The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. by Chancellor Williams

The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. by Chancellor Williams

                I have been having quite a few conversations about how history is taught and why history is taught the way it is. Take United States history for example. I was never taught anything about treaties being broken between Native Americans and the government. I was never taught anything about the Trails of Tears or the massacres that took place as the states moved west. Even with slavery, I don’t feel as if anything is taught outside of the fact that it once existed, that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and the Civil War settled things. Don’t even ask what I was taught about the Reconstruction Era because that was non-existent. But the question becomes why and the answer is simply exceptionalism. So when I look at Africa, a continent rich with history, I wonder why I know so little about it. Williams with this book attempts to answer the lingering questions around Africa. He focuses on the discoveries and successes of Africans and stresses why so little credit is given to African pioneers. Colonialism is the culprit and it was something that Africans have battled against for thousands of years.

                Williams conducted a massive amount of research to create this book. With that being said it is still only a comprehensive look at the history of Africa. It would take, as he notes, many more volumes to reflect the true history of the entire continent. What Williams focuses on is the colonial powers and overwhelming conquest that occurred. Williams looks at religion and race as a factor, defining what the term “mulatto” meant at the time, and how colorism even then formed a caste system that would help bring down nations and force Africans out of their ancestral home. The information and examples he gives are extensive and calls into question a lot of what has been taught regarding who deserves credit for many of the discoveries and accomplishments of that time. As Williams makes his way through time to more current history, we reach what we know as modern-day slavery and the slave trade.

                There is a plethora of information in this book to digest. It is almost overwhelming the amount of information provided in this book especially since I don’t believe I have ever seen a comprehensive look at African history. I will say that Williams has a strong view of why he believes that so much of this information isn’t openly provided and it is racism. Williams openly admits and discusses throughout that he believes that most of the scholars that presented information about Africa did so in such a way to promote the idea that Blacks are inferior. He believes that revealing the truth about African history would dispel any notion that Black people are lesser than, which was in many ways the basis of slavery. It was the image of the Black Savage that allowed slavery to exist for as long as it did. The information that Williams provided historically contradicts that notion.  Williams is very honest about why he feels this way and even lays out in the second section of this book a plan to help Black people living in the U.S. especially, to make their way out of the grasp of white supremacy.

                In the end it doesn’t matter if you agree with Williams’s personal opinion or bias. What he did with The Destruction of Black Civilization was provide readers with a comprehensive history to Africa’s history. There is much to be gained by being exposed to this information. But so much more is needed. I definitely recommend this book. Essential reading if interested in African or World History. I give this 4 out of 5 stars.