BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Yosef Ben-Jochannan
| Antonio Yosef Ben-Jochannan | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 31, 1918 |
| Occupation | writer, historian |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works | Abu Simbel to Ghizeh: A Guide Book and Manual (1989) |
Antonio Yosef Ben-Jochannan (/ˈbɛn ˈjoʊkənən/; born December 31, 1918), also known as Dr. Ben, is an American writer and historian. He is considered one of the more notable Afrocentric scholars.[1]
Early life and education
Ben-Jochannan's background is uncertain. He asserts that he was born in Ethiopia to a Puerto Rican mother and an Ethiopian father.[2] However, according to Tudor Parfitt, Ben-Jochannan is likely instead only of Puerto Rican origin.[3]
Ben-Jochannan was educated in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Cuba, and Spain, earning degrees in engineering and anthropology.[2][unreliable source?] In 1938, he earned a BS in Civil Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico.[citation needed] In 1939 a Master's degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Havana, Cuba.[2] He received doctoral degrees in Cultural Anthropology and Moorish History from the University of Havana and the University of Barcelona, Spain.[2]
Career and later life
Ben-Jochannan immigrated to the United States in the early 1940s. He worked as a draftsman and continued his studies. He claims that in 1945, he was appointed chairman of the African Studies Committee at the headquarters of the newly founded UNESCO, a position from which he reportedly stepped down in 1970. In 1950, Ben-Jochannan began teaching Egyptology at Malcolm King College, and subsequently at City College in New York City. From 1976 to 1987, he was an adjunct professor at Cornell University.[4]
Ben-Jochannan is the author of 49 books, primarily on ancient Nile Valley civilizations and their impact on Western cultures.[2][dead link]In his writings, he argues that the original Jews were from Ethiopia and were Black Africans, while the white Jews later adopted the Jewish faith and its customs.[5]
Ben-Jochannan has also made a number of appearances on Gil Noble's WABC-TV weekly public affairs series Like It Is.
In 2002, Ben-Jochannan donated his personal library of more than 35,000 volumes, manuscripts and ancient scrolls to the Nation of Islam.[6]
Controversy
Ben-Jochannan has been criticized for allegedly distorting history and promoting Black supremacy. In February 1993, Wellesley College European classics professor Mary Lefkowitz publicly confronted Ben-Jochannan about his teachings. Ben-Jochannan taught that Aristotle visited the Library of Alexandria. During the question and answer session following the lecture, Lefkowitz asked ben-Jochannan, "How would that have been possible, when the library was not built until after his death?" ben-Jochannan replied that the dates were uncertain.[7] Lefkowitz writes that ben-Jochannan proceeded to tell those present that "they could and should believe what black instructors told them" and "that although they might think that Jews were all 'hook-nosed and sallow faced,' there were other Jews who looked like himself."[8]
African-American professor Clarence E. Walker wrote that Ben-Jochannan not only confused Cleopatra VII with her daughter Cleopatra VIII and stated she was black, but also wrote that “Cleopatra VIII committed suicide after being discovered in a plot with Marc Antonio [Mark Anthony] to murder Julius Caesar.”[9]
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