caused a stir in his psyche.  On or around the age of 14, he approached a lawyer who had an extensive library to borrow a history book.  He wanted to read it so he could give a presentation during the school’s current events period.  He wanted to speak about “African People in Ancient History.” The lawyer named Gagsteider responded, “John, I’m sorry, but you came from a race of people who have no history.”  Clarke shares that the curiosity that was raised after the lawyer dropped that psychological bombshell combined with his desire to present something to his favorite teacher sent him on s personal mission to complete his project.  And the rest is history.  This is a most charming read that highlights how his knowledge of self and culture was shaped by the community.  

Here are a few quotes from his book, “My Life in Search of Africa”

John Henrik Clarke Quotes

“...the woman is the giver of life, ... you cannot have a society where one half of that society is bared from full participation in society.  You cannot imprison her brain and build a new society because you need the input of all minds… you still have to let her have the ability to let her mind go, and be creative, and to make her creative contribution to the totality of society without demeaning a single man.”

​“Most African states are politically still-born children.  Still-born because they’re using a  European parliamentary procedure that does not fit Africa.  They’re trapped with a European economic system that’s alien to Africans’ economic way of thinking.”

“We have spent too much time seeking our oppressor’s approval.  We have to stop caring about his approval because he will not approve of anything that will make us free of his domination, because he is intent on dominating the world.”

Clarke co-authored a book called, “New Dimensions in African History” with the man he loved like a brother named Yosef ben-Jochannan.  It consists of lectures delivered in 1986 London, England.  In less than 200 pages, the two of them summarize volumes of history in a very short period.  Pre-colonial history, African resistance to colonial domination along with an extensive Question & answer session at the end of each set of lectures.

Don't know where to begin?

Am going to take you back to a book he wrote in 1993 called, "African People in World History."  A very short read, but it gives you the gist of his scholarship.  Next try his "Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust or "New Dimensions in African History."  It's a tough call, but I will say whatever you choose will likely provide information previously unknown to do further research on.

Final Thoughts

​As always, I appreciate that you have read through this blog post.  I hope that you’ve become curious to read more books by. Dr. John Henrik Clarke.  We ask that you consider purchasing your books from our Black owned bookstore, Afriware Books, Co.  If there is a title you’d like to purchase that is not mentioned here, or could not be found on the website, feel free to email us at:  [email protected]