JOEL AUGUSTUS ROGERS

Rogers (1883-1966) was born in Negril, Jamaica, and very little is known about his early schooling. He immigrated to the United States in 1906 and became a naturalized citizen in 1917. Rogers grew up around blacks who were physicians and lawyers and realized that the doctrine of white superiority was contradicted by the talent and expertise he had seen in the black community; this experience led him to begin his research into the black experience. He wrote his first book in 1917 while working as a Pullman porter out of Chicago. He had originally gone to Chicago to study art and became one of the few African American historians to use art to help validate the achievements of African people. His subsequent works examined blood lines, leading him to conclude that nature knows no color line and that there is no racial purity. His later historical interests produced two books focusing on biographical portraits of prominent African personages: The World's Greatest Men of African Descent (1937), and The World's Great Men of Color 3000 B.C. to 1946 A.D. (1947). The historian passed away on his birthday, September 9th.

CHARLES C. SEIFERT

Seifert (1871-1949) was born in Barbados and learned carpentry as a young boy. In 1910, he decided to devote his research to African American history, and by prospering in the contracting business in New York, he used his income to purchase books, manuscripts, maps, and African art. As the material began to grow, he purchased a building for them and established the Ethiopian School of Research History. A prolific lecturer, he published no books and very little was published about him during his lifetime. However, he had a great impact on his Harlem community. Seifert’s concept of history was that there is only one human race and only one history and one civilization, which passed from people to other people. Turning the basement of his library into a studio, he encouraged artists to portray African American heritage, which schools would otherwise omit from textbooks. The impoverishment of the Depression on Harlem sadly led to the decline in contributions. Seifert’s school became the Charles C. Seifert Library in 1939, and he continued teaching in small discussion groups until his death.

Suggested Link
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/569/Charles_Seifert_a_valuable_yet_unknown_historian

CHARLES H. WESLEY

Wesley (1891-1987) graduated from both Harvard and Yale Universities, taught at Howard University, and was ranked as one of the most notable African American scholars of the first half of the 20th century. In addition to authoring many works, Wesley was a college administrator, public speaker, and is credited for aiding in the creation of African American studies as a college discipline. His groundbreaking book The Collapse of the Cone Confederacy was published in 1937, and challenged prevailing explanations of the defeat of the South by asserting that the new nation failed because of underlying internal and social factors-namely the deterioration of popular morale-more than the paucity of resources and lack of good management. He also examined the role and attitudes of blacks in the Confederacy and positioned African Americans close to the heart of the Confederate experience.