I approach this book with unmitigated joy.

For the record, let me confess at the outset that I am Afrocentric in my view, as well as a colleague, friend and fan of the author of this magnificent collection of essays, The Maroon Within Us. Additionally, I have encouraged him, over the years, to commit his vast knowledge of early African information to print. I also participated in a study tour of Egypt under his tutelage and will be forever grateful. So, if my objectivity is to be questioned, at least my biases have been shared.

Given the structures often accorded the society in which we live and the careful segmentation of disciplines, there are some who question the ability of a trained psychologist to wax eloquently about history and its consequences. In fact, some ask how one can claim to be an Egyptologist without having paid the dues for the proper university credentials? My response to such a query is: Being self-taught does not negate learning and truth! Dr. Asa Hilliard is indeed learned in the area of Egyptology, and proper learning yields confidence and truth. There is an African proverb that states, "When the lions write the books, the hunters will not always win."

Thus, The Maroon Within Us becomes an important contribution to the literature of Egyptology. This volume contains fifteen essays and they are unquestionably African-centered, requiring people of African descent to see; themselves as actors on a world stage. The more that is written from this particular--and natural--vantage point, the more there is to critique and debate. Broad exposure to this line of thought and reasoning continues to be sorely needed and not to be rejected out of hand.

This compilation of essays was developed by the author over a period of nineteen years. Those of us who have known him for two decades or more have watched his continued growth and commitment to truth--and new interpretations of "old truths."

In the introduction to The Maroon Within Us, Hilliard provides a context within which the essays evolve and interact. He notes that the stereotyping of Africa as the "Dark Continent" causes a chain reaction that affects both the oppressors as well as those who have been and continue to be oppressed. He explains how the confusion that that many people have over the meaning of race, social class and culture leads to the negative emphasis which is too: often used by too many. He argues that color and social class certainly do not complete nor offer the best qualifications of a people. Culture, on the other hand, expresses creativities and straggles that have evolved over time and space and which is the, essence of a people.