[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 24, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CELEBRATING LIFE OF DR. YOSEF ALFREDO ANTONIO BEN-JOCHANNAN, 
               DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR AND KEMETAPHYSICIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 24, 2015

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life and historic 
contributions of my dear friend Dr. Yosef Alfredo Antonio ben-Jochannan 
(Dr. Ben), one of our community's most distinguished scholars who 
passed away on March 19, 2015. Dr. Ben was the foremost intellectual on 
the history of religion and its impact on the world. He was an 
influential professor and activist--a pioneer of Africana studies. Dr. 
Ben was a man who believed in the value of digging deep for facts that 
have been long obscured. He has inspired generations of scholars and 
students with his tireless research and thoughtful teachings.
  Dr. Ben's cultural journey began as a student of Arthur Schomburg in 
Puerto Rico and Edward Wilmot Blyden in St. Croix, where as a youth he 
spent time participating with Pedro Albizu Campos during Puerto Rico's 
independence quest in the 1950s to providing African-centered reading 
material to Malcolm X in the early 1960s and educating young teenaged 
Five Percenters at Harlem Prep during the late 1960s. Through his 
annual fact-finding tours to Kemet (Egypt) for over four decades, he 
helped uncover the history of Africa and our own roots. Dr. Ben 
accomplished a great deal in his life, most notably writing 49 books on 
African history. Dr. Ben was well known for his thought-provoking 
assertions on the influence of Africans on ancient civilizations. Dr. 
Ben was a regular invited special guest on the popular late Gil Noble's 
``Like It Is'' television Sunday show.
  A man way ahead of his time, Dr. Ben spoke truth about the origins of 
world religion and documented it to prove it. I am proud to have called 
Dr. Ben my neighbor. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and 
loved ones. While I am sad that Harlem has lost a great prophet and 
spiritual leader, I know Dr. Ben's legacy will live on for many years 
to come.

                          ____________________