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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox academic
| name                     = John Henrik Clarke
| name         = Dr. John Henrik Clarke
| honorific_prefix          =
| image       = John_Henrik_Clarke_portrait.jpg
| honorific_suffix          =
| caption     = Dr. Clarke lecturing on African history
| image                     = jhc1.jpg
| birth_name   = John Henry Clark
| alt                      =
| birth_date   = January 1, 1915
| caption                   =  
| birth_place = [[Union Springs, Alabama]], U.S.
| birth_name               = John Henry Clark
| death_date   = July 16, 1998 (aged 83)
| birth_date               = <!-- {{birth date|1915|01|01}} -->
| death_place = [[New York City]], New York, U.S.
| birth_place               = Union Springs, Alabama
| resting_place= [[Green Acres Cemetery]], Columbus, Georgia
| death_date               = <!-- {{Death date and age|1998|07|16|1915|01|01}} (death date then birth date) -->
| citizenship = United States
| death_place               = New York City, New York
| occupation  = Historian, Professor, Author
| body_discovered          =
| spouse       = Sybille Williams Clarke
| death_cause              =
| children     = Eugenia Evans Clarke, Lillie Clarke, Nzingha Marie, Sonny Kojo
| resting_place             = Green Acres Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia
| parents     = Willie Ella Mays Clark
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| known_for    = Pioneering Africana Studies, Pan-Africanism
| monuments                =
| notable_works= ''Africans at the Crossroads: Notes For An African World Revolution''<br>''African People In World History''<br>''Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust''
| residence                =
| movement    = [[Black Power Movement]]
| nationality              =
| influences  = [[Carter G. Woodson]], [[W.E.B. Du Bois]]
| ethnicity                = Afrikan
| influenced  = [[Kwame Nkrumah]], [[Yosef Ben-Jochannan]]
| citizenship               = United States
| website     = http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/
| other_names              =  
| known_for                =
| television                =
| education                =
| alma_mater                =
| employer                  =
| organization              =
| notable_works            = Africans at the Crossroads: Notes For An African World Revolution, African People In World History
| style                    =
| influences                =
| influenced                =
| agent                    =
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| criminal_charge          =
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| spouse                   = Sybille Williams Clarke  
| partner                  =
| children                 = Eugenia Evans Clarke, Lillie Clarke, Nzingha Marie, Sonny Kojo
| parents                   = Willie Ella Mays Clark
| relations                =  
| callsign                  =  
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| signature                =  
| signature_alt            =  
| website                   = http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/
| footnotes                =
| box_width    =
}}
}}


'''John Henrik Clarke''' (January 1, 1915 - July 16, 1998), born '''John Henry Clark''', was a [[Pan-Afrikan]] writer, historian, professor, and a pioneer in the creation of Africana studies and professional institutions in academia starting in the late 1960s.
'''Dr. John Henrik Clarke''' (born '''John Henry Clark'''; January 1, 1915 – July 16, 1998) was born in rural [[Union Springs, Alabama]] to sharecropper parents. His mother, Willie Ella Mays Clark, took in laundry to supplement the family income. The young Clarke showed early intellectual promise, later recalling how his third-grade teacher Ms. Harris "convinced me that one day I would be a writer." This prediction would prove prophetic, though his path to scholarship took unexpected turns.
He was Professor of African World History and in 1969 founding chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at [[Hunter College]] of the [[City University of New York]].  He also was the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor of African History at [[Cornell University]]’s Africana Studies and Research Center. In 1968 along with the Black Caucus of the [[African Studies Association]], Clarke founded the [[African Heritage Studies Association]].
A self-educated intellectual, Clarke documented the histories and contributions of African peoples in Africa and the [[diaspora]], creating an [[Afrocentric]] perspective.


After being inspired by [[Richard Wright]]'s ''Black Boy'', Clarke moved north - first to [[Chicago]] then to [[New York City]]. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant. Settling in [[Harlem]] after his military service, he embarked on what would become a lifelong mission: "I committed myself to a lifelong pursuit of factual knowledge about the history of my people and creative application of that knowledge."


==Early Afrikan Inspiration==
== Academic Career and Institutional Building ==
Clarke was inspired by his third grade teacher, Ms. Harris, who "convinced me that one day I would be a writer." But before he became a writer he became a voracious reader. Inspired by Richard Wright's Black Boy, Clarke went to New York via Chicago. He enlisted in the army and earned the rank of Master Sergeant. Clarke moved to Harlem and committed himself to a lifelong pursuit of factual knowledge about the history of his people and creative application of that knowledge.
A largely self-educated intellectual, Dr. Clarke became one of the foremost architects of [[Africana studies]] as an academic discipline. His major institutional contributions include:
* Founding chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at [[Hunter College]] (1969)
* Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Visiting Professor at [[Cornell University]]'s Africana Studies and Research Center
* Co-founder of the [[African Heritage Studies Association]] (1968) through the Black Caucus of the African Studies Association


==Growth of a Scholar==
Clarke described his motivation for creating these institutions as combating the "systematic and racist suppression and distortion of African history by traditional scholars." His work established an enduring Afrocentric perspective in academia.
Over the years, Clarke became both a major historian and a man of letters. Although he is probably better known as a historian, his literary accomplishments were also significant. He wrote over two hundred short stories. "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black" is his best known short story. Clarke edited numerous literary and historical anthologies including American Negro Short Stories (1966), an anthology which included nineteenth century writing from writers such as Paul Laurence Dunbar and Charles Waddell Chestnut, and continued up through the early sixties with writers such as LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) and William Melvin Kelley. This is one of the classic collections of Black fiction.  


Reflective of his commitment to his adopted home, Clarke also edited Harlem, A Community in Transition and Harlem, U.S.A. Never one to shy away from the difficult or the controversial, Clarke edited anthologies on Malcolm X and a major collection of essays decrying William Styron's "portrait" of Nat Turner as a conflicted individual who had a love/hate platonic and sexually-fantasized relationship with Whites. In both cases, Clarke's work was in defense of the dignity and pride of his beloved Black community rather than an attack on Whites. What is significant is that Clarke did the necessary and tedious organizing work to bring these volumes into existence and thereby offer an alternative outlook from the dominant mainstream views on Malcolm X and Nat Turner, both of whom were often characterized as militant hate mongers. Clarke understood the necessity for us to affirm our belief in and respect for radical leaders such as Malcolm X and Nat Turner. It is interesting to note that Clarke's work was never simply focused on investigating history as the past, he also was proactively involved with history in the making.
== Literary and Historical Contributions ==
Dr. Clarke's scholarship spanned both historical and literary realms, producing over 200 short stories alongside groundbreaking historical works. His most famous short story, "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black," became a classic of African-American literature.


<gallery caption="Published Books" widths="75px" heights="100px" perrow="6">
As an editor, Clarke compiled several important anthologies that preserved and promoted Black intellectual traditions:
File:africanpeopleinworldhistory.jpg |[[w:African People in World History|African People in World History]]
* ''American Negro Short Stories'' (1966) - spanning from [[Paul Laurence Dunbar]] to [[Amiri Baraka]]
File:Africanscrossroads.jpg |[[w:Africans at the Crossroads: Notes for an African World Revolution|Africans at the Crossroads: Notes for an African World Revolution]]
* ''Harlem, A Community in Transition'' and ''Harrel, U.S.A.'' - documenting his adopted community
File:ccatah.jpg |[[w: Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust| Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust]]
* Critical collections on [[Malcolm X]] and [[Nat Turner]] that challenged mainstream narratives
File:JHCEarlyyears.jpg |[[w: The Early Years. As told to Barbara Eleanor Adam| The Early Years. As told to Barbara Eleanor Adam]]
 
</gallery>
His historical works established new paradigms for understanding African and diasporic experiences:
* ''African People in World History'' (1993)
* ''Africans at the Crossroads: Notes For An African World Revolution''
* ''Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust'' (1992)
* ''The Early Years'' (autobiographical work told to Barbara Eleanor Adam)
 
== Global Influence and Personal Relationships ==
Dr. Clarke's impact extended beyond academia into international affairs. He maintained a special relationship with [[Kwame Nkrumah]], mentoring Ghana's future first president during his student years. After Ghana's 1957 independence, Clarke served as journalist for the ''Ghana Evening News'' and was enstooled as a chief by the Ga people.
 
His Harlem home became an intellectual hub where he collaborated with major figures of the Black freedom movement including:
* [[Malcolm X]] and [[Betty Shabazz]]
* [[Zora Neale Hurston]] and [[James Baldwin]]
* [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Richard Wright]]
* [[Yosef Ben-Jochannan]] and [[Chancellor Williams]]
 
== Later Years and Legacy ==
Dr. Clarke passed away at his Manhattan home on July 16, 1998, and was buried at Green Acres Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia. He was survived by his wife Sybille Williams Clarke and children Eugenia, Lillie, Nzingha Marie, and Sonny Kojo.
 
His enduring legacy includes:
* The annual [[John Henrik Clarke Conference]] at Hunter College
* The Africana collections at Cornell University
* A model of scholar-activism that continues to inspire new generations
 
As Clarke himself reflected: "History is not everything, but it is a starting point. History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day."
 
== References ==
<references />
 
[[Category:Historians]]
[[Category:Pan-Africanists]]
[[Category:Africana studies scholars]]

Latest revision as of 14:52, 20 April 2025

Dr. John Henrik Clarke
Dr. Clarke lecturing on African history
Born
John Henry Clark

January 1, 1915
Union Springs, Alabama, U.S.
DiedJuly 16, 1998 (aged 83)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeGreen Acres Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia
CitizenshipUnited States
Occupation(s)Historian, Professor, Author
Known forPioneering Africana Studies, Pan-Africanism
MovementBlack Power Movement
SpouseSybille Williams Clarke
ChildrenEugenia Evans Clarke, Lillie Clarke, Nzingha Marie, Sonny Kojo
ParentWillie Ella Mays Clark
Academic background
InfluencesCarter G. Woodson, W.E.B. Du Bois
Academic work
Notable worksAfricans at the Crossroads: Notes For An African World Revolution
African People In World History
Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust
InfluencedKwame Nkrumah, Yosef Ben-Jochannan
Websitehttp://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/

Dr. John Henrik Clarke (born John Henry Clark; January 1, 1915 – July 16, 1998) was born in rural Union Springs, Alabama to sharecropper parents. His mother, Willie Ella Mays Clark, took in laundry to supplement the family income. The young Clarke showed early intellectual promise, later recalling how his third-grade teacher Ms. Harris "convinced me that one day I would be a writer." This prediction would prove prophetic, though his path to scholarship took unexpected turns.

After being inspired by Richard Wright's Black Boy, Clarke moved north - first to Chicago then to New York City. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant. Settling in Harlem after his military service, he embarked on what would become a lifelong mission: "I committed myself to a lifelong pursuit of factual knowledge about the history of my people and creative application of that knowledge."

Academic Career and Institutional Building

A largely self-educated intellectual, Dr. Clarke became one of the foremost architects of Africana studies as an academic discipline. His major institutional contributions include:

Clarke described his motivation for creating these institutions as combating the "systematic and racist suppression and distortion of African history by traditional scholars." His work established an enduring Afrocentric perspective in academia.

Literary and Historical Contributions

Dr. Clarke's scholarship spanned both historical and literary realms, producing over 200 short stories alongside groundbreaking historical works. His most famous short story, "The Boy Who Painted Christ Black," became a classic of African-American literature.

As an editor, Clarke compiled several important anthologies that preserved and promoted Black intellectual traditions:

  • American Negro Short Stories (1966) - spanning from Paul Laurence Dunbar to Amiri Baraka
  • Harlem, A Community in Transition and Harrel, U.S.A. - documenting his adopted community
  • Critical collections on Malcolm X and Nat Turner that challenged mainstream narratives

His historical works established new paradigms for understanding African and diasporic experiences:

  • African People in World History (1993)
  • Africans at the Crossroads: Notes For An African World Revolution
  • Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust (1992)
  • The Early Years (autobiographical work told to Barbara Eleanor Adam)

Global Influence and Personal Relationships

Dr. Clarke's impact extended beyond academia into international affairs. He maintained a special relationship with Kwame Nkrumah, mentoring Ghana's future first president during his student years. After Ghana's 1957 independence, Clarke served as journalist for the Ghana Evening News and was enstooled as a chief by the Ga people.

His Harlem home became an intellectual hub where he collaborated with major figures of the Black freedom movement including:

Later Years and Legacy

Dr. Clarke passed away at his Manhattan home on July 16, 1998, and was buried at Green Acres Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia. He was survived by his wife Sybille Williams Clarke and children Eugenia, Lillie, Nzingha Marie, and Sonny Kojo.

His enduring legacy includes:

  • The annual John Henrik Clarke Conference at Hunter College
  • The Africana collections at Cornell University
  • A model of scholar-activism that continues to inspire new generations

As Clarke himself reflected: "History is not everything, but it is a starting point. History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day."

References

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