Or. Mae C. Jemison became the
first black woman in space in
1992.
Guion Bluford became the first
black astronaut in space in 1983.
Dr. Ronald McNair, the second
African American in space, died
in the 1986 explosion of the
space shuttle Challenger.
leaching Africans
True History
By CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD
Special to I he Chmnicle
*
"History," says Dr. John
Henrik Clarke, "tells a people
where they have been and what
they have been, where they are
and what they are, and most
important, an understanding of
history tells a people where they
still must go and what they still
must be."
A historian, educator and
writer, Clarke laments, "So much
of the history of Africa has been
written by conquerors, missionar
ies and adventurers. For five hun
dred years, the history of African |
people has been mainly interpret
ed by non-Africans who had their '
own interest at heart."
Clarke's book, "African ,
People in World History," aims to ,
set the record straight. Clarke (
guides readers along a narrative
journey spanning from antiquity ]
to the present. In this easy-to-read
lecture, he comments on some of (
the significant people and events
that shaped)' African, African
American, and^world history. The
volume serves as an introduction
to the history of Africans on the
continent and the diaspora.
"African People in World
History" inaugurates the Black
Classic Press Contemporary
Lecture Series, which is devoted
to publishing views expressed by
leading contemporary thinkers
and essayists.
Clarke qualifies as professor i
emeritus of both African and 1
world history at Hunter College. ]
.He has dedicated his life to t
uncovering the identity and pre- i
serving the place of African peo- ]
pie in world history.
Born in Alabama and raised
in Columbus, Ga., Clarke admits,
"I began to suspect at a very early i
age that someone had distorted
the image of my people."
He reflects, "My journey to
the classroom was long and hard.
There were times when my class
room was the streets of Harlem
and I taught from a stepladder."
He arrived in Harlem in 1933.
His quest for knowledge and truth
led him to the Schomburg Center
and to New York University. His
path crossed those of teachers,
historians and bibliophiles like
J.A. Rogers and Willis N.
Huggins.
These men not only provided
him with inspiration, they recom
mended the reference txx>ks by
which he became self-educated. A
voracious reader, Clarke offers a 1
supplemental bibliography in
"African People in World
History." He also encourages the
efforts of other African-American 1
writers, endorsing their work as
classroom texts.
Clarke says he firmly
believes, "History is a compass
that people use to find themselves
jbn the map of human geography."
Thus, his work charts a course for
descendants of Africans to claim (
their true identity. 1
J
The Sky's the Limit
African Americans,
Astronomy, Aviation and 1
Aeronautics
1
Egyptian Sun Worshippers '
Man has always looked to the 1
heavens and been fascinated with \
the sky. Ancient cultures mea
sured the length of the seasons 1
using the sun and stars, f
Astronomer-priests supervised 1
f
the building of Egypt's Great
Pyramid of Giza to make sure it
faced exactly north, where the
Egyptians believed heaven lay.
The astronomer-priests used the
stars of the constellation Big Bear
(Ursa Major) to point the four
sides of the Great Pyramid exact
ly north, south, east and west.
With vast knowledge of
mathematics and the science, the
Egyptians also built shrines to the
sun god. Re, whom they wor
shipped for bringing warmth and
light to the land. They thought the
sun and moon gods traveled
across the sky in a boat over the
back of the sky goddess. Nut.
During the night, temple priests
prayed for the sun's return.
Evidence of these beliefs was
written in tombs, temples and
monuments and on mummy
:ases.
Benjamin Banneker: Star
Glazer
An astronomer, surveyor,
-nathematician and inventor,
Benjamin Banneker was bom in
1731 on a Maryland farm. He
attended a Quaker school where
le enjoyed mathematics so much
hat he often made up math prob
ems just for the fun of solving
hem. At age 19, he saw his first
jocket watch and was determined
o make one himself. His wooden
imepiece, the first clock built in
he United States, kept perfect
ime for mote than 40 years. By
?:?~ *l. ' A ?
unit ui ii ic American
Revolution, Banneker had begun
to study astronomy. He quickly
mastered the science and accu
rately predicted a solar eclipse for
April 14, 1789. He later began
publishing an almanac which list
ed eclipses and holidays, and pre
dicted weather, sunrises, sunsets
and high and low tides. His
almanacs also included poems,
medical information and anti
slavery essays. In 1791, President
George Washington appointed
Banneker to the civil engineering
team to lay out the nation's capi
tal. When Pierre L'Enfant, die
head engineer, abruptly quit and
took the plans with him. Banneker
redrew the plans from memory.
Following Stars to
Freedom
The Underground Railroad, a
secret escape system, took run
away slaves through fields,
swamps, woods and back roads
by horse, wagon, train or foot.
Runaway slaves fled north to free
states and Canada, west to
Mexico, and south to Florida and
the Caribbean. Along the way, the
slaves were helped by people who
fed, sheltered and hid them.
Human rights leaders Harriet
Tubman, Frederick Douglass,
Sojourner Truth, Susan B.
Anthony, Levi Coffin, Harriet
Beecher Stowe and John
Greenleaf Whittier were among
those who helped the runaway
slaves. America Indian tribes such
is the Ottawa, Shinnecock and
Seminole also aided in slave
escapes.
Most runaway slaves had nei
her road maps nor compasses. So
tow did they know which way to
un? They looked to the stars. The
\frican-American spiritual
'Follow the Drinking Gourd"
efers to the Little Dipper, the
:onstellation in the sky that
ncludes the North Star. The
U
Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806),
an inventor, mathematician, pub
lisher and astronomer.
North Star was a beacon that
guided runaway slaves north to
freedom.
Dreams Take Wing
The invention of the airplane
ushered in a new age. And it
awakened in many an urge to fly.
Bessie Coleman was born in
Texas in 1893. As a child she dis
played mathematical ability and
attended Langston Industrial
College for one semester until her
money ran out. She eventually
became a famous manicurist. In
the Chicago barber shop where
she worked. World War I veterans
told her how airplanes had helped
win the war. Coleman longed to
take flying lessons but could not
find an instructor in the United
States because she was black. So,
she went to France to earn her
pilot's license, becoming the first
black licensed pilot. Back in the
United States, she performed as a
stunt pilot in air shows across the
country. She died in 1926 when
she was thrown from a plane dur
ing a rehearsal flight. In 199S,
Coleman was honored with a U.S.
postage stamp.
During World War II, the
Army Air Corps set up an
advanced flying program at
Tuskegee Institute to prove that
blacks could pilot aireraft in com
bat. The Tuskegee Airmen, as the
pilots were known, flew on some
of the most dangerous bombing
missions during World War II.
Their bravery helped lead to inte
gration of the U.S. Armed Forces."
Countdown to History
Like Banneker and Coleman,
African-American astronauts
reached for the stars. They left
their mark on the United States
space program. Guion Bluford
became the first black astronaut in
space when he flew as a mission
specialist on the space shuttle
Challenger in 1983. Born in
Philadelphia, Penn., he was a
fighter pilot in the Vietnam War
and an Air Force test pilot prior to
becoming an astronaut.
Mae D. Jemison, the first
African-American woman in
space, was selected as an astro
naut candidate in 1987, and in
1992 was a crew member aboard
the space shuttle Endeavor. A
physician, Jemison holds a med
ical degree from Cornell
University Medical School.
Physicist Ronald McNair, the
second African American to orbit
the earth in a U.S. space mission,
died in the 1986 explosion of the
space shuttle Challenger. At North
Carolina A&T. State University,
frotn which McNair graduated,
the building which houses the
College of Engineering bears his
name.
McNair encouraged Howard
University students in 1983,
"Whether or not you reach your
goals in life depends entirely on
how well you prepare for them
and how badly you want them.
You're eagles! Stretch your wings
and fly to the sky!"
"I refuse to accept
the idea that the
'isness of man's present
nature makes him
morally incapable of
reaching up for the
'oughtness' that forever
confronts him."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. accepting the Nobel Prize, Dec. 11,1964
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