This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mariapujalte (talk | contribs) at 17:19, 9 November 2013 (→Career). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 17:19, 9 November 2013 by Mariapujalte (talk | contribs) (→Career)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "John Henrik Clarke" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality, and to make it neutral in tone. (November 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| John Henrik Clarke | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Henrik Clarke (1915-06-01)June 1, 1915 |
| Died | July 16, 1998(1998-07-16) (aged 83) |
| Occupation | Writer, historian, professor |
John Henrik Clarke (born John Henry Clark, June 1, 1915 – July 16, 1998), was a Pan-Africanist American writer, historian, professor, and a pioneer in the creation of Africana studies and professional institutions in academia starting in the late 1960s.
He was Professor of African World History and in 1969 founding chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York. He also was the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor of African History at Cornell University’s Africana Studies and Research Center. In 1968 along with the Black Caucus of the African Studies Association, Clarke founded the African Heritage Studies Association.
Early life and education
Born on January 1, 1915, in Union Springs, Alabama, as the youngest child to sharecroppers John (Doctor) and Willie Ella (Mays) Clark, he renamed himself John Henrik (after rebel playwright Henrik Ibsen) and added an "e" to his surname Clarke. With the hopes of earning enough money to buy land rather than sharecrop, his family moved to the nearest mill town, Columbus, Georgia. Clarke never formally attended high school, but attended Spencer High School due to overcrowding in the middle schools. Counter to his mothers's wishes for him to be a farmer, Clarke left Georgia in 1933 by freight train and went to Harlem, New York, where he pursued scholarship and activism.
Career
Marriage, Family and Death
Clarke had three children with his first wife, Eugenia Evans Clarke. He is survived by his second wife, Sybille Williams Clarke, and his two children, Nzingha Marie and Sonni Kojo. A third child Lillie preceded him in death.
John Henrik Clarke died on July 16, 1998, he is buried in Green Acres Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia.
Legacy and honors
- 1985 – Faculty of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University named the John Henrik Clarke Library after him.
- 1995 – Carter G. Woodson Medallion, Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History.
- 2002 – Molefi Kete Asante listed Dr. John Henrik Clarke as one of his 100 Greatest African Americans.
- 2011 – Immortal Technique includes a short speech by Dr. Clarke on his album The Martyr. It is Track 13, which is entitled "The Conquerors."
Published books
- Malcolm X: Man and His Times
- Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust
See also
- Ivan van Sertima
- Hubert Harrison
- Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
- Marcus Garvey
- John G. Jackson
- Afrocentrism
- African diaspora
- Yosef Ben-Jochannan
- Chancellor Williams
- Cheikh Anta Diop
- Amos N. Wilson
Notes
- Adams,Barbara E. John Henrik Clarke: Master Teacher. New York A&B Publishers Group ISBN 978-1-61759-012-2
- "History of the John Henrik Clarke Africana Library", reprinted from Black Caucus of the ALA Newsletter, vol. XXIV, No. 5 (April 1996), p. 11; Cornell University Library, accessed 20 January 2009.
- Molefi Kete Asante (2002). 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-963-8.
External links
- "John Henrik Clarke, Black Studies Advocate, Dies at 83" by Robert McG. Thomas Jr., July 20, 1998
- "The John Henrik Clarke Virtual Museum", National Black United Front Web Site
- "In Memory of John Henrik Clarke", Hunter College, City University of New York
- John Henrik Clarke bibliographies from Cornell University
- IMDB.com entry on the film John Henrik Clarke: A Great & Mighty Walk
- Photographs of John Henrik Clarke from the EBR African American Cultural Life digital collection, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- "John Henrik Clarke: His People’s Historian", Black Collegian
- "From SBA to SIA: A Great And Mighty Walk", AfricaWithin.com
- Dr. John Henrik Clarke on Freedomways w Dr. Todd Burroughs
- Requiem for a Timekeeper: Dr. Greg Carr on the Life and History of Dr. John Henrik Clarke
