The Redevelopment of the Black Mind

Hotep (Peace)!!!

Take notes!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr. John Henrick Clarke’s book called, Notes For An African World Revolution: Africans at the Crossroads was published in 1991. It is one of my favorite texts. This book is a collection of essays written by this great historian. It drops large drinks of history, politics, Pan-Afrikanism, Black nationalism, and Afrikan centricity. The book gives scathing critiques of White supremacy and the system of racism. However, the book touches on the need for Black people to unify to reshape and remold the world for our own interests, particularly western faith traditions. Dr. Clarke argues that western faith traditions must be turned into instruments for Black empowerment by creating Black liberation theology in order to free the Afrikan world community from White and Arab religious cultural domination. Dr. Clarke analysis of the racial power dynamics in America, the world, and in western religions will challenge Black people intellectually to develop a needed internal Afrikan centered world view in our minds for Black liberation from White hegemony in this new millennium!!! Notes For An African World Revolution: Africans at the Crossroads is one of the most important books to have in your temple, synagogue, church, Masjid, mosque, school, organization, community center, library and study group. Dr. Clarke’s Notes for An African World Revolution: Africans at the Crossroads gives Black people a strong understanding of the need to seize power for us to become free and an independent people.

Let’s quote some text from the book on page 260. Dr. Clarke writes, “When we hear the brothers say this is the black man’s true religion [Islam], the black man existed for thousands of years before this religion came into being. What did he do for a religion before it came there? This religion rose in the seventh century A.D. The Black man has had religion 10,000 years before that: From those great Nile Valley religions came Judaism, Christianity, and the elements that went into Islam. Islam came out of the Nile Valley. All these great religions are derivative religions. I mean religions that came out of that were drafted from the great river of the original religions that came out of the Nile Valley....

But all of these religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have been turned into nationalist religions, White nationalist religions. The Arabs turned Islam into Arab nationalism. And all of it has been turned on you. All of it has been turned into a murder cult and turned on you.......

Now, because the Arabs use Islam as their personal property and use it for nationalism; the Whites use Christianity as a form of their nationalism; the Jews use Judaism as form of nationalism to take what doesn’t belong to them; Everybody in the world uses religion to take what doesn’t belong to them. Now what are we going to use to take back what belongs to us? And everybody worships a god. Everybody worships a god that physically resembles them but us. Because everybody uses religion based on their national need and their cultural understanding of themselves. We need an internal cultural revolution, and it’s going to have to start inside of our minds.”

Dr. John Henrick Clarke was a world renowned historian, intellectual, political theoretician, Black nationalist, and Pan-Afrikanist. He was a professor of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York from 1969 to 1986, where he served as founding Chairperson of the department. Dr. Clarke also was the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor of African History at Cornell University’s Africana Studies and Research Center. Additionally, in 1968 he founded the African Heritage Studies Association (A.H.S.A) and the Black Caucus of the African Studies Association. He worked with Malcolm X (Omawele El Hajj Malik El Shabazz to establish the Organization of Afro American Unity (the OAAU) on June 24, 1964. In 1984, he co-founded ASCAC (the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations). The ASAC organization is still in existence today with chapters all around America and in the world. Dr. Clarke lived from January 1, 1915 to July 12, 1998.

In conclusion, Dr. John Henrick Clarke has gone on to the realm of the eguugun (Yoruba for the realm of the ancestors). However, he was one of the greatest historians, intellectuals, and political theorists to ever live. His research, documentation, and analysis of history dissected White supremacist and racist notions of Black people, Afrikan History, Afrikan culture, and Afrikan spirituality. Dr. Clarke’s ideas for Black empowerment and Black liberation are still relevant today.

Asante sana (Kiswahili for thank you very much) for reading my commentary

Hotep!!!

O Daboo (Yoruba word for go with God until we meet again)!!!

-Bashir Muhammad Akinyele is a History Teacher, Black Studies Teacher, Community Activist, Chairperson of Weequahic High School's Black History Month Committee in Newark, NJ, commentary writer, and Co-Producer and Co-Host of the All Politics Are Local, the number #1 political Hip Hip radio show in America.

Note: Spelling Afrika with a k is not a typo. Using the k in Afrika is the Kiswahili way of writing Africa. Kiswahili is a Pan -Afrikan language. It is spoken in many countries in Afrika. Kiswahili is the language used in Kwanzaa. The holiday of Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January
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