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Cheikh Anta Diop And the New Light on African History
In practice it is possible to determine directly the skin colour and hence the ethnic affiliations of the ancient Egyptians by microscopic analysis in the laboratory; I doubt if the sagacity of the researchers who have studied the question has overlooked the possibility." Cheikh Anta Diop
30 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2015
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March 21, 2025
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THIS IMPORTANT AFRICAN HISTORIAN
John Henrik Clarke (1915-1998) was an African-American historian, professor, and pioneer in Pan-African and Africana studies.
He begins this 1974 booklet with the statement, “Cheikh Anta Diop, one of the most able of present day scholars writing about Africa, is also one of the greatest living Black historians. His first major work, ‘Nations Negres et Culture’ (1955) is still disturbing the white historians who have [made] quick reputations as authorities on African history of culture. In this book Dr. Diop shows the interrelationships between African nations, north and south, and proves… that ancient Egypt was a distinct African nation and was not historically or culturally a part of Asia or Europe… This book and others of recent years, all by Black writers, have called for a total reconsideration of the role that African people have played in history and their impact on the development of early societies and institutions.” (Pg. 5-6)
He explains, “[Diop] refutes the myth of Egypt as a white nation and shows its southern African origins. It is his intention to prove that, through Egyptian civilization, Africa had made the oldest and one of the most significant contributions to world culture. This is not a new argument that started with Cheikh Anta Diop’s generation of Africans. The Ghanaian historian, Joseph B. Danquah, in his introduction to the book, ‘United West Africa at the Bar of the Family of Nations, by Ladipo Solanke, published in 1927, four years after Cheikh Anta Diop was born, said exactly the same thing.” (Pg. 7-8)
He notes, “‘The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality’ is a one-volume translation of the major sections of the first and last of the books by … Diop. These two works have challenged and changed the direction of attitudes about the place of African people in history in scholarly circles around the world. It was largely due to these works that … Diop, with W.E.B. Du Bois, was honored as ‘the writer who had exerted the greatest influence on African people in the 20th century’ at the World Festival of Arts held in Dakar, Senegal, in 1966. The main thesis of the present work is a redefinition of the place of Egypt in African history in particular and in world history in general… The civilization of Egypt, he maintains, is African in origin and in early development.” (Pg. 14-15)
He observes, “The Ethiopians say that the Egyptians were one of their colonies which was brought into Egypt by the deity Osiris. The Greek writer Herodotus repeatedly referred to the Egyptians as being dark-skinned people with woolly hair. ‘They,’ he says, ‘have the same tint of skin which approaches that of the Ethiopians.’” (Pg. 17) He continues, “If Egypt, after years of invasions by other people and nations was a distinct Black African nation at the time of Herodotus, shouldn’t we at least assume that it was more so before these invasions occurred?” (Pg. 19)
He recounts, “Until [recently]… Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop was known to only a small group of Black writers and teachers in the United States. For over seven years his books were offered to American publishers with no show of interest. Now two of his books will be published in the United States within one year. The Third World Press in Chicago is preparing to publish his book, ‘The Cultural Unity of Negro Africa.’” (Pg. 26-27)
He comments, “In the chapter called, ‘Birth of the Negro Myth,’ Dr. Diop shows how African people, whose civilizations were old before Europe was born, were systematically read out of the respectful commentary of human history… [Diop] deals with how Western historians, for the last five hundred years wrote or rewrote history glorifying the people of European extraction and distorted the history of the rest of the world.” (Pg. 29)
This book will be of great interest to fans of Dr. Diop’s writings, and those studying African-American and Africana history.
John Henrik Clarke (1915-1998) was an African-American historian, professor, and pioneer in Pan-African and Africana studies.
He begins this 1974 booklet with the statement, “Cheikh Anta Diop, one of the most able of present day scholars writing about Africa, is also one of the greatest living Black historians. His first major work, ‘Nations Negres et Culture’ (1955) is still disturbing the white historians who have [made] quick reputations as authorities on African history of culture. In this book Dr. Diop shows the interrelationships between African nations, north and south, and proves… that ancient Egypt was a distinct African nation and was not historically or culturally a part of Asia or Europe… This book and others of recent years, all by Black writers, have called for a total reconsideration of the role that African people have played in history and their impact on the development of early societies and institutions.” (Pg. 5-6)
He explains, “[Diop] refutes the myth of Egypt as a white nation and shows its southern African origins. It is his intention to prove that, through Egyptian civilization, Africa had made the oldest and one of the most significant contributions to world culture. This is not a new argument that started with Cheikh Anta Diop’s generation of Africans. The Ghanaian historian, Joseph B. Danquah, in his introduction to the book, ‘United West Africa at the Bar of the Family of Nations, by Ladipo Solanke, published in 1927, four years after Cheikh Anta Diop was born, said exactly the same thing.” (Pg. 7-8)
He notes, “‘The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality’ is a one-volume translation of the major sections of the first and last of the books by … Diop. These two works have challenged and changed the direction of attitudes about the place of African people in history in scholarly circles around the world. It was largely due to these works that … Diop, with W.E.B. Du Bois, was honored as ‘the writer who had exerted the greatest influence on African people in the 20th century’ at the World Festival of Arts held in Dakar, Senegal, in 1966. The main thesis of the present work is a redefinition of the place of Egypt in African history in particular and in world history in general… The civilization of Egypt, he maintains, is African in origin and in early development.” (Pg. 14-15)
He observes, “The Ethiopians say that the Egyptians were one of their colonies which was brought into Egypt by the deity Osiris. The Greek writer Herodotus repeatedly referred to the Egyptians as being dark-skinned people with woolly hair. ‘They,’ he says, ‘have the same tint of skin which approaches that of the Ethiopians.’” (Pg. 17) He continues, “If Egypt, after years of invasions by other people and nations was a distinct Black African nation at the time of Herodotus, shouldn’t we at least assume that it was more so before these invasions occurred?” (Pg. 19)
He recounts, “Until [recently]… Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop was known to only a small group of Black writers and teachers in the United States. For over seven years his books were offered to American publishers with no show of interest. Now two of his books will be published in the United States within one year. The Third World Press in Chicago is preparing to publish his book, ‘The Cultural Unity of Negro Africa.’” (Pg. 26-27)
He comments, “In the chapter called, ‘Birth of the Negro Myth,’ Dr. Diop shows how African people, whose civilizations were old before Europe was born, were systematically read out of the respectful commentary of human history… [Diop] deals with how Western historians, for the last five hundred years wrote or rewrote history glorifying the people of European extraction and distorted the history of the rest of the world.” (Pg. 29)
This book will be of great interest to fans of Dr. Diop’s writings, and those studying African-American and Africana history.
August 31, 2019
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