John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk (1996) User Reviews

One of the great thinkers of the 20th Century

[MuzikJunky · 8/10 · 5 July 2002]

An Afrocentric perspective is necessary for a true understanding of the interconnectedness of all peoples of the world. By teaching from an Afrocentric perspective, a legitimate but misunderstood philosophical and academic discipline, we, as citizens of the world, gain additional insight to the contributions that African people have made to humanity. Clarke was one who recognized that African people were misrepresented by scholars in the post-imperialist era, when scholarship regarding people of African origin was suppressed and almost eliminated by colonialism.

When status-quo bearers are close-minded to new ideas, particularly the idea of the Ancient Egyptians (Kemetans) as dark-skinned, woolly haired Africans, you wonder if ignorance has played a role in the shaping of such ideas. Afrocentric scholarship, among other things, attempts to return the Kemetans to their rightful place as Africans; imperialism tried to separate north Africa from so-called sub-Saharan Africa because it was felt that Black African people were not technologically sophisticated enough to come up with "civilized" societies. In la Monde Francophone (the French-language-speaking world), Afrocentricity is recognized academically, and the scholars and thinkers, especially the work of the Senegalese Egyptologist and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop, are canonized.

The closing credits say, "The comments made by Dr. Clarke are not necessarily those of the filmmakers." You may not agree with everything, but even with the evidence presented, you cannot dismiss facts uncovered by Clarke and his contemporaries as fiction. An important documentary, one that will wake you up to the rich possibilities of different perspectives.

The Liberating Mind

[tomas-172 · 9/10 · 7 November 2006]

I have seen the Clarke documentary more than 10 times and always see or hear new insights from this great genius of a man! His liberating approach to African history and its impact on the world stage has freed me to utilize his innovative approach in something as seemingly mundane as Sunday School. The inclusion of African history in my Sunday School teachings (thanks to Dr. Clarke) has contributed to an explosion of attendance and constructive input. I will continue to watch this magnificent piece of cinematic work whenever I can find it. Dr. Clarke's spirit literally breathes life into Bible teaching every Sunday in my neck of the woods.Thank God for blessing us with his liberating mind!

Of A Right-just Ancestor

[Zeech · 10/10 · 18 February 2002]

Bought this from Radio WBIA drive, and like a Coltrane solo, it truely flipped me. It's not a lecture, from this heavy, heavy weight historian (think he set up the Black and Puerto Rican Dept. at Hunter) and not a biography. It's a flip of both, JC summarises Afrikan history from 10,000 BC to the present day and during this macro overview, he drops his own past of which I knew nothing. And honestly while watching it with me mate, we both felt inspired equaly from the macro Nile Valley civilizations and the struggle this little brother had growing up.

I am so glad to have picked this up before he became and ancestor and watch it whenever I feel depressed, and it does help lift me up. zeech

Challenges the Mind

[emcoleman · 10/10 · 25 January 2004]

This documentary has caused me to question many of the things that I have always assumed to be true. African-Americans should give serious consideration to some of the historical arguments being made in this documentary. Never before has such hard hitting information been put forth in such a concise way. It should inspire viewers to investigate the effects of colonialism on our modern day human polity as well as correct history rewritten by the propagators of untruths about religion and history for the gain of wealth and power through the maintenance of a permanent underclass.

Walking Tall

[success91344 · 10/10 · 3 March 2005]

As a young African-American hip-hop musician, I've found this documentary inspiring and highly interesting. It touches on many issues never taught in my schooling here in the good old United States of America. The plight of the African -in whichever part of the world- seems more palatable than before. By that I mean I now see the 'method' to the madness of the world's view of my people. It's also highly entertaining with many a laugh here and there... My view of the world is now much more broader than before after viewing this documentary. In time... things will change for the betterment of all mankind. I feel that this documentary will be an attribute to that change. I recommend its' viewing to everyone. No matter the race. This is a story of the history of the world. Told from the experience and observation of a man who dedicated his life to the study of the world. It's said that "What is hidden in the darkness shall be brought out into the light". This is the light. It should be shown in grade schools and colleges. It's a must see.

Great and Mighty

[tikemyler · 10/10 · 14 April 2005]

The world does not run on truth but rather on competing perceptions. This is why our politicians deal in "spin" (the weaving of perceptions) and our legal system has a standard of "reasonable doubt" (judgment rendered from how facts are perceived), rather than absolute verity. This documentary, noble in its aim, advances a reconciliation of how this adage has been advanced via the Eurocentric perception of history. Mr. Clarke, an eminent historian and educator, compels the truth seeker with his authoritative command of historical accounts long omitted, manipulated and rejected by the revisionism of European recorders of history. Perhaps others from other cultures will someday endeavor to unearth, reveal and make available to all their histories and make similar contributions to the world's historical reconciliation of truth, for as long as we continue to labor under the false, misguided and in some cases sophistic perceptions that govern our thinking, we will continue to be slaves to the dissent that divides the human family, rather than be liberated by the unbiased knowledge of our shared contributions and value to history. I recommend this film for its advancement of this aim.

An Afrocentric re-telling of history

[zootipantz · 1/10 · 6 June 2002]

This is documentary, narrated by actor Wesley Snipes, consists mostly of John Henrik Clarke, the late Chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter Studies, attempting to rewrite history with an extreme, Afrocentric bent, all the while spewing his hatred and contempt for the white man. The scholarship of Mr. Clarke is dubious at best, often laughable, and downright dishonest much of the time. He takes little grains of truth about ancient history, especially where Egypt is concerned, and embellishes these truths to the point where real history as it happened becomes unrecognizable. If you're looking for a scholarly history lesson, it should be stated that 'John Henrik Clark: A Great and Mighty Windbag (er, uh, Walk)' is NOT a credible source to seek such knowledge and understanding. However, those seeking a good and hearty laugh need look no further. This documentary is guaranteed to provide a laugh a minute, if not more.

This should be shown to all people in all schools

[adballoon · 10/10 · 28 January 2006]

This should be shown to all people in all schools as part of their history education. This is an amazing straight forward summary of history and the place that people of color have had in the world throughout time. It gives an excellent perspective on religion and how it is used to conquer and divide. This should be mandatory for all students in public schools throughout America. Because of it's take religion, history and how we got to where we are today I can see why it would be suppressed and ignored by the status quo. Thanks to all who were involved who made this movie possible. I saw it on the Sundance Channel and will never forget it. It reaffirms and adds to most of what I know of historically and religiously.

Reverse racism bolstered by dubious history

[wjfickling · 5/10 · 30 May 2005]

This documentary consists almost entirely of the octogenarian, and totally blind from glaucoma, John Henrik Clarke talking to the camera, backed up by old film clips and still photos. We hear at length Mr. Clarke's ideas regarding black nationalism, pan-Africanism and the like while learning almost nothing about Clarke as a person. He tells us that he earned a Ph.D., but we don't learn from where, and that he taught, but we don't learn where. We don't even learn if Clarke was married, has children, where he has lived since age 18, or any of the usual stuff of documentaries. We learn of his admiration for Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and Kwame Nkrumah and of his reservations about Martin Luther King (he thinks King was wrong to adopt non-violence as a philosophy). Clarke tells us that history has been dominated by a Eurocentric perspective (undoubtedly true), that black history has been egregiously neglected (undoubtedly true as well), that Africa was ravaged by the slave trade and colonialism (also undoubtedly true), and advocates a pan-African, black nationalist perspective. Fine--that is a respectable point of view, and he is certainly entitled to his opinion. What he is not entitled to do, however, is to distort history, which he does throughout this documentary. Here are some of his assertions, which are at best dubious and at worse demonstrable falsehoods:

1) He states that the civilization of ancient Egypt was a black civilization, but offers not one whit of evidence to support this. 2) He states that the ancient Carthaginian civilization, and Hannibal, were black, but again offers no evidence to support this. 3) He states that Egyptian civilization was the crowning glory of the ancient world, an assertion that is absurd by any reasonable standard. In fact, most people would have to strain to recall any lasting intellectual contributions made by the Egyptians, whose civilization was dwarfed intellectually by those of Greece and Rome. 4) He states that Carthage was conquered by "a group of thugs who weren't very well educated--the Romans." Absurd: he is talking about the civilization of Vergil, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, for any of whom there is no equivalent in the Carthaginian legacy. 5) In perhaps the most absurd, and demonstrably erroneous, assertion of all, he states that the fall of Rome was brought about in large part by the rise of Islam, and that Rome was defeated by the Arab Moslems when they invaded North Africa. Fact: Rome fell in 476 as a result of invasions from Gothic tribes from what is now Germany. Islam didn't originate until 632, and the Islamic conquest of North Africa didn't occur until the century after that, so Clarke is off by over 150 years. 6) Clarke states that W.E.B. DuBois was the greatest mind that America has ever produced. Well, he's entitled to his opinion, but he offers no evidence to support this point of view.

I could go on, but I'll stop here. The film has some merit in that it presents an alternative to Eurocentrism, but this merit is far outweighed by its outright distortions of fact. In all, a mediocre film at best. 5/10

I am thankful

[namvet6963113 · 10/10 · 28 January 2006]

I am Black and I have long felt that most if not all of this history has been held from us.I fought in the Vietnam War,after my service I have done a lot of globe running and from what I have seen with my own eye's and re-searched I have found to be true.Thanks for the format.And Please release this to the public.The facts of the black man African man have been formated for the world to look down on a people who have given more to the world than is noted.Pro Clarke has opened that door and this History must be released to the world.Some of the world uneducated scholars must be re educated to this thought and some of the facts that lead Pro Clarke to these statements.Again I wish to thank all who had a part in releasing this wealth of information.

Great documentary

[rharris-40 · 10/10 · 28 November 2007]

This is a great documentary and is a must see. The previous reviewer is an obvious white supremacists/racist who is quick to discredit John Henrik Clarke's telling of history but has no scholarship to challenge him with. Dr. Clarke is not re-telling history but correcting what has been omitted about Africans specifically and our place in the history of man. It is exactly this type of nonsense that makes the documentary important. Dr. Clarke became a historian because of the lies and omissions that had been told by white historians who attempted to write Africans out of history to support the ideas of African inferiority to make it seem as if only white people had done anything worth while on this planet. The only contempt Dr. Clarke has is for the white supremacist who pose as historians. In short the documentary is a good guideline to anyone genuinely interested in African history beyond the lies and who is willing to do their own research also. Very proud of Mr. Snipes for narrating this story of one of our heroes who spent his life in the service of his people. Thank you Dr. Clarke for your "great and mighty walk".

Must see for all

[hawkimi · 10/10 · 6 June 2006]

I thought this film inspired me to go forward and do research on my own to learn the history that has been over looked in our country for too long. It's a film that should be shown in every inner city high school history class in the country. I believe this film will bring hope and will give the children a since of belonging to something bigger then themselves. My desire is that it will bring understanding to the children of the slaves and the masters, that their people have a history and past that is more them slavery and their fore fathers being taken from their birth land. I was astonished with Mr. Clarke knowledge and how far reaching it was. His insight and the manner in which he disseminates his knowledge to the people like me only left me wanting more. Most of all this isn't a film just for people of color, but a film for all to learn from. It's a film for those who have questions. But by far the saddest part of this film is to understand how poor our history classes have become in America.