Speaker kicks off Kwanzaa celebration

Expert shares history of African influences in ancient Egypt, early Americas

RYAN GASKINS / contributing photographer Ivan Van Sertima spoke in celebration of Kwanzaa Tuesday.

In celebration of Kwanzaa, an expert on Africans' involvement in ancient Americas and Egypt spoke to an audience of approximately 100 students and faculty Tuesday in Grafton-Stovall Theatre about the prominence of black people in history. 

A Guyana, South America native, Ivan Van Sertima has dedicated his life's work to literature, linguistics and anthropology.
 
Van Sertima's speech indicated that through the study of these three fields, he has discovered the importance of Africans in both the Americas and in Egypt.

Van Sertima said he was called before the U.S. Congress because his book, "They Came Before Columbus," was an interference with Columbus Day and the celebrations associated with Christopher Columbus. Van Sertima said he convinced Congress that Africans were in the Americas before Columbus, as well as in Egypt 12,000 years before Christ.

Van Sertima provided his audience with research about the presence of Africans in the Americas before Columbus allegedly discovered the Americas. He gave 12 citations of Europeans who saw black people in the Americas in the early 1500s.

He also said that there are "powerful currents that connect Africa and the Americas." According to Van Sertima, these currents naturally take a boat from Africa to the Americas. 

He gave examples of words that originated in Africa and appeared in America when Africans came. Words such as "banana," which are used in both Africa and the Americas, could not "be possible without the meeting of the two worlds," according to Van Sertima.

Van Sertima discussed how the ancient Egyptian culture consisted of traditional African heritage despite the common belief that ancient Egypt was predominantly influenced by the Middle East.

He said numerous skeletons with African traits were found in Egypt. He also said the original nose of the Sphinx, before Napoleon's army destroyed it , allegedly was broad (similar to that of many African people). He said, "We have established beyond a doubt that the original Egyptians were African."
Van Sertima brought these two worlds together by explaining that Africans provided a direct relationship between the ancient Americas and ancient Egypt. 

There are several factors that indicate a relationship between Africa, Egypt and the Americas, according to Van Sertima.

He said Egyptian possession of a map of South America, a seven-braided hair style originated in ancient Egypt and adopted by South Americans and Egyptian use of cocaine, a drug grown in South America, prove the cultures' interactions.

With this information, Van Sertima said he feels that history needs to be rewritten because events "have been forgotten or clouded."

Some JMU students agree with him.

Junior Heidi Hanger said, "I agree that history needs to be reviewed [and in reviewing history] it could probably be rewritten." 

Senior Mike Masto said he feels that "the texts that are traditionally used in schools have a very Euro-centric slant to them." 

Freshman Victoria Jessie said she thinks, "when obvious [historical occurrences] are found, they should be incorporated into history."

Van Sertima said he believes that no race has a monopoly of intelligence or enterprise or genius.

He said he feels that it is important for college students to learn about the prominence of Africans in ancient history because "in order to bring about an end to prejudices of people of African-American decent, it is important to educate [people] about the achievements of Africans."