LinkedIn
linkedin.com › pulse › words-inspiration-our-sacred-mission-dr-leonard-jeffries-bomani
Words Of Inspiration: "Our Sacred Mission" By Dr. Leonard Jeffries
February 11, 2019 - So once he was prepared to give up my pyramid—and I always carry an image of the pyramids around—once he was prepared to give them up, I said I would come down. And he called in from Hong Kong to tell his people, "Tell Jeffries he can have his pyramids back."
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askhistorians › were the pyramids built by black africans?
r/AskHistorians on Reddit: Were the Pyramids built by black africans?
September 30, 2023 -
I was reading a book by Kehinde Andrews called the ' New Age of Empire' that made the claim the pyramids and ancient Egypt were populated by black descendents from Nubia; His content was based on a famous book by Cheikh Diop 1974, called "The African origin of civilisation'. There has been controversy about this in the news recently: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/18/world/middleeast/egypt-african-dutch-museum.html I am wondering what evidence there is for both sides and if anyone has a critique of Diops work.
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It depends on what you mean by black. There is a certain popular fascination with proving that ancient Egyptians were or were not "black". It is a pity that the few times someone asks a question about Africa in this subreddit, most of the time it is either about slavery or about the race of ancient Egyptians, and the latter is a topic that most Africanists (specialists in African studies) have a hard time communicating the reasons why it is actually misguided. I’ll try my best, and if you are interested u/khosikulu answered a related question long long time ago. You mention Cheik Diop’s 1974 “The African origin of civilization”. Cheik Anta Diop was a well-known philosopher, physicist, and politician from Senegal. Around the time he was writing, social movements like black power and the black nationalist movement were active in the United States, and most African nations had already become independent. Regrettably, the fruits of both the civil rights movement and of decolonization were still far from what was expected from these movements. In this context, it was natural for a movement seeking to re-center the history of Africa within the experience of Africans and the wider African diaspora to emerge. We nowadays call this worldview Afrocentrism, and though Diop never described himself as such, much of his writings became the basis for this reinterpretation of history. This ideology also made it into UNESCO's General History of Africa, and its presence in book 2, chapter 1 is one of the reasons why AskHistorians' booklist for Africa includes the disclaimer “Please note that much of the scholarship is upwards of 30 years old, and may not represent current consensus based on new evidence.” It is expected that a new volume which reviews this controversy will be published at the end of the year, and I am looking forward to it. Afrocentrism must be seen as a reaction to the Eurocentrism of the historical community in the 70’s. Things have changed, yet it was not so many years ago that professional historians would speak about “Western civilization” as the benchmark against which every other culture had to be measured. I am not saying that this no longer happens, but these days you are more likely to hear it from a conservative politician than from a young historian. Did you ever notice how older museums used to present a sort of "linear evolution" of human civilization? Something along the lines Egypt -> Greece -> Rome -> Europe? And why is Egypt so often presented separately from the rest of African history? Africa is a geographic convention, and of itself there is no doubt that Egypt is located in the continent. Well, Diop argued that actually, “Graeco-Roman civilization” took all its good ideas from Egypt; hence, from Africa. Some classicists took offense at this suggestion, no doubt traces of institutional racism and elitism in the ivory tower played a role, however what really took this theory into the realm of pseudo-history was conflating being African with being “black”, especially “black” as belonging to a monolithic “black civilization” common to every person whose skin tone was/is on the darker side. This is not to say that people with a darker hue have not been racialized by contemporary society, the effects of the transatlantic slave trade unfortunately are still present and discrimination is common on both sides of the Atlantic; yet, it is not possible to assume that the experiences of the every black person to have ever lived were common to what it currently means to be black. Moreover, looking for proofs of this theory, Afrocentric scholars often essentialize "blackness" by stereotyping the cultural, phenotypic, genetic, or intellectual characteristics of “black people". Your mileage may vary, but it is not uncommon to find Afrocentric aficionados discussing “subnasal prognathism”. Research results consistently show that there is more variation within human populations than between them. I am aware that race as a concept has a very peculiar meaning in countries such as the United States, yet as a social construction, it is historical malpractice to apply our cultural logic to a society foreign to it from the past. Back to your question, it is very likely that some of the Egyptian pyramids were designed and constructed by humans with a darker skin tone. We know that the 25th dynasty originated in Nubia; however, this doesn’t prevent other pharaohs or dynasties from also having a similar skin color. On the other hand, current Egyptians are extremely sensitive to images of Cleopatra that present her with a dark skin tone; blackness and Islam are a topic for another question. I understand the irritation that foreigners misrepresenting their proud past cause, nonetheless, I have never heard them complain about the lack of black extras in movies set in ancient Egypt; banning a TV series is too much for me. I personally find Afrocentrism annoying, but would I ban it? No. The reason I am writing this long text is to have an answer to which I can redirect future questions. Afrocentrists tried to substitute “white civilization” with “black civilization”, not realizing that neither of them exists at all. Clarence Walker is even more severe, calling it “Eurocentrism in blackface.” (Walker, 2001). For my part, I have tried to make it understandable why such a movement developed; nevertheless, there is no need to plagiarize from ancient Egypt in order to have African history to look up to. Egyptian history is African history, yet there is way more. The continent is so complex and diverse that it would be great loss for humanity to concentrate only on sphinxes and pyramids, and it does a disservice to countless African societies worthy of study on their own. Sources: Banner-Haley, C. P. (2003). Review of “We can’t go home again: an argument about Afrocentrism”, by C. E. Walker. The Journal of Southern History, 69(3), 663–664. DOI: 10.2307/30040016 Bernal, M. (2014). Black Athena. In R. O. Collins & R. Iyob (Eds.), Problems in African history : the precolonial centuries (fourth updated edition). Markus Wiener Publishers. Diop, C. A. (2014). The African origins of Western civilization. In R. O. Collins & R. Iyob (Eds.), Problems in African history : the precolonial centuries (fourth updated edition). Markus Wiener Publishers. Hall, B. (2011). A history of race in Muslim West Africa, 1600 – 1960. Cambridge University Press. Lefkowitz, M. & Rogers, G. (Eds.) (1996). Black Athena revisited. The University of North Carolina Press. Mauny, R. (2014). A review of Diop. In R. O. Collins & R. Iyob (Eds.), Problems in African history : the precolonial centuries (fourth updated edition). Markus Wiener Publishers. Walker, C. E. (2001). We can't go home again: an argument about Afrocentrism. Oxford University Press.
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Videos
Faithweb
xenohistorian.faithweb.com › holybook › articles › race.html
What Race Were the Ancient Egyptians?
In 1996 a Milwaukee teacher promoted self-esteem among his black students by teaching that the ancient Egyptians were black men with wings, who flew around the pyramids until some evil white men came along and killed them off! Another Afro-centric teacher, Dr. Leonard Jeffries of New York, ...
Bryn Mawr Classical Review
bmcr.brynmawr.edu › 1996 › 1996.04.05
Not Out of Africa – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
April 5, 1996 - Since then, the label “Afrocentrist” has been attached to a number of intellectual positions ranging from “All good things come from Africa,” or as Leonard Jeffries puts it: “Africa creates, Europe imitates,” to those, among whom I see myself, who merely maintain that Africans and ...
AALBC
aalbc.com › authors › Yosef-Ben-Jochannan
Yosef Ben-Jochannan | African American Literature Book Club
But Ben-Jochannan goes against the grain and charts African history from the Nile Valley and ancient Egypt as his starting point. “You have to look to the Nile Valley to understand black history,” he said. "Black people built the pyramids.
Mailstar
mailstar.net › diop.html
Diop: the Black African presence in Ancient Egypt
Since then, the label "Afrocentrist" has been attached to a number of intellectual positions ranging from "All good things come from Africa," or as Leonard Jeffries puts it: "Africa creates, Europe imitates," to those, among whom I see myself, who merely maintain that Africans and peoples of ...
Final Call
finalcall.com › artman › publish › Perspectives_1 › article_9564.shtml
Ten Best Lies of Black History
January 29, 2013 - Black slaves were on loan to build ... America’s infrastructure, including its buildings, roads, bridges, and railways. Blacks built America—just as they built the pyramids in Egypt—and then gave civilization to the new man on earth, the European....
SF Bay View
sfbayview.com › home › black genius built the pyramids, not slave labor
Black genius built the pyramids, not slave labor
May 22, 2019 - Black Genius built the pyramids, not slave labor. Black hands have built pyramids all over the world. In Afraka, Asia, Amerika and, apparently, even ancient Atlantis! I mention this because there are some very schizophrenic people out there ...
Open Culture
openculture.com › home › who really built the egyptian pyramids—and how did they do it?
Who Really Built the Egyptian Pyramids—And How Did They Do It? | Open Culture
April 5, 2025 - They know who built the pyramids …. It was the Nubians (modern Sudan) they ruled the upper and lower. They were black Africans
Facebook
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Joe Rogan confirms Ancient Egyptian Pyramids built by ...
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Blackpressusa
blackpressusa.com › commentary-black-genius-built-the-pyramids-not-slave-labor
COMMENTARY: Black genius built the pyramids, not slave labor – BlackPressUSA
January 17, 2019 - Most of whom are political prisoners trapped in some dungeon or ghetto or impoverished lifestyle. Whether the news of these findings in the Grand Canyon and the Atlantic Ocean are true or not, Black hands have built pyramids and great civilizations all over the world.
Quora
quora.com › Who-built-the-ancient-Egypt-pyramid-blacks-or-whites
Who built the ancient Egypt pyramid, blacks or whites? - Quora
Answer (1 of 17): Neither Egyptians Built them. Not black sub-Saharan or white Europeans. This race baiting questions need to stop Egyptians come in all colors some even black but not Negroid . This obsession with skin color is just the lowest form of ignorance And just straight up racism. We Eg...
Quora
quora.com › Did-black-people-build-the-pyramids
Did black people build the pyramids? - Quora
Answer (1 of 19): No. They would have more closely resembled this guy, his likeness here, including a restored statue, that was severely damaged. Yes, it had a head. Hemiunu is a man who lived in ancient Egypt, and who is believed to have been the architect of the Great Pyramid of Giza. As vizie...
The Conversation
theconversation.com › racism-is-behind-outlandish-theories-about-africas-ancient-architecture-83898
Racism is behind outlandish theories about Africa’s ancient architecture
December 2, 2025 - Despite all this evidence, some people still refuse to believe that anyone from Africa (or anywhere in what is today considered the developing world) could possibly have created and constructed the Giza pyramids or other ancient masterpieces.
Encyclopedia.com
encyclopedia.com › education › news-wires-white-papers-and-books › jeffries-leonard-1937
Jeffries, Leonard 1937– | Encyclopedia.com
For espousing what he feels are the “real issues,” Jeffries has been portrayed in the press as a racist using questionable scholarship to attack whites, especially Jews. New York magazine contributor John Taylor contended that Jeffries “would never have been given administrative responsibility and authority had he not been black.
The Guardian
theguardian.com › world › 2010 › jan › 11 › great-pyramid-tombs-slaves-egypt
Great Pyramid tombs unearth 'proof' workers were not slaves | Egypt | The Guardian
February 14, 2018 - "If the Hebrews built anything, then it was the city of Ramses as mentioned in Exodus," said Mazar. Dieter Wildung, a former director of Berlin's Egyptian Museum, said it is "common knowledge in serious Egyptology" that the pyramid builders were not slaves. "The myth of the slaves building pyramids is only the stuff of tabloids and Hollywood," Wildung said.
Facebook
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The Great Pyramids were built by Black Africans! Make ...
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YouTube
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Paul Mooney - Black People Built The Pyramids (2001) RARE - YouTube
Mega-rare Paul Mooney pay-per-view stand up special from July 2001. Shared for historical purposes. I do not own the rights.#####Reelblack's mission is to ed...
Published March 5, 2020
Wiki2
wiki2.org › en › Leonard_Jeffries
Leonard Jeffries — Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2
July 1, 2019 - "The Triangular Trade: A Global Systems Analysis" - Dr. Leonard Jeffries (Feb 15, 2021) Black People Built the Pyramids! - PART 2: Featuring Dr. Leonard Jeffries · HAPI Talks with Prof. James Small & Dr. Leonard Jeffries about "High Valued Men" in African Culture ·
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ancient_Egyptian_race_controversy
Ancient Egyptian race controversy - Wikipedia
5 days ago - The question of the race of the people of ancient Egypt was raised historically as a product of the early racial concepts of the 18th and 19th centuries, and was linked to models of racial hierarchy primarily based on craniometry and anthropometry. A variety of views circulated about the racial ...