Runoko Rashidi

Runoko Rashidi (born 1954) is a historian, essayist, author and public lecturer based in Los Angeles, California and Paris, France. He is the author of Introduction to the Study of African Classical Civilizations (1993) and the editor of Unchained African Voices, a collection of poetry and prose by Death Row inmates at California's San Quentin maximum-security prison. He is a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Pan African Studies (www.jpanafrican.com), and he holds an honorary doctorate of divinity from Amen-Ra Theological Seminary (Los Angeles, California).

Rashidi's work focuses on his views concerning African foundations of world civilizations. Several scholars dispute his assertions of genetic ties between ancient African populations and indigenous and "black" populations in the modern world.

Scope of work
Rashidi is writer and speaker and lectures on topics including ancient Egypt, his belief in an African presence in prehistoric America, Africans in antiquity, and the African presence in Asia and other parts of the world.

Activities
He is the author or editor of 18 books, including The African Presence in Early Asia (1985, 1988, 1995), with Ivan Van Sertima, Black Star: The African Presence in Early Europe (2012) and African Star over Asia: The Black Presence in the East (2013).