Professor Kenyatta
About Kamau Kenyatta
When I was growing up, history bored me. It was dull, irrelevant, and, frankly, a little cruel. Black people were almost invisible in the story of the world, reduced to footnotes or tragic stereotypes. Meanwhile, the accomplishments of white people were served to us in endless, exaggerated doses. I assumed that was all there was.
Everything changed in my last semester at Princeton Theological Seminary. It hit me like a ton of bricks: history matters—especially the parts they don’t teach you.
MY AWAKENING
A few things opened my eyes:
1. The curriculum still erased Black people or, at best, cast them as sidekicks in a white-dominated story.
2. A chance discovery in the Speer Library shook me to my core: Wonderful Ethiopians of the Cushite Empire by Drucilla Dundee Houston, written in 1926. The library hadn’t even listed it as a circulating book. As I read, I thought she’d made it all up—how could this be true and yet so unknown? But the more I explored, the more I realized the book was only scratching the surface.
3. A thirst for truth ignited. I devoured works by Cheikh Anta Diop, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and many other books. My world shifted dramatically, and something awakened in me that has never gone back to sleep.
4. Mentors who changed everything. Redman Battle and Calvin Robinson, authors of The Journey of the Songhai People, became my guides. Their weekly 26-week community class stretched over three years, forcing me to unlearn everything I thought I knew. It wasn’t just life-changing—it was life-saving.
This path eventually led me to the doctoral program at Temple University, where I encountered intellectual giants like Molefi K. Asante, Maulana Karenga, Theophine Obenga, and other scholars championing African studies while addressing the wounds of our people. I attended lectures and had extensive conversations with Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Yosef ben-Yohanna, Hassan Salim, Rhkety Amen, and many others who shaped my thinking, my spirit, and my mission.
My Purpose
Since then, my mission has been clear: to share these truths with students of all backgrounds. As a community organizer and professor of African World Studies, I help people see through the smoke screens of history, heal the wounds of racism, and reclaim knowledge that was never meant to reach us.
What I teach challenges what you thought you knew. My classes are a table of nourishing meals in a world binging on historical junk food—and I promise, it will never be dull. As a teacher, I remain a student.
Book written by me include The White People Show: How To Understand Racism and Still Be Wrong About It, Black Folk’s Hair Revised Edition: Secrets, Shame & Liberation, and The 7 Most Dangerous Pitfalls to Your College Success. They are meant to inform, inspire, and challenge those ready to see the world differently. I’ve hosted the internet radio program The Global Whirlwind, appeared on radio and TV, and continue to teach at Lafayette College, Lehigh University, and Northampton Community College.
With degrees in Music & Business from New Jersey City University, Religion & History from Princeton Theological Seminary, and African World Studies from Temple University, I bring tools to uncover the hidden truths of our history to heal the wounds of our past and create unity.
Ase!
Reach Me
info@professorkenyatta.com