Cold Wind From the North is a groundbreaking treatise on the origin of racism. In a sweeping analysis that departs sharply from standard explanations, the book takes the reader on an eye opening, six-phase, historical journey that begins in ice-age Europe, where environmental factors created the white race, proto-racism (xenophobia, fear of strangers) and possible racial conflict. The journey continues through the post ice-age, nomadic era that includes Indian, Semitic, Greco-Roman and northern European phases and ends in modern times wherein racism assumes pervasive global forms. A penetrating analysis lays bare the identical character of racist social structures in ancient and modern times. The book features a new theory on the racial differentiation, the definition and character of racism, and the five century global African revolt against racism and colonialism. The journey ends with discussions of racism in post modern society and the dehumanizing effects of modern technology which are hurling humanity towards brave new world and a race-caste social structure. The book concludes with a call to counteract the cold wind from the north with global African development and highlights how historical continuity can serve as foundation for this quest.
About the Author: Vulindlela Ijiola Wobogo was born Robert A. Cayou in Oakland, California on August 22nd, 1938. He was and all league athlete in high school but after injuries derailed a professional baseball career, he returned to college, earning an MS in theoretical chemistry, and studied physics and chemical engineering, approximating majors in both disciplines. His activism includes participation in the African American revolution (1956-1976), the seminal 1968 strike at San Francisco State University, over twenty years as an instructor in the resultant Black Studies Department and Ethnic Studies College, co-founding several community institutions in East Palo Alto, and legalization of an African name as an expression of his quest for historical continuity. As a disciple of the late eminent historian Dr. Chancellor Williams, Professor Wobogo studied Egyptian hieroglyphics as part of his polyvalent arsenal of investigative research tools, which enabled him to delve deep into the history of classical African Civilization. In 1974, in a seminal article he critiqued the late Cheikh Anta Diop's seminal work ``The Cultural Unity of Black Africa", thus coining it as the Two Cradle Theory. He recently completed a thesis on re-dating the unification of Kemet (Egypt) from 3000BC (standard date) to 4378 BC (proposed new date) and is currently engaged in research in African and African American history and culture, the motive force of history, and the effects of science and technology on postmodern society. International activities include travel to Africa as a science delegate (6th Pan African Congress, 1974) and musical director (Wajumbe Cultural Ensemble. Festival of African Culture, 1977). An avid jazz pianist/composer, Professor Wobogo has mentored a host of musicians that includes jazz giant saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders and prominent saxophonist Teodros Avery. He currently teaches science and mathematics part time at San Francisco City College and resides with his wife Nozipo and daughter Ama in East Palo Alto, California.