They Came Before Columbus

They Came Before Columbus

Elementary schools across the country tell the wonderful story of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. They paint a glories picture of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria sailing beautifully to the shores of the new world. Teachers then explain how the Pilgrims and the Native Americans enjoyed a wonderful feast together to celebrate unity and thanksgiving. Unfortunately what children are being taught is a fantasized British perspective on history. The history of the United States has always been told from the point of view of European Americans. How can a place be discovered that is already inhabited by a population of human beings? To answer that question, it's not possible. It was the same frame of thinking that lead America to believe that Africans were first brought to America on slave ships by Europeans, when in fact they had a long history of trading with Native Americans long before Christopher Columbus "discovered" America. Ivan Van Sertima tells his version of the truth, based on research and actual history, in his book They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America.

"Van Sertima was born in Karina Village, Guyana. He maintained his British citizenship throughout his life however did not live in Britain all of his life. He completed primary and secondary school in Guyana, and started writing poetry. He attended the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London from 1959. In addition to his creative writing, Van Sertima completed his undergraduate studies in African languages and literature at SOAS in 1969, where he graduated with honors. During his studies, he learned Swahili and Hungarian. From 1957 to 1959, worked a Press and Broadcasting Officer in the Guyana Information Services During the 1960s, he worked for several years in Great Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts to the Caribbean and Africa. Van Sertima married Maria Nagy in 1964; they adopted two sons. In 1970 Van Sertima immigrated to the United States, where he entered Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for graduate work. He published his They Came Before Columbus 1976, as a Rutgers graduate student (wiki1)."

Van Sertima retired in 2006. He died on 25 May 2009 aged 74. He was survived by his wife and four adult children. His widow, Jacqueline Van Sertima, said she would continue to publish the Journal of African Civilizations. She also planned to publish a book of his poetry.""

Throughout the book, Van Sertima discusses in detail, the many artifacts that American and Africa alone shared. The list included navigation and shipbuilding, the sources of latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, the many cultural analogies found, African languages and the transportation of plants, cloth and animals from Africa to the Americas. There were also the diaries, letters