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DR. CHANCELLOR JAMES WILLIAMS
AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF AFRICAN CIVILIZATION
By RUNOKO RASHIDI
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Of the recent towering figures in the struggle to completely eradicate the
pervasive racial myths clinging to the origins of Nile Valley Civilization,
few scholars have had the impact of Dr. Chancellor James Williams
(1898-1992). Chancellor Williams, the youngest of five children, was born
in Bennetsville, South Carolina December 22, 1898. His father had been a
slave; his mother a cook, nurse, and evangelist. A stirring writer,
Chancellor Williams achieved wide acclaim as the author of the 1971
publication, The Destruction of Black Civilization--Great Issues of a Race
from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D.
Totally uncompromising, highly controversial, broadly sweeping in its range
and immensely powerful in its scope, there have been few books published
during the past half-century focusing on the African presence in antiquity
that have so profoundly affected the consciousness of African people in
search of their historical identity. Dr. John Henrik Clarke, now an
ancestor and a contemporary of Dr. Williams and one of our most outstanding
scholars, described The Destruction of Black Civilization as "a foundation
and new approach to the history of our race." In The Destruction of Black
Civilization Chancellor Williams successfully "shifted the main focus from
the history of Arabs and Europeans in Africa to the Africans themselves--a
history of the Blacks that is a history of Blacks."
The career of Chancellor Williams was spacious and varied; university
professor, novelist, and author-historian. He was the father of fourteen
children. Blind and in poor health, the last years of Dr. Williams' life
were spent in a nursing home in Washington, D.C. His contributions to the
reconstruction of African civilization, however, stand as monuments and
beacons reflecting the past, present and future of African people.
SOURCES:
The Destruction Of Black Civilization, by Chancellor Williams
Egypt: Child Of Africa, Edited by Ivan Van Sertima
Runoko Rashidi is an historian, writer and public lecturer with a
pronounced interest in the African foundations of humanity and
civilizations and the presence and current conditions of Black people
throughout the Global African Community. He is particularly drawn to the
African presence in India, Australia and the islands of the Pacific.
To date he has lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities and
lectured in fifteen countries. He is the author of African Classical
Civilizations and the editor, with Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, of the African
Presence in Early Asia--the most comprehensive volume on the subject yet
published. Rashidi is very active online, and recently coordinated an
historic educational tour to India entitled "Looking at India through
African Eyes." Currently, he is coordinating an educational tour to
Australia entitled "Looking at Australia Through African Eyes" scheduled
for July 2000.
To schedule lectures, order video and audio tapes, gain information on
educational tours or additional information contact Rashidi at
[log in to unmask] or call Runoko Rashidi at (210) 648-5178.
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Copyright © 1998 Runoko Rashidi. All rights reserved.
Revised: April 01, 2000.
Webpage design: Kenneth Ritchards
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