A public engagement was hosted on Monday evening to recognise the work of Dr. Ivan Van Sertima.
The engagement was hosted by the African Studies Research Group of the University of Guyana’s Department of Language and Cultural Studies in the Faculty of Education and Humanities, to acknowledge his contributions in light of the upcoming 50th independence anniversary celebrations.
Van Sertima, who was born in Kitty in 1935, is renowned for his work in African Studies. His first book, They Came Before Columbus, was published while he was still a graduate student at Rutgers University, where he would later serve as an Associate Professor. In this and his other works, Van Sertima argued that there existed prehistoric contact and diffusion of culture between the African and American continents.
During Monday evening’s event, attendees listened to tributes to Van Sertima by local and overseas-based presenters, such as Eric Phillips and Nigel Westmaas.
The University of Guyana Library was also officially presented with the new book by Dr. Runoko Rashidi, Uncovering the African Past: The Ivan Van Sertima Papers. The presentation was done by Stedman Aaron (Brother Inuni), co-founder of African Echoes Inc, based in New Jersey, USA.
In his tribute, which was read to the audience, Rashidi described the book as “a unique work, beautifully illustrated with original photographs [which] covers the major arenas of [Van Sertima’s] scholarly life and looks at the immense contributions that African people have given to the world.”
He explains that the book is itself a tribute to “the towering scholar.”
“A people should never forget their history. They should never forget their great men and women. They should never forget their great scholars. This effort is an attempt to prevent the memory of one such man, one of our greatest scholars—Ivan Van Sertima—from fading into the oblivion of the night. To Ivan Van Sertima we say, well done. Your work will never be forgotten. We salute and honour you,” Rashidi said.
