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Black Star: The African Presence in Early Europe
165 pages, Paperback
Published March 28, 2026
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May 15, 2026
A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BLACK AFRICANS IN EUROPE
Runoko Rashidi (1954-2021; born ‘Ronnie Ross,’ but at age 19 adopted the name ‘Runoko’---meaning ‘handsome counselor’) was an Afrocentrist author and lecturer.
He wrote in the Introduction of this 2011 book, “The African presence in Europe and the history of the African presence in Europe is very broad. This work focuses on a very different type of African in Europe, and highlights the Africans who contributed to the great civilization and historical movements in Europe. It does not deal with prehistory, African servants in Europe, Africans in the colonial armies of Europe, or the Africans struggling to survive in Europe today. This work focuses on the Africans who made lasting and stellar contributions to the culture and religious beliefs in Europe. It is bolstered by many on-site visits and much first-hand and primary research, and focuses on Europe’s Black Star---the African presence in early Europe.” (Pg. 24)
He summarizes, “This brief survey has examined and noted the African presence in Minoan Crete, Greek myth, Greek philosophy, and early Rome from a wide range of perspectives. Much of it is amazing. Some of the chroniclers of this story have been African and African-American, but just as many, if not more, have been European and European-American who saw things for what they were and dared to look beyond the veil. And yet this information has not penetrated into the popular imagination… One can only conclude that the apparent absence is due to the overwhelming and unrelenting effort of Eurocentric academia and scholarship to confine African history to slavery, servitude and colonization. The author hopes that this work will help to continue to tear away at this false vision of African contributions to the ancient world and pave the way for a more honest, balanced and objective look at not only what Africans have done, but what they have the capacity to do.” (Pg. 42-43)
He explains, “Many believe that the Black Madonnas of Europe represent vestiges of the adoration of the African goddess Ast---better known as Isis. Notre Dame Cathedral … considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and at the very centre of Paris, was built directly over an ancient temple of this supreme African deity. Indeed, it has been noted the name of Paris itself is derived from ‘Park of Isis.’” (Pg. 52)
He acknowledges, “According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Moors, as early as the Middle Ages and as late as the 17th century, were ‘commonly supposed to be black or very swarthy, and hence the word is often used for Negro.’ There is considerable difficulty, however, in determining the ethnicity of the early Moors through terminology. Indeed, there are several terms that have been used to identify the Moors. Arabic texts, for example, rarely used the word ‘Moor,’ and instead applied the term ‘Berber’---a word thought by some to be pejorative---to the early non-Arab peoples of northwest Africa. And when not employing that term, they utilized the clan names of the Berbers themselves. In addition, early Christian sources often applied the term ‘Saracen’ indiscriminately to Muslim populations in general, including the Moors.” (Pg. 55)
He states, “During the Middle Ages, because of his dark complexion and Islamic faith, the Moor became in Europe a symbol of guile, evil, and hate. In medieval literature demonic figures were commonly depicted with black faces… During the European Renaissance, explorers, writers, and scholars began to apply the term ‘Moor’ to Black people in general.” (Pg. 58-59)
He reports, “While many historians refer to Tarik’s soldiers as Berbers and Arabs, primary sources, such as Iby Husayn (circa 950) recorded that these troops were ‘Sudanese,’ an Arab word for Black people… some modern writers have attempted to place an artificial wedge between these early Berbers and Blacks. References to these Blacks have so puzzled some modern scholars that there have been vain attempts to explain away and discredit their very existence… There is really no need to speculate on the ethnicity of these early invaders of the conquest period. Primary Christian sources relating to the conquest… make the following observation regarding the Moors: ‘Their faces were black as pitch, the handsomest among them as black as a cooking pot.’” (Pg. 75-76)
He says, “We are looking now, beginning in the early 16th century, at outstanding Black men in Europe during a time of African decline and European ascendancy. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade is underway and the African men in Europe under study here can be said to have achieved in spite of great odds. They were exceptional. Indeed, they were remarkable. Sadly, I could find no Black women in Europe at this time who distinguished themselves in governance, the arts, literature, the military, in aristocratic circles, etc. If isolation and rarity are the barometers it would seem that they would have been very lonely men, and one cannot help but wonder what they knew and thought of each other. To my knowledge, such a study of such a fascinating theme has not been done.” (Pg. 111)
He says of the Russian novelist Alexander Sergeivich Pushkin, “Pushkin clearly saw himself as a Black man and closely identified himself with those Africans held in hostage in bondage in the America… I felt that it was my mission, during the course of my presentations, to stress that, first of all, Pushkin was not an isolated entity in European history and that many, many Africans before, during and after Pushkin had made their mark in Europe and had left brilliant, even if sometimes little-known, legacies in the northern part of the world. In addition, I was determined to demonstrate to Africans and Russians alike that our history around the world, including Europe, did not begin with and will not end in bondage. I felt as though I was honoring and championing not only Pushkin himself, but African people everywhere.” (Pg. 122-123)
He notes, “there are many Black scholars who are to be commended for their work on the African presence in Europe and we have labored here to acknowledge a considerable portion of them. However, I would like to focus here, at the end of our text, on four men who not only immersed themselves in the scholarship but who merged their scholarship with activism in the Black community. I think of them as more than scholars. I think of them as both scholars and ‘Race Men’ who saw research and scholarship as a means of social uplift. They are heroes [to] me and warrant special recognition.” (Pg. 133-134)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying the history of Black Africans outside of Africa.
Runoko Rashidi (1954-2021; born ‘Ronnie Ross,’ but at age 19 adopted the name ‘Runoko’---meaning ‘handsome counselor’) was an Afrocentrist author and lecturer.
He wrote in the Introduction of this 2011 book, “The African presence in Europe and the history of the African presence in Europe is very broad. This work focuses on a very different type of African in Europe, and highlights the Africans who contributed to the great civilization and historical movements in Europe. It does not deal with prehistory, African servants in Europe, Africans in the colonial armies of Europe, or the Africans struggling to survive in Europe today. This work focuses on the Africans who made lasting and stellar contributions to the culture and religious beliefs in Europe. It is bolstered by many on-site visits and much first-hand and primary research, and focuses on Europe’s Black Star---the African presence in early Europe.” (Pg. 24)
He summarizes, “This brief survey has examined and noted the African presence in Minoan Crete, Greek myth, Greek philosophy, and early Rome from a wide range of perspectives. Much of it is amazing. Some of the chroniclers of this story have been African and African-American, but just as many, if not more, have been European and European-American who saw things for what they were and dared to look beyond the veil. And yet this information has not penetrated into the popular imagination… One can only conclude that the apparent absence is due to the overwhelming and unrelenting effort of Eurocentric academia and scholarship to confine African history to slavery, servitude and colonization. The author hopes that this work will help to continue to tear away at this false vision of African contributions to the ancient world and pave the way for a more honest, balanced and objective look at not only what Africans have done, but what they have the capacity to do.” (Pg. 42-43)
He explains, “Many believe that the Black Madonnas of Europe represent vestiges of the adoration of the African goddess Ast---better known as Isis. Notre Dame Cathedral … considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and at the very centre of Paris, was built directly over an ancient temple of this supreme African deity. Indeed, it has been noted the name of Paris itself is derived from ‘Park of Isis.’” (Pg. 52)
He acknowledges, “According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Moors, as early as the Middle Ages and as late as the 17th century, were ‘commonly supposed to be black or very swarthy, and hence the word is often used for Negro.’ There is considerable difficulty, however, in determining the ethnicity of the early Moors through terminology. Indeed, there are several terms that have been used to identify the Moors. Arabic texts, for example, rarely used the word ‘Moor,’ and instead applied the term ‘Berber’---a word thought by some to be pejorative---to the early non-Arab peoples of northwest Africa. And when not employing that term, they utilized the clan names of the Berbers themselves. In addition, early Christian sources often applied the term ‘Saracen’ indiscriminately to Muslim populations in general, including the Moors.” (Pg. 55)
He states, “During the Middle Ages, because of his dark complexion and Islamic faith, the Moor became in Europe a symbol of guile, evil, and hate. In medieval literature demonic figures were commonly depicted with black faces… During the European Renaissance, explorers, writers, and scholars began to apply the term ‘Moor’ to Black people in general.” (Pg. 58-59)
He reports, “While many historians refer to Tarik’s soldiers as Berbers and Arabs, primary sources, such as Iby Husayn (circa 950) recorded that these troops were ‘Sudanese,’ an Arab word for Black people… some modern writers have attempted to place an artificial wedge between these early Berbers and Blacks. References to these Blacks have so puzzled some modern scholars that there have been vain attempts to explain away and discredit their very existence… There is really no need to speculate on the ethnicity of these early invaders of the conquest period. Primary Christian sources relating to the conquest… make the following observation regarding the Moors: ‘Their faces were black as pitch, the handsomest among them as black as a cooking pot.’” (Pg. 75-76)
He says, “We are looking now, beginning in the early 16th century, at outstanding Black men in Europe during a time of African decline and European ascendancy. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade is underway and the African men in Europe under study here can be said to have achieved in spite of great odds. They were exceptional. Indeed, they were remarkable. Sadly, I could find no Black women in Europe at this time who distinguished themselves in governance, the arts, literature, the military, in aristocratic circles, etc. If isolation and rarity are the barometers it would seem that they would have been very lonely men, and one cannot help but wonder what they knew and thought of each other. To my knowledge, such a study of such a fascinating theme has not been done.” (Pg. 111)
He says of the Russian novelist Alexander Sergeivich Pushkin, “Pushkin clearly saw himself as a Black man and closely identified himself with those Africans held in hostage in bondage in the America… I felt that it was my mission, during the course of my presentations, to stress that, first of all, Pushkin was not an isolated entity in European history and that many, many Africans before, during and after Pushkin had made their mark in Europe and had left brilliant, even if sometimes little-known, legacies in the northern part of the world. In addition, I was determined to demonstrate to Africans and Russians alike that our history around the world, including Europe, did not begin with and will not end in bondage. I felt as though I was honoring and championing not only Pushkin himself, but African people everywhere.” (Pg. 122-123)
He notes, “there are many Black scholars who are to be commended for their work on the African presence in Europe and we have labored here to acknowledge a considerable portion of them. However, I would like to focus here, at the end of our text, on four men who not only immersed themselves in the scholarship but who merged their scholarship with activism in the Black community. I think of them as more than scholars. I think of them as both scholars and ‘Race Men’ who saw research and scholarship as a means of social uplift. They are heroes [to] me and warrant special recognition.” (Pg. 133-134)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying the history of Black Africans outside of Africa.
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