Cheikh Anta Diop 1923 – 1986
Cheikh Anta Diop was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and political philosopher who argued for the African origin of ancient Egyptian civilization and for the cultural unity of black Africa. His doctoral thesis, eventually published as Negro Nations and Culture, and his subsequent works contended that the recovery of an accurate African past is the precondition for African intellectual and political liberation. He founded the radiocarbon laboratory at the University of Dakar that bears his name and remained throughout his life a leading voice for Pan-African scientific and cultural autonomy.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Senegalese
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Postcolonial Philosophy
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Cheikh Anta Diop:
“African history must be rewritten by Africans themselves.”
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Attributed to Cheikh Anta Diop:
“Knowledge of the past is the precondition for liberation.”
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Attributed to Cheikh Anta Diop:
“Egypt was a black African civilization, and her achievements belong to the African heritage.”
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Attributed to Cheikh Anta Diop:
“The cultural unity of black Africa is the basis of any genuine African renaissance.”
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Attributed to Cheikh Anta Diop:
“Science is not the property of any single civilization.”