On October 3, 2014, Dr. Runoko Rashidi visited Johnson C. Smith University to provide a free lecture entitled “African and African-American Contributions To The World”. Dr. Rashidi is the author of The Global African Community: The African Presence in Asia, Australia and the South Pacific; Black Star: The African Presence in Early Europe, and African Star over Asia: The Black Presence in the East. Recently, Dr. Rashidi gained notoriety with young people because of his appearance in the top-selling documentary entitled Hidden Colors 2: The Triumph of Melinan. In the documentary film, Dr. Rashidi discussed the African presence in early Asia.
In addition to the general public, Johnson C. Smith University students, staff, and alumni attended Dr. Rashidi’s lecture. During the lecture, Dr. Rashidi discussed kinky and curly hair texture of Africans in ancient Asia, Egypt, Europe, Greece, and India. The audience was shocked to see pictures of black children with naturally blonde hair who live in Solomon Islands (Melanesia).
This was Dr. Rashidi’s first visit to JCSU and prior to his visit he wasn’t familiar with the university. He was overwhelmed by the number of attendees and their interest in his research. Dr. Rashidi looks forward to return in JCSU in the future.
Black Man in Ancient Greece.