BACK to PAGE 1

Penningroth also said that Europeans hoped the assimilation of slaves after the Emancipation would break down the African familial structure. But freedom ultimately strengthened them and their relationships with others. "Kinship," Penningroth said, "created solidarity and helped blacks resist hardships by whites."

Ivan van Sertima (right), literary critic, linguist, and anthropologist, emphasized how advanced African culture was at the time of the slave trade. Van Sertima believes the British refused to acknowledge the significance of African culture and explored the subject in his controversial book, They Came Before Columbus. Europeans, he said, ignored the African contributions in the fields of astronomical observations and steel production. Slavery, he said, simply eclipsed the accomplishments of Africans.

Van Sertima's main point was that no race has a monopoly on intelligence or culture. Amid roaring applause and enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, he said, "The race of man is just beginning."

LINKS
These sites are not part of J.Post, and the NYU Department of Journalism
and Mass Communication has no control over their content or availability.

Organization of Women Writers of Africa

UNESCO

NYU's Institute of African-American Affairs

NYU's Africana Studies Program

Order They Came Before Columbus from amazon.com