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Teaching Aids

“A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself.” — Malcolm X

Zinn Education Project

The Zinn Education Project promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in middle and high school classrooms across the country. Based on the lens of history highlighted in Howard Zinn’s best-selling book A People’s History of the United States, the website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level. your image

BlackPast

BlackPast is dedicated to providing a global audience with reliable and accurate information on the history of African America and of people of African ancestry around the world. We aim to promote greater understanding through this knowledge to generate constructive change in our society.

ACLU

Everyone has basic rights under the U.S. Constitution and civil rights laws. Learn more here about what your rights are, how to exercise them, and what to do when your rights are violated.

Suggested Readings

Akbar, Na’im. Visions For Black Men. Nashville: Winston-Derek Publications, Inc., 1991
*Deals with a variety of issues of primary importance to men and women.
 
Banks, Nancy Turner. AIDS, Opium, Diamonds, and Empire: The Deadly Virus of International Greed. iNew York: Universe, Inc., 2010
*Mind blowing.
 
Barashango, Ishakamusa. African People and European Holidays: A Mental Genocide. Washington, D.C: IV Dynasty Publishing Co., 1980
*Pertinent history about the holidays that are revered in Western Civilization
.
Baruti, Mwalimu K. Bomani. Homosexuality and the Effeminization of Arikan Males. Atlanta: Akoben House, 2003
*Eye opening.
 
Benton, Joe, Derrick Jackson, Burnett Gallman. Project Sankofa: A Rites of
Passage Program: Philosophy, Theory, and Overview. Columbia, SC: Our
Community Organization, 1998
*Good practical information that will be especially useful to those who work with youth. Contains tried and true methods.
 
Benton, Joe, Tanya Brice, Burnett Kwadwo Gallman, Baba Derrick Jackson.
Should Black Organizations and Institutions Be Afrikancentered?: The Quest for Self-Determination. Joint Ventures, Columbia, SC, 2014
*Arguments for spreading Afrikan-centered thinking.

Browder, Anthony T. From the Browder File: 22 Essays on the African American Experience. Washington, DC: The Institute of Karmic Guidance, 1989
*Short, entertaining and informative essays that deal with a number of topics.

Browder, Anthony T. From The Browder File, Volume II: Survival Strategies For Africans in America: 13 Steps To Freedom. Washington, DC: The Institute of Karmic Guidance, 1996
*Profound and insightful essays that are practical as well as educational.

Browder, Anthony T. Exploding the Myths, Volume I: Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization. Washington, DC: The Institute of Karmic Guidance, 1992
*An excellent start-up book that gives an understandable introduction to the study of the Nile Valley. It touches on several areas of attention and stimulates questions and the thirst to know more. A top three “must-read”.

Carruthers, Jacob H. Essays in Ancient Egyptian Studies. Los Angeles:
University of Sankore Press, 1984
*This is a “must-read” for anyone interested in the history, culture and philosophy of ancient Egypt.

Carruthers, Jacob H. The Irritated Genie: An Essay on the Haitian Revolution.  Chicago: The Kemetic Institute, 1985
*Excellent analysis of the forces and personalities at work in the Northern
Hemispheres first Black Republic that defeated the Imperial forces of France and Britain.

Carruthers, Jacob. Intellectual Warfare. Chicago: Third World Press, 1999
*A “must-read” analysis of the state of Afrikan-Centered thought.

Clarke, John Henrik. African People in World History. Baltimore: Black Classic Press
*An extremely important book by a brilliant scholar and teacher.

Clarke, John Henrik and Yosef ben-Jochannan. New Dimensions in African History. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1991
*Information from two master scholars.

Clarke, John Henrik. Notes For an African World Revolution: Africans at the Crossroads. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc., 1991
*A must-read!

Clarke, John Henrik. Christopher Columbus & the Afrikan Holocaust. Brooklyn: A & B Books Publishers, 1992
*An important book that should be read by all.

Clarke, John Henrik (Editor). Critical Lessons In Slavery and the Slave Trade:  Essential Studies and Commentaries On Slavery, In General, and the African Slave Trade, In Particular. Richmond: Native Sun Publishers, 1996
*Excellent, “must-read”

Diop, Cheikh Anta. The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality. Westport, CT :Lawrence Hill and Company, 1974
*The ultimate authority on ancient Egypt. A top ten must-read!

Finch, Charles S. III. Echoes of the Old Darkland: Themes From the African
Eden. Decatur, GA: Khenti, Inc., 1991
*Another top ten “must-read” that gives excellent information on the Afrikan origin of Christianity and other topics

Hilliard, Asa G. III, Larry Williams, and Nia Damali. The Teachings of Ptahhotep:  The Oldest Book in the World. Atlanta: Blackwood Press and Company, 1987
*One of the wisdom books of Kemet that beautifully provides advice on
relationships. It is perfect for all ages and will stimulate profound discussions.  Must read.  13

Hilliard, Asa G. The Maroon Within Us: Selected Essays on African American Community Socialization. Baltimore: Black Classic Press
*Excellent essays that put the process of socialization into an appropriate
perspective.

Hilliard, Asa G. III. SBA: The Reawakening of the African Mind. Gainesville, FL:  Makare Publishing Co., 1997
*An extremely important “must-read”.

Jackson, John G. Introduction to Black Civilizations. Secausus, NJ: The Citadel Press, 1970
*Very important book by a very important scholar. Not only a “must-read” but should be the 1st or 2nd or 3rd book read.

James, George G. M. Stolen Legacy. San Francisco: Julian Richardson
Associates Publishers, 1976
*Another “must-read”. A top ten book.

Johnson, J. C. deGraft . African Glory: The Story of Vanished Negro Civilizations.  Baltimore: Black Classic Press.(Originally published in 1954) ,1968
*Very good account written by an Afrikan scholar.

Karenga, Maulana. Selections From the Husia: Sacred Wisdom of Ancient
Egypt. Los Angeles: Kawaida Publications, 1984
*Spiritual and wisdom literature from our earliest Ancestors who created religion out of their way of life and philosophy. A “must-have book”.

Kondo, Zak. The Black Student's Guide to Positive Education. Washington, DC:  Nubia Press, 1987
*Very good book!

Kunjufu, Jawanza. Lessons From History: A Celebration in Blackness. Chicago:  African American Images 1987
*Simple treatment of important information.

Madhubuti, Haki R. Enemies: The Clash of Races. Chicago: Third World Press, 1978
*Very important essays about the real world.

McIntyre, Charshee C.L. Criminalizing A Race: Free Blacks During Slavery. Queens, NY: Kayode Publications, Ltd., 1992
*Very important book that explains much of the condition in which we find ourselves.

Nobles, Wade W. African Psychology: Towards Its Reclamation, Reascension,
and Revitalization. Oakland: Black Family Institute Publication, 1986
*One of the most important books ever written. A “must read” and top ten book.

Nobles, Wade W. The Island of Memes: Haiti’s Unfinished Revolution. Baltimore:  Black Classics Press, 2015

Obenga, Theophile. Ancient Egypt and Black Africa: A Student's Handbook For the Study of Ancient Egypt In Philosophy, Linguistics, & Gender Relations.  Chicago: Karnak House, 1992
*Enlightening information about ancient Egypt by Diop’s student and one of the world’s leading living Egypt experts.

Richards, Dona Marimba. Let The Circle Be Unbroken: The Implications of
African Spirituality in the Diaspora. Trenton, NJ: The Red Sea Press, 1980
*Extremely important book. A “must-read”.

Rogers, J. A. Africa's Gift To America. Helga M. Rogers, 3806 48th Ave South, St. Petersburg Florida 1961
*Interesting little-known facts about American history.

​Stuckey, Sterling. Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of
Black America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987
*A top ten “must read”

Van Sertima, Ivan (Editor). They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America. New York: Random House, 1976
*Very good information presented in an unusual and entertaining style.

Van Sertima, Ivan (Editor). Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. New
Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1986
*Very important information.

Van Sertima, Ivan (Editor). Nile Valley Civilizations. New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1984
*Excellent information about aspects of ancient Egypt. A “must-read”.

Van Sertima, Ivan (Editor): Black Women In Antiquity. New Brunswick:
Transaction Books, 1988
*Excellent information about women who are little known to us. A “”must-read”.

Van Sertima, Ivan (Editor). Egypt Revisited. New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1989
*More excellent information about ancient Egypt. A “must-read”.

Van Sertima, Ivan and Rashidi, Runoko (Editors). African Presence in Early Asia.  New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1988
*Groundbreaking information. Must-read.

Van Sertima, Ivan (Editor) (1986): African Presence in Early Europe. Transaction Books, New Brunswick
*Very important and fascinating. A “must-read”.

​Welsing, Frances Cress (1991): The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors.
Third World Press, 7524 South Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60619
*Very important top ten “must read”.

Williams, Chancellor. The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race From 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. Chicago: Third World Press, 1976
*One of the greatest and most important books written in the 20th century. It is timeless and provides a historical analysis of the plight of Afrikan people as well as realistic suggestions on how to remedy our situation.
"It is a top three “must read”.

​Wilson, Amos N. The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness: Eurocentric
History, Psychiatry and the Politics of White Supremacy. New York: Afrikan
World InfoSystems, 1993
*An extremely important “must read”.

Woodson, Carter G. The Mis-Education of the Negro. Washington, DC: The
Associated Publishers,1933
*A classic book that is as truthful and revealing today as it was when it was written. It is a top ten “must-read”.

The following books are excellent and extremely important but are not first line reads for the beginner. These should be read after the above books are read and digested. The Books that are especially important are marked with an *. Both these lists will be constantly revised.


​Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2012

*Ani, Marimba. Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior. Trenton: Africa World Press, 1994
*A profoundly important critique of European culture from an Afrikan perspective that should be studied intensely.

*Akbar, Na'im. Chains and Images of Psychological Slavery. Jersey City: New Mind Productions 1984

*Akbar, Na'im. Light From Ancient Afrika. Tallahassee: Mind Productions & Associates, Inc. 1994

*Akoto, Kwame Agei. Nationbuilding: Theory and Practice in African Centered Education. Washington, DC: Pan Afrikan World Institute, 1992

Anderson, Claud. Black Labor, White Wealth: The Search for Power and
Economic Justice. Edgewood MD: Duncan & Duncan, Inc., Publishers, 1994

Anderson, Claud. PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America.  Bethesda: PowerNomics Corporation of America, 1998

Better, Shirley. Institutional Racism: A Primer on Theory and Strategies For
Social Change. Chicago: Bunham, Inc. Publishers, 2002

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality In America. New York: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2014

Burrell, Tom. Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority. Carlsbad, CA: Smiley Books, 2010

​*Carew, Jan. Fulcrums of Change: African Presence in the Americas. Trenton:
Africa World Press, 1988

Carruthers, Jacob H. Critical Commentaries: Carruthers On Schlesinger. Silver Spring, MD: ASCAC Foundation, 1992

Carruthers, Jacob H. Critical Commentaries: Carruthers On Yurco. Silver
Spring, MD: ASCAC Foundation, 1992

*Carruthers, Jacob and Leon Harris (Editors). African World History Project: The Preliminary Challenge. Los Angeles: Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations, 1997

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press, 1963

Fanon, Frantz. Black Skin, White Masks. New York: Grove Press, 1967

*Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 1992

*Jackson, John G. Christianity Before Christ. Dallas: The American Atheist
Press, 1985

Jeffries, Leonard. Critical Commentaries: Our Sacred Mission. Silver Spring,
MD: ASCAC Foundation, 1991

*Kambon, Kobi Kazembe Kalongi. The African Personality in America: An
African-Centered Framework. Tallahassee: Nubian Nation Publications,1992

Nantambu, Kwame. Decoding European Geopolitics: Afrocentric Perspectives.
Kent, OH: Imhotep Publishing Company, 1994

*Rodney, Walter. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1982

Thiong’o, Ngugi wa. Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance. New York: Basic Books, 2009

*Williams, Eric. Capitalism and Slavery. London: Andre Deutsch, (First published in 1964) 1990

Williams, Larry Obadele and Asa G. Hilliard, III. Critical Commentaries: The Struggle To Bring True African History Into Being. Silver Spring, MD: ASCAC Foundation, 1992

*Wilson, Amos N. Blueprint For Black Power: A Moral, Political and Economic Imperative for the Twenty-First Century. New York: Afrikan World InfoSystems, 1998

*Chinweizu. Decolonizing the African Mind. London: Sundoor, 1987

Chinweizu. The West and the Rest of Us: White Predators, Black Slavers and the African Elite. Lagos: Pero Press, 1987

*Diop, Cheikh Anta. Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis For A
Federated State. Westport, CT: Africa World Press Edition, Lawrence Hill and
Company, 1987

Diop, Cheikh Anta. Precolonial Black Afrika: A Comparative Study of the Political and Social Systems of Europe and Black Africa, from Antiquity to the Formation of Modern States. Westport, CT: Lawrence Hill & Company, 1987

*Diop, Cheikh Anta. Cultural Unity of Black Africa. Chicago: Third World Press, 1978

Diop, Cheikh Anta. Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology.
Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books, 1991

Jones, Del. The Black Holocaust: Global Genocide. Philadelphia: Hikeka Press, Inc,1992

*Jones, Norece T. Born a Child of Freedom, Yet a Slave: Mechanisms of
Control and Strategies of Resistance in Antebellum South Carolina. Hanover:  University of New England Press, 1980

*Karenga, Maulana and Carruthers, Jacob (Editors). Kemet and the African
Worldview: Research, Rescue, and Restoration. Los Angeles: University of
Sankore Press,1986

Karenga, Maulana. The Book of Coming Forth By Day: The Ethics of the
Declarations of Innocence. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press, 1990

Karenga, Maulana (Editor). Reconstructing Kemetic Culture: Papers,
Perspectives, Projects. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press, 1990

Keto, C. Tsehloane. An Introduction to The African- Centered Perspective of
History. Chicago: Research Associates School Times Publications. Distributed
by Frontline Distribution International, Chicago 1994

Muhammad, Khalil Gibran. The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Making of Modern Urban America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010

Nunnally, Shayla C. Trust In Black America: Race, Discrimination, and Politics.  New York: New York University Press, 2012

Obenga, Theophile: A Lost Tradition: African Philosophy in World History.
Philadelphia: The Source Editions, 1995

Rogers, J.A. World's Great Men of Color (Volumes One and Two). New York:
Collier Books,1972

Weik, Terrance M. The Archaeology of Antislavery Resistance. Gainesville:
University Press of Florida, 2012

Wilder, Craig Steven. Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2013

*Wright, Bobby. The Psychopathic Racial Personality and Other Essays.
Chicago: Third World Press

There are some writers of Non-Afrikan Ancestry who have written works of
use to Afrikan people. This list is not exhaustive, but is a good start. It
covers a broad but important range of topics.

Aptheker, Herbert. American Negro Slave Revolts. New York: International
Publishers, 1983

Baptist, Edward E. The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism. New York: Basic Books, 2014

Bernal, Martin. Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, Vol. 1, The Fabrication of Ancient Greece, 1785-1885. London: Free Association Books, 1987

Blackmon, Douglas A. Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. New York: Anchor Books, 2008

Blum, Edward J. and Paul Harvey. The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2012

Bradley, Michael. The Iceman Inheritance: Prehistoric Sources of Western Man's Racism, Sexism and Aggression. New York: Kayode Publications Ltd., 1978

Bradley, Michael. Chosen People From the Caucases

Budge, E.A.Wallis. Has written several excellent books about Kemet (ancient
Egypt. Must bear in mind his era and orientation.

Davidson, Basil. Has done good work on Afrika.

Davies, David. The Last of the Tasmanians. London: Frederick Muller, Ltd.,
1973

de Lubicz, Schwaller. He and his wife, Ischa, have done excellent and insightful work on Kemet.

Forbes, Jack D. Africans and Native Americans: The Language of Race and the Evolution of Red-Black Peoples. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1993

Freud, Sigmund. Moses and Monotheism. London: The Hogarth Press, Ltd.,
1951

Ginzburg, Ralph. 100 Years of Lynchings. Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 1988

Graves, Kersey. The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors or Christianity Before
Christ. The Cleage Group, Inc 1991

Greenberg, Gary. The Moses Mystery: The African Origins of the Jewish People.  A Birch Lane Press Book. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group, 1996
NOTE: Has been republished under the title, The Bible Myth: The African Origin of the Jewish People.

Hacker, Andrew. Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal.
New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1992

Higgins, Godfrey. Anacalypsis, An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil of the Saitic Isis or an Inquiry Into the Origins of Language, Nations and Religions. London 1836

Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: A Touchstone Book Published by Simon and Schuster, 1996

Isenberg, Nancy. White Trash. The 400-Year Untold History of Class in
America.  NY: Viking, 2016

Kochman, Thomas. Black and White: Styles in Conflict. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981

*Koestler, Arthur. The Thirteenth Tribe: The Khazar Empire and Its Heritage.
New York: Random House, Inc., 1976

Koning, Hans. Columbus, His Enterprise: Exploding the Myth. New York:
Monthly Review Press,1991

*Kuhn, Alvin Boyd. Shadow of the Third Century. Elizabeth, NJ: Academy Press, 1949

*Kuhn, Alvin Boyd. Who Is This King Of Glory? Elizabeth, NJ: Academy Press, 1941

*Leaming, Hugo Prosper. Hidden Americans: Maroons of Virginia and the
Carolinas. New Jersey: Garland Publishing, Inc.,1995

Lindqvist, Sven. "Exterminate All the Brutes": One Man's Odyssey into the Heart of Darkness and the Origins of European Genocide. New York: The New Press, 1996

Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: A Touchstone Book Published by Simon & Schuster, 1996


*Massey, Gerald. Ancient Egypt: Light of the World. New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1976
NOTE: His other works, Book of Beginnings and Natural Genesis are also
excellent.

*McLaughlin, Terence. Dirt: A Social History as Seen Through the Uses and
Abuses of Dirt. New York: Dorset Press, 1971
*Excellent and eye opening. Will challenge you.

O'Reilly, Kenneth. Nixon's Piano: Presidents and Racial Politics From
Washington to Clinton. New York: The Free Press,1995

Parenti, Michael. Make Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment. New York.  St. Martin's Press, 1992

Parenti, Michael. Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media. New York: St Martin's Press, 1993

Parenti, Michael. Dirty Truths: Reflections on Politics, Media, Ideology,
Conspiracy, Ethnic Life and Class Power. San Francisco: City Lights Books,
1996

Volney, Count: The Ruins of Empires
NOTE: Excellent book by this 19th century European who saw Kemet before the European Egyptologists.

Weisenthal, Simon. Sails of Hope: The Secret Mission of Christopher Columbus. New York: MacMillan Publishers, Inc., 1973

West, John Anthony: Serpent in the Sky

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. 2003



QUOTATIONS AND THOUGHTS ON HISTORY AND OTHER TOPICS

​
1. “What is History, but a fiction agreed upon?” (Napoleon Bonaparte)

2. “History is the struggle and record of humans in the process of humanizing the world, i.e. shaping it in their own image and interests. To shape the world in a human image is to give it a human form and character and to shape it in human interests is to make it serve humans rather than threaten, deform or destroy them.” (Maulana Karenga)

3. “The hard fact is that most of what we now call world history is only the
history of the first and second rise of Europe…more than five thousand
years had unfolded before what was to become Europe was a political
factor in world affairs.” (John Henrik Clarke)

4. “…our own reality, however fine and attractive the reality of others may be, can only be transformed by detailed knowledge of it, by our own efforts, by our own sacrifices.” (Amilcar Cabral), accountability, governance, and a host of other things. Community Radio can usher in change at the deepest level.
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