By Ms Jheri Worldwide
Staff Writer
J.A. Rogers’ World’s Greatest Men of Color Volume I resonated deeply with me especially in our current political climate of roll backs and “Black jobs.” Its chronological and location-based structure made it easy to follow and visualize exceptional Black leaders. This text, offering a monumental historical perspective, is incredibly relevant in today’s climate where the contributions of Black and Indigenous people are often overlooked and undervalued. Reading J.A. Rogers was an empowering experience, filling me with a sense of accomplishment and knowledge I never knew. The highlighted character traits of these leaders resonated profoundly, making me feel connected to their greatness.
This book has genuinely shifted my perspective on leadership and gave me a great appreciation of our history. While it features familiar names like Imhotep, Thotmes III, Aesop, Makeda, Hannibal, Cleopatra, Bilal, Eugene Chen, Sonni Ali, Chaka, Bambaata, Haile Selassie and so many others providing deeper context and references, solidifying their stories and lived experiences. Lokman (c. 1100 B.C.) a sage was quoted the text as saying, “It would be a greater pity to prostitute lessons of wisdom to rascals incapable of understanding and appreciating them; there is no file that can clean iron of its rust after the rust has eaten through.”
World’s Greatest Men of Color Volume I grants the reader a perspective on the fight against colonization that are not widely known or taught. Many a king fought other African nations and encroaching European powers. There we many unlikely collaborations and rampant violence inward and outward. We learned about Chaka of the Zulus (1786 - 1828), “Chaka’s whole being was concentrated on supremacy. Iron himself, he imposed his hardness on others. The warrior who showed the slighted fear was as good as dead. After each battle Chaka held a review, and as the warriors marched by he called out those of whom he had not had a good report. These were stabbed to death on the spot.”
This book is essential for anyone seeking Black history beyond the often-limited scope of traditional American history. Significantly, Rogers cites primarily European historians, underscoring how history has been rewritten, while demonstrating that readily available information confirms the vast contributions of the African continent to global greatness. We meet Ann Zingha (1582 - 1663) in the text and John Ogilby, an Englishman we lived during her time shared, “She is a cunning and prudent virago so much addicted to the use of arms that she hardly uses other exercise, and withal so generously valiant that she never hurt a Portuguese after quarter was given and commanded all her slaves and soldiers the like.” It should be noted that after her death Angola fell to the power of the Portuguese.
Mulai Ismael (1647 - 1727) the son of a slave woman who wasn notably ugly became a sultan of Morocco. The text shares of Mulai, “the white Christian powers, he pushed them entirely out of Northwest Africa. He defeated the English at Tangier and Fort Charles, and broke the hold of Spain on Africa. Crushing the Spaniards at Larache, he drove them across the straits, Moroccan ships plundered the vessels and the coasts of Spain, France, and Englandm bringing back tens of thousands of white Christian captives who were held for ransom at from $1,000 to $15,000 each.” Many Moors were taken to Europe as slaves as well. By reading the text you’ll learn about the differing types of slavery and the way the different leaders treated their captives through time.
Rogers’ diligent research clarifies many historical elements. For example, while we frequently hear about the Moors, surviving visual representations are scarce. The book explains that this is likely due to Islamic tradition and the fact that many existing images were created by their adversaries during the Crusades. Muslims referred to often in the text as the “Moors” generally didn’t produce a significant body of paintings primarily because their cultural focus during their period of power in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal). Islamic traditions, which generally discouraged figurative art, particularly depictions of humans, due to religious restrictions assert that only God should create depictions of living beings. Instead there was a focus on calligraphy and geometric designs which can still be seen in the surviving structures and texts.
J.A. Rogers’ World’s Greatest Men of Color Volume I is a highly impactful text for anyone wanting to better understand the world and it’s strongest leaders through time.
