38 John Henrik Clarke Quotes for You to Enjoy

John Henrik Clarke

American Author

Born: Jan 1, 1915

Died: Jul 16, 1998

Before First History People World You

Related authors: F. Scott Fitzgerald Frederick Douglass Helen Keller Henry David Thoreau Joyce Meyer Mark Twain Og Mandino Zig Ziglar

Powerful people cannot afford to educate the people that they oppress, because once you are truly educated, you will not ask for power. You will take it. John Henrik Clarke

You People Will Power Once Take Powerful Powerful People Because Educate Educated Oppress Truly Afford Cannot Ask

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. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. It tells them where they are but, more importantly, what they must be. John Henrik Clarke

Time Day History People Political Everything Tell Must Tells Find More Point Geography Importantly Cultural Clock Human Where Them Themselves Use Map Compass Starting Starting Point

Religion is the organization of spirituality into something that became the hand maiden of conquerors. Nearly all religions were brought to people and imposed on people by conquerors, and used as the framework to control their minds. John Henrik Clarke

Religion People Organization Spirituality Control Framework Minds All Religions Religions Brought Something Maiden Became Were Imposed Hand Used Conquerors Nearly

A people's relationship to their heritage is the same as the relationship of a child to its mother. John Henrik Clarke

Relationship People Mother Heritage Child Same

Africans in the United States must remember that the slave ships brought no West Indians, no Caribbeans, no Jamaicans or Trinidadians or Barbadians to this hemisphere. The slave ships brought only African people and most of us took the semblance of nationality from the places where slave ships dropped us off. John Henrik Clarke

People Remember Took States Must Indians Brought Only Dropped Most West Off Ships Semblance Nationality African Where Places Us Hemisphere United United States Slave

What I have learned is that a whole lot of people with degrees don't know a damn thing, and a lot of people with no degrees are brilliant. John Henrik Clarke

People Brilliant Damn Damn Thing Degrees Know Learned Lot Whole Thing

We have been educated into believing someone else's concept of the deity, and someone else's standard of beauty. You have the right to practice any religion and politics in a way that best suits your freedom, your dignity, and your understanding. And once you do that, you don't apologize. John Henrik Clarke

Politics Best Freedom Religion You Dignity Suits Beauty Practice Understanding Else Once Way Deity Someone Concept Educated Been Any Apologize Your Standard Your Freedom Believing Right

My main point here is that if you are the child of God and God is a part of you, the in your imagination God suppose to look like you. And when you accept a picture of the deity assigned to you by another people, you become the spiritual prisoners of that other people. John Henrik Clarke

Nothing the European mind ever devised was meant to do anything but to facilitate the European's control over the world. John Henrik Clarke

World Mind Control Nothing Facilitate Over Anything Meant European Ever

Africa and its people are the most written about and the least understood of all of the world's people. This condition started in the 15th and the 16th centuries with the beginning of the slave trade system. The Europeans not only colonialized most of the world, they began to colonialize information about the world and its people. John Henrik Clarke

People World Beginning System About Only Written Most Trade Least Understood Condition Began Africa Information Centuries Europeans Started Slave

To hold a people in oppression you have to convince them first that they are supposed to be oppressed. John Henrik Clarke

You People Oppression First Supposed Oppressed Hold Them Convince

The people and the cultures of what is known as Africa are older than the word 'Africa.' According to most records, old and new, Africans are the oldest people on the face of the earth. The people now called Africans not only influenced the Greeks and the Romans, they influenced the early world before there was a place called Europe. John Henrik Clarke

People World Old Word Face Before Older Earth Only Records New Most Known Cultures According Than Greeks Africa African Influenced Romans Place Europe Now Oldest Early

In order to have a charismatic leader, you have to have a charismatic program. Because if you have a charismatic program, then if you can read you can lead. When the leader gets killed while you're reading from page 13 of your charismatic program, you can bury the man with honors, then continue the plan by reading from page 14. Let's keep on. John Henrik Clarke

The role of religions in the domination and destruction of African civilizations was ruthless... Islam was as guilty as all the rest. John Henrik Clarke

Destruction Rest Islam Guilty Religions Ruthless Civilizations Domination Role African

Anytime you turn on your own concept of God, you are no longer a free man. No one needs to put chains on your body, because the chains are on your mind. John Henrik Clarke

I want to make it clear that the black race did not come to the United States culturally empty-handed. The role and importance of ethnic history is in how well it teaches a people to use their own talents, take pride in their own history and love their own memories. John Henrik Clarke

Love History Memories People Pride Black Own States Take Clear Come Talents Importance Well Make How Role Did Want Race Ethnic Use Teaches United United States

As the eldest son of an Alabama sharecropper family, I was constantly troubled by a collage of North American southern behaviors and notions in reference to the inhumanity of people. There were questions that I did not know how to ask but could, in my young, unsophisticated way, articulate a series of answers. John Henrik Clarke

Family Son People Young Way Collage Constantly Could Troubled Know How Answers Were Reference Questions Southern Articulate North North American American Did Behaviors Eldest Ask Notions Inhumanity Series Alabama

I saw no African people in the printed and illustrated Sunday school lessons. I began to suspect at this early age that someone had distorted the image of my people. My long search for the true history of African people the world over began. John Henrik Clarke

History Age People World School Sunday Long Saw Distorted Sunday School Someone Had True Over Printed Began Suspect African Lessons Search Illustrated Image Early Early Age

It is unfortunate that so much of the history of Africa has been written by conquerors, foreigners, missionaries and adventurers. The Egyptians left the best record of their history written by local writers. John Henrik Clarke

Best History Local Has-Been Record Writers Written Adventurers Missionaries Been Foreigners Left Egyptians Africa The History Of Unfortunate Much Conquerors

My daddy wanted me to be a farmer; feel the smoothness of Alabama clay and become one of the first blacks in my town to own land. But, I was worried about my history being caked with that southern clay, and I subscribed to a different kind of teaching and learning in my bones and in my spirit. John Henrik Clarke

Me History Learning First Become Own Worried Kind Spirit About Blacks Clay Feel Town Southern Subscribed Being Different Wanted Land Different Kind Farmer Teaching Daddy Alabama Bones

Malcolm X found the language that communicated across the board, from college professor to floor sweeper, all at the same time, without demeaning the intellect of either. John Henrik Clarke

Time Language College College Professor Demeaning Without Malcolm Malcolm X Intellect Same Same Time Either Board Across Found Floor Professor

The first light of human consciousness and the world's first civilizations were in Africa. John Henrik Clarke

World Light First Civilizations Were Human Africa Human Consciousness Consciousness

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, the United States would enter, in a formal way, what had been up to that date strictly a European conflict. Marcus Garvey's prophecy about the European scramble to maintain dominance over the whole world was now a reality. John Henrik Clarke

Conflict Reality World Strictly Way States Enter Would About Date Prophecy Had Maintain Over Been Up Dominance Scramble December Formal After Harbor European Whole Now United United States Bombing Pearl Pearl Harbor

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