Dr. Ivan Van Sertima Passes On.
May 30th, 2009 by omar , 6 Comments
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One of Guyana’s most accomplished and respected scholars, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, died earlier this week at the age of 74. We’ve spoken a bit about his work before, and now is as good a time as ever to give the man his due. Oscar Ramjeet wrote a peice on Van Sertima that appeared online today. Check an excerpt from the article below…
…Guyanese have not only contributed to the Caribbean, but the entire world.I just learned of the passing of Dr Ivan Van Sertima, a former professor of the University of Rutgers and an important son of the soil, who told the United Nations that Columbus did not in fact discover the Americas.
Van Sertima was a Guyanese-British historian, linguist and anthropologist. He was a noted for his Afrocentric theory of pre-Columbian contact between Africa and the Americas….
Van Sertima was a prolific writer on the history of Africa and The Americas. To purchase some of his work, including his most well-known, They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America, click here: Dr. Ivan Van Sertima @ Amazon.com.
Also, check out a few videos of Dr. Van Sertima at work after the jump…
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A celebrated classic, They Came Before Columbus, deals with a number of contacts — both planned and accidental, between Africans and Americans in different historical periods. Evidence for a physical/cultural presence of Africans in Early America is methodically examined.Dr. Van Sertima reveals to us a compelling, dramatic and superbly detailed documentation of the presence and legacy of black Africans in ancient America.
With his considerable scholarship, Van Sertima examines the facts of navigation and shipbuilding, the sources of latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, the scores of cultural analogies found nowhere else except in America and Africa, African languages and the transportation of plants, cloth and animals from Africa to the Americas. And from the diaries, letters and journals of the explorers themselves; from Carbon-14 dated sculptures found in the Americas; from the Arabic documents, charts, maps from the recorded tales of the griots to the Kings of Mali; from dated skeletons found as recently as 1975, the author builds his pyramid of evidence.
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They Came Before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima, Part 3
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They Came Before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima, Part 4
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They Came Before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima, Part 5
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They Came Before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima, Part 6
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They Came Before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima, Part 7
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Tags: Guyana, Historians, History, Ivan Van Sertima, Linguists, Politics, R.I.P., Writers
May 30th, 2009 at 7:23 PM
What, A great scholar and warrior for African people worldwide,remember;Ivan has Two sons and many cubs. Long live his legacy.
May 31st, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Profound & pertinent; one of God’s greatest creations is the man rich in melanin
June 1st, 2009 at 10:50 AM
I have had the HONOR of meeting and speaking with this dear brotha many times, and I must say the man has definitely done his research!!
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima has MANY books, videos and recorded lectures on the Afrikan presence in many parts of the world. He’s given us GREAT, hands-on, well-researched (and unjustly-criticized by “others”) findings that the “other” historians have ‘missed’ or don’t really don’t care to include in the so-called HIS-story books.
I am grateful that this brotha has graced me with his presence and left behind a legacy of OUR connected history that we can feast on for years to come.
I had last seen the beloved Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, was EXACTLY 11 years ago (May 30, 1998) to the day he passed…
He will be GREATLY missed by me and NEVER EVER forgotten.
Peace, Love & Light.
~Sy.
June 1st, 2009 at 6:28 PM
I had the privilege and honor to meet Professor Ivan Van Sertima in 2000 when he was gracious to accept my invitation to attend the maiden annual African Solidarity Council conference in Washington, DC, marking the 100th anniversary of the Pan-Africanim Movement. His Special Presentation on “They Came Before Columbus” was captivating, enriching and deep. One year later, in 2001, Professor Van Sertima returned as an honored Special Guest at the 101st anniversary of the Pan-Africanism Movement. I am grateful I was once in his presence and listened to him talk and share his great love for Africa and its people. The Africa Solidarity Council, Inc. will dearly miss him but will for ever remember him. Adieu, Professor Van Sertima.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 PM
We have lost another great African mind, teacher, and scholar. And Dr. Van Sertima was also a wonderful, gracious, and giving of his wealth of knowledge and spirit, human being. I had the great pleasure and privilege to hear his lectures on numerous occasions. He was an incredible teacher….
May the Creator be pleased with this great intellectual warrior! May the ancestors open their arms wide to him….
Anisa Rasheed
Oakland, Calif.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:59 PM
I am shocked to hear that this great inspiring,intellect,teacher his passed on..i had no idea and its funny because i was just picking up on one of his books “they came before columbus” just about two months ago. I have really been aspired by this man by watching recordings of him on youtube, reading his books, and trying to learn everything that he has researched. I’m lost for words to see that this great person has passed on..all i feel as though i can do now is pick up his books and the legacy that he has left behind and learn from that. This is truly a man that i will miss..i never have the opportunity of meeting him, but those who have must of been a great experience. I am glad to hear that he seemed really on the human level. Rest in peace brother.