Remembering Dr. John Henrik Clarke
“[Arthur Schomburg’s] first words to me have re-echoed encouragingly within me throughout the years. They were ‘Sit down, son.’ Then he said, ‘what you are calling African history and Negro history is nothing but the missing pages of world history. You will have to understand more about world history in order to understand who displaced our people from its pages.’ He leaned forward and spoke almost confidentially although we were alone. He said, ‘Son, go study the history of your oppressor. Once you know the history of your oppressor and why he had to oppress you, you will also learn why he had to remove you from the respectful commentary of human history…’ Our relationship began that noon hour in 1934…”—Dr. John Henrik Clarke
