Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan, Professor Emeritus of Africana Studies was born December 31, 1918 in Gondar, Ethiopia, and passed on March 19, 2015 in Harlem-Bronx, NY
Services for the late great activist, Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan, will be held next week. The Wake will be held Thursday April 9, 2015 between 4 p.m.-8 p.m. at Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 W138th Street, NY, NY 10030. Funeral Service will be Friday April 10, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Abyssinian Baptist Church as well.
We the Universal Zulu Nation give honor to our honorable elder, Yosef Ben-Jochannan, for his hard work, time, efforts, travels, opening of the Third Eye, keeper and finder of Ancient Knowledge of Afrika, (Alkebu Lan) for generations to come, and for humans who are here in the now. May Allah be please with our brother and Anpu (Anubus) guide him swiftly back to our Ancestors. Dr. Ben is a Giant in waking up so many who might still be in the land of Nod, in a sleep state of mind. We honor him, respect him, and even if you didn’t agree with what he said in our story, he is still our royality. Love, peace, freedom, and thought in honor of the great Dr. Ben and all his Legacy of books forever the all in the all of all. Amen Ra be pleased.
–Minister Afrika Bambaataa
Dr. Ben-Jochannan immigrated to the United States in the early 1940s. He worked as a draftsman and continued his studies. In 1945 Dr. Ben was appointed chairman of the African Studies Committee at the headquarters of the newly founded UNESCO, a position from which he reportedly stepped down in 1970. In 1950, he began teaching Egyptology at Malcolm King College, and subsequently at City College in New York City. From 1976 to 1987, he was an adjunct professor at Cornell University.
Dr. Ben-Jochannan was the author of 49 books, primarily on ancient Nile Valley civilizations and their impact on Western cultures. In his works he claims that the original Jews were from Ethiopia and were Black Africans, while the White Jews later adopted the Jewish faith and its customs. In 2002, Ben-Jochannan donated his personal library of more than 35,000 volumes, manuscripts and ancient scrolls to the Nation of Islam. In the years preceding his death Ben-Jochannan lived in Harlem, New York City. Dr. Ben lived to be 96-years-old, and left behind a lifetime legacy.
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The funeral of the late Dr. Ben brought out the activist community as family and friends gathered to show their condolences. NBA player David West paid to cover the cost of Dr Ben’s Funeral last Friday. West says that he never met Dr. Ben, but he was influenced by listening to tapes of his lectures. As a way of giving back he paid to cover the cost of the entire funeral to show his respect.
R.I.P to the late great Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan…
-Infinite Wiz (@InfiniteWiz)
