In 1968, along with the Black Caucus of the African Studies Association, Clarke founded the African Heritage Studies Association in New York, which expanded nationally over time.
In 1969, he was appointed the founding chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Studies Department at Hunter College in New York City.
Clarke was an adviser and personal friend to both Kwame Nkrumah and Malcolm X with whom he was instrumental in drafting the charter for the Organization of Afro-American Unity founded in New York City in 1964.
This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.
For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.
Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.
We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.
If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.
In 1968, along with the Black Caucus of the African Studies Association, Clarke founded the African Heritage Studies Association in New York, which expanded nationally over time.
Clarke was an adviser and personal friend to both Kwame Nkrumah and Malcolm X with whom he was instrumental in drafting the charter for the Organization of Afro-American Unity founded in New York City in 1964.
