Today In Black History: Dr. Ivan Van Sertima
Historian and Author: ”They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in America”
Issue #716 Today In Black History, Wednesday, August 28, 2024
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Ivan Van Sertima was an expert in African studies, author, historian, linguist, anthropologist, and literary critic whose work has irrevocably shaped our understanding of African history and its global impact.
Dr. Van Sertima, born on January 26, 1935, in Kitty Village, Guyana, was an associate professor of Africana Studies at Rutgers University in the United States. He was best known for his Olmec alternative origin speculations, a brand of pre-Columbian contact theory, which he proposed in his book They Came Before Columbus (1976).
In this influential book, Dr. Van Sertima presented a compelling case for the presence of African peoples in the Americas long before Columbus arrived in 1492. Drawing on linguistic, botanical, and archaeological evidence, he argued that African sailors had not only crossed the Atlantic but had significantly influenced the pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas.
In addition to his groundbreaking research on pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, Dr. Van Sertima made numerous contributions to African Studies. He founded the Journal of African Civilizations, a scholarly publication that has served as a vital platform for research and discourse on African history, culture, and achievements. Through this journal, he aimed to correct historical inaccuracies and provide a forum for the exploration and celebration of Africa's contributions to world civilization.
Just as with the publication of Dr. Nikole Hannah Jones's The 1619 Project, many so-called authorities claimed that They Came Before Columbus contained falsehoods and inaccurate research.
Dr. Van Sertima’s work challenged the Eurocentric narratives that had long dominated the discourse. It highlighted ancient African civilizations' sophistication and seafaring capabilities, fostering a deeper respect for and appreciation of Africa’s rich heritage.
In 1981, They Came Before Columbus received the "Clarence L. Holte Literary Prize". Dr. Van Sertima Sertima was inducted into the "Rutgers African-American Alumni Hall of Fame" in 2004.
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima died at age 74 on May 25, 2009, in Highland Park, New Jersey.
Today In Black History
In 1833, Britain officially abolished the slave trade.
In 1949, a riot by white supremacists prevented singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson from singing near Peekskill, New York.
In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till of Chicago was kidnapped, lynched, and dropped in a nearby river in Money, Mississippi, where he was visiting relatives. He was falsely accused of whistling at a white woman at a store. His mother opted for an open casket at his funeral, and a photograph of his bloated and battered body, published in Jet Magazine, sparked national outrage and started the modern Civil Rights movement. His killers were later acquitted of his murder.
In 1957, Democratic Senator Strom Thurmond began the longest filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, speaking for 24 hours and 18 minutes.
In 1963, 250,000 people gathered at the National Mall for the March of Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march was organized by A. Phillip Randolph and Bayard Rustin and featured Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. Another featured speaker was 23-year-old John Lewis, who was then the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Chairman.
In 1997, thousands of Haitian-Americans marched from Brooklyn to Manhattan to protest the savage beating of 30-year-old Haitian immigrant Abner Louima, who New York City police officers tortured.
In 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois officially accepted the Democratic Presidential Nomination before 80,000 people at the DNC convention in Denver, Colorado.
In 2018, award-winning singer Aretha Franklin laid in state in a 24-carat coffin at the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan.
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