African Ourstory

  "The Healing Wisdom of Africa" 
"Of Water and the Spirit"  "Ritual"
by Malidoma Patrice Some; Penguin Putnam



  "The African Origins of the Major
"Western Religions"  by Dr Ben


"African Spirituality verses the African American"
by Michael Oshoosi

Welcoming Spirit Home :
 Ancient African Teachings to Celebrate Children and Community
by Sobonfu E. Some

On a spiritual and global level, readers would be hard-pressed to find a better book on family values than Welcoming Spirit Home. Author Sobonfu Some, whose name means "keeper of rituals," narrates this collection of stories and traditions from her native tribe--the Dagara of Burkino Faso, Africa. Children are considered the soul of each village, according to the Dagara people, and as a result the tribe has numerous rituals that celebrate the arrival and raising of young ones. Page by page, Some explains these many exotic and loving rituals--from helping grandparents and babies bond to activities that support a "child's sense of worth." Even a woman's conception is cause for enormous community pride. Elders bathe the mother-to-be, dress her up, and then "introduce her and the incoming soul to the community." Everyone kisses her belly and sings songs of welcoming and joy. The tribe's simplistic lifestyle and genuine happiness seem to stem from its strong connection to the earth as well as the honoring of all tribal people--even the unborn.


  "The Destruction of Black Civilization"

by Chancellor Williams; Third World Press
I really enjoyed this book.Finally someone got it right.Black history has always been told by whites with an axe to grind.They always feel that the truth will empower blacks so they resort to calling black-skinned people white,if they created a great civilization.Mr Williams told it like it is.We can see even now that mulattos are replacing blacks just like they did in Egypt,the Sudan and many other places.he shows how mulattos turn against blacks and identify with whites as he points out in the book.He does contradict himself sometimes but it does'nt take away from the historical accuracy of the book.Black culture is always being destroyed because blacks dont seem to be as interested in preserving it as whites do.

  "Kaffir Boy" by Mark Mathabane 

Kaffir Boy does for apartheid-era South Africa what Richard Wright's Black Boy did for the segregated American South. In stark prose, Mathabane describes his life growing up in a nonwhite ghetto outside Johannesburg--and how he escaped its horrors. Hard work and faith in education played key roles, and Mathabane eventually won a tennis scholarship to an American university. This is not, needless to say, an opportunity afforded to many of the poor blacks who make up most of South Africa's population. And yet Mathabane reveals their troubled world on these pages in a way that only someone who has lived this life can.

Re-Inventing Africa : Matriarchy, Religion, and Culture
by Ifi Amadiume

Amadiume teaches about ancient matriarchal cultures in Africa, and the diverse and well-respected roles of women in Africa before colonialism.  Traditional African religions were often woman-centered or non-preferential with regard to gender. Amadiume chronciles the "masculinization" of religion, dating from the introduction of Christianity and Islam.

"Civilization or Barbarism : An Authentic Anthropology "by Cheikh Anta Diop

Diop demonstrates his multidisciplinary genius in this book. His scientific approach leaves no stone unturned, even when dealing with linguistics. He addresses so many topics, from the origins of civilization to political and social organization in ancient states. I especially treasure the chapters on Africa's contribution to humanity in sciences and philosophy. A real eye-opener. Mostly French speaking authors are referenced and critiqued though. It's a shame there aren't more African scholars following Diop's lines of research.

"The African Origin of Civilization" by Cheikh Anta Diop

This book should serve as a wake up call to all people of African ancestry.  Africans don't need anyones pity,and that we as Africans are more than capable of advance civilization.

Precolonial Black Africa :
 A Comparative Study of the Political and Social Systems of Europe and Black Africa, from Antiquity to the Formation of Mod
by Cheikh Anta Diop

This book juxtaposes medieval West African societies with their European counterparts. Diop utilizes primary souces (e.g., "Tarikh-as-Sudan" and "Tarikh-al-Fettash") to illustrate the fundamental components of medieval West African civilization and political organization. Aspects of African culture that are generally regarded as "non-African" are discussed, such as the existence of indigenous African scripts, the use of armor in African military regiments, in-depth university curricula, and even the possiblity of pre-Columbian navigation to America. This book is a must read for student of precolonial West African history

Black Man of the Nile
 and His Family

Black Man of the Nile and His Family, first published in 1972, is Dr. Ben's best known work. It captures much of the substance of his early research on ancient Africa. In a masterful and unique manner, Dr. Ben uses Black Man of the Nile to challenge and expose "Europeanized" African History. He points up the distortion after distortion made in the long record of African contributions to world civilization. Once exposed he attcks these distortions with a vengence, providing a spellbinding corrective lesson in our story.

Stolen Legacy
by George G. M. James

The book is an attempt to show that the true authors of Greek philosophy were not the Greeks, but the people of North Africa, commonly called the Egyptians; and the praise and honor falsely given to the Greeks for centuries belong to the people of North Africa, and therefore to the African Continent. Consequently, this theft of the African legacy by the Greeks led to the erroneous world opinion that the African Continent has made no contribution to civilization, and that its people are naturally backward. This is the misrepresentation that has become the basis of race prejudice, which has affected all people of color.

Wealth of the Yoruba People
by Kayode J. Fakinlede

Wealth of the Yoruba People suggests that, contrary to popular opinion, African people are capable of building wealth without external influences. However, for this to happen, freedom must be granted to all individuals and all ethnic-nations to use their own resources as they see fit.  African governments, in their efforts to be all things to all people, often stiffle the creative abilities of the citizens. They therefore constitute the major stumbling block to African development.  The book uses previous efforts by Yoruba people for example and suggests ways for this ethnic-nation to recapture its former glory.

World's Great Men of Color
by J.A. Rogers

World's Great Men of Color is a comprehensive account of the great Black personalities in world history. J. A. Rogers was one of the first Black scholars to devote most of his life to researching the lives of hundreds of men and women of color. This first volume is a convenient reference; equipped with a comprehensive introduction, it treats all aspects of recorded Black history. J. A. Rogers's book is vital reading for everyone who wants a fuller and broader understanding of the great personalities who have shaped our world.

The Invention of Women : Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses
by Oyeronke Oyewumi

The author traces the misapplication of Western, body-oriented concepts of gender through the history of gender discourses in Yoruba studies. THE INVENTION OF WOMEN demonstrates that biology as a rationale for organizing the social world is a Western construction not applicable in Yoruban culture where social organization was determined by relative age .
Oyewunmi goes into an area previously thought to be fully explored, and shatters all the presumptions in an indisputable fashion. The Yoruba 'woman' has been steeped in the image of her Western counterpart by people who never tried hard enough to find out her true roles and social functions in pre-colonial times. This book is written with a great deal of intuitiveness, depth and logic. It is painstakinly researched and thorough, yet imminently readable. It's the best book I've read in years.

Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization
by Anthony T. Browder

"The civilization of Egypt, and of Africa in general, is the most written about and the least understood of all known subjects. This is not an accident or an error in misunderstanding the available information. Except for Egypt, African people have been programmed out of the respectable commentary of history. Europeans have claimed the non-African creation of Egypt in order to downgrade the position of African people in world history. They have laid the foundation of what they call Western Civilization on a structure that the Western mind did not create. In doing so, they have used no logic.
Tony Browder's book Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization is about correcting some of these misconceptions so the reader, in fact, can be introduced to a Nile Valley Civilization in order to understand its role as the parent of future civilizations. In his book... Browder has associated himself with some top-level academic company. He is both a teacher and a learner. In both cases he has done well." Dr. John Henrik Clarke From the Introduction

Marcus Garvey & The Vision Of Africa
by John Henrik Clarke

Among Black leaders, Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was unique. His popularity was universal, his program for the return of African people to their motherland shook the foundations of three empires, all subsequent Black Power movements have owed a debt to his example, and his prophecy has been fulfilled in the independence that brought into being more than thirty African nations.
This illuminating reader shows Garvey in all his dimensions. Among the many contributors are, in addition to Garvey himself, W. E. B. Du Bois, E. Franklin Frazier, William Z. Foster, Amy Jacques Garvey, and the editor, John Henrik Clarke

Daughters of Isis
by Joyce A. Tyldesley

This book is an excellent scholarly study of the women of Ancient Egypt. Pulling exclusively from written accounts and archaeology finds, Ms. Tyldesley remarks on what we know of all facets of the lives of the women of this age. She is careful to admit when we don't have enough knowledge to guess the meaning of this, or the customary use of that. She is never afraid to admit we just don't know for sure.
The great scope of this work manages to be laid out in an easy to read and understand format that is entertaining as well as informative. Interspersed throughout the text is quotes from various ancient translated sources that give an insight to daily life and beliefs. The book also is wonderful because it looks at both the wealthy Queens and the lowly servants, the slaves, the merchant's wives.
What did they wear? Why did they wear wigs and shave their natural hair? What jobs did women hold? How were marriages arranged? Did harems of women really exist? Which women ruled Egypt alone? What rights did women have in Ancient Egypt? What was day to day life like? Why was Ancient Egypt the very best society for women at the time? What did they eat?
It is all explained with supporting information, footnotes, and an extensive bibliography to advance your search for information after you've read this book. Highly recommended addition to your library!



How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
by Walter Rodney
An exceptionally well-written account of facts and historic events that contibutes validity to Walter Rodney's case. Clearly an enormous amount of research was done for this analysis to be as clear cut and decisive as it illustrated. A fantastic piece of armor for any student or intellectual of African/World History. We were so captivated by this book that we have made it a point to relay its information to all that we know and have even given it as a gift to many of our friends and family menbers world wide