Honoring Baba Runoko Rashidi

Abibitumi honors Baba Runoko Rashidi

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Some of you may not know this, but Baba Runoko Rashidi was a pioneer in online teaching long before it became a “thing”. Baba Runoko had a tremendous influence on the course and direction of Abibitumi in its formative years.

He taught courses such as "Around the World with Runoko Rashidi" (2008), "The Global African Presence" (2010, 2011), "A Tribute to Great Black Women in History" (2011), "Who is the Original Man?" (2012), "The Ancient African Diaspora/The Modern African Diaspora Lectures" (2012) and many more!

Because of the very special relationship he had with us at Abibitumi during our formative years, we think that it is only right to honor this legend, this giant in the best way possible.

It is in this spirit that we will honor the life's work and dedication of Baba Runoko Rashidi, who dedicated his very life to the work of connecting the Afrikan=Black family.






Who was Baba Runoko Rashidi?
Baba Runoko Rashidi described himself as a scholar, historian, author and a lecturer. Born in 1954, the historian was about 67 years old when he passed away.



He held frequent seminars about African History, Pan-Africanism, and focused his work specifically on the global African presence, which details the movement of Africans outside Africa before and after enslavement.



Baba Runoko Rashidi was also a highly successful author, having published collections of essays, as well as books about Black culture and Black history. He was a prolific academic writer, publishing 22 books across his career.



These include The Black Image In Antiquity, Black Star: The African Presence In Early Europe, as well as Uncovering The African Past.

Baba Runoko Rashidi had travelled across the world, visiting 124 countries, as well as lecturing and teaching in 67 of them. In 2005 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Amen-Ra Theological Seminary in LA.

Recently he had been researching African artefacts, and African cultural presence in museums around the world. He had also been part of the curatorial and academic board of the Pan-African Heritage Museum since 2020.