John Henrik Clarke Quotes

13 Sourced Quotes

The role of religions in the domination and destruction of African civilizations was ruthless... Islam was as guilty as all the rest.

John Henrik Clarke
Europeans not only colonized most of the world, they colonized information about the world.

John Henrik Clarke
When the early Europeans first met Africans, at the crossroads of history, it was a respectful meeting and the Africans were not slaves. Their nations were old before Europe was born.

John Henrik Clarke
We will have taken one giant step forward when we face this reality: Powerful people never teach powerless people how to take their power away from them.

John Henrik Clarke
History tells a people where they have been and what they have been, where they are and what they are. Most important, an understanding of history tells a people where they still must go and what they still must be.

John Henrik Clarke
To be black and beautiful means nothing in this world unless we are black and powerful.

John Henrik Clarke
Africa is our center of gravity, our cultural and spiritual mother and father, our beating heart, no matter where we live on the face of this earth.

John Henrik Clarke
Every form of true education trains the student in self-reliance

John Henrik Clarke
Everything that touches YOUR life, must be an instrument of YOUR liberation or tossed into the trash cans of HISTORY

John Henrik Clarke
It is unfortunate that so much of the history of Africa has been written by conquerors, foreigners, missionaries and adventurers. The Egyptians left the best record of their history written by local writers.

John Henrik Clarke
History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography.

John Henrik Clarke
If you expect the present day school system to give history to you, you are dreaming. This, we have to do ourselves. The Chinese didn't go out in the world and beg people to teach Chinese studies or let them teach Chinese studies. The Japanese didn't do that either. People don't beg other people to restore their history; they do it themselves.

John Henrik Clarke
Each generation must assume the responsibility of securing their manhood, their womanhood, the definition of their being on earth that in the final analysis is nationhood.

John Henrik Clarke