Yusef Ben Jochannan

It was only 8:30 on a Friday evening at the carpeted, cozy Eso Won bookstore in South-Central Los Angeles. But the body clock of Henrik Clarke, 76, who had just flown in from New York for a book-signing party in his honor, said it was already 11:30 p.m., his normal bedtime.

It was only 8:30 on a Friday evening at the carpeted, cozy Eso Won bookstore in South-Central Los Angeles. But the body clock of Henrik Clarke, 76, who had just flown in from New York for a book-signing party in his honor, said it was already 11:30 p.m., his normal bedtime.

The March 3 article "Elder Statesmen" by Yemi Toure is reporting par excellence. Reading about the lives and works of five black race-conscious and scholarship-oriented authors--John Henrik Clarke, John G. Jackson, Chancellor Williams, Yusef ben-Jochannan and John Hope Franklin--brought satisfaction to my heart. It is unfortunate that only a small segment of the black population and an even smaller number of white people are aware of contributions these elder statesmen have made toward reclaiming authentic black history.