NANA JOHN HENRIK CLARKE
Much time has passed since Nana John Henrik Clarke left this realm and ascended into pure spirit, joining our ancestors. But we wtill miss him as if it were only yesterday. For he was a sure, steadfast, incorruptible voice among us. Unfortunately, too many of us never knew his words, never heard this loving man speak. And, among those of us who did, some have even forgotten to remember his power. No other ourstorian has been held in as high esteem by Afrikans seeking an Afrikan truth uncontaminated by others’ cultural politics as he. This Afrikan warrior scholar was unafraid of our enemies within and without. He neither honored nor owed them. He did not lie to us. He had no reason to. His wise words told our true stories as a people in unremitting rebellion against an assimilated, amalgamaed, vanquished subintegration into whiteness. He was/is our baba, educator, warrior, ourstorian, always standing on our first line of intellectual defense. He was a true jegna. With this lecture we again honor him.
