Accusations of teaching pseudohistory[edit]
Ben-Jochannan has been criticized for allegedly
distorting history and promoting
Black supremacy. In February 1993,
Wellesley College European classics professor
Mary Lefkowitz publicly confronted Ben-Jochannan about his teachings. Ben-Jochannan taught that
Aristotle visited the
Library of Alexandria. During the question and answer session following the lecture, Lefkowitz asked ben-Jochannan, "How would that have been possible, when the library was not built until after his death?" Ben-Jochannan replied that the dates were uncertain.
[12] Lefkowitz writes that ben-Jochannan proceeded to tell those present that "they could and should believe what only Black instructors told them" and "that although they might think that Jews were all 'hook-nosed and sallow faced,' there were other Jews who looked Black like himself."
[13]
African-American professor Clarence E. Walker wrote that Ben-Jochannan not only confused
Cleopatra VII with her daughter
Cleopatra VIII and stated she was black, but also wrote that "Cleopatra VIII committed suicide after being discovered in a plot with Marc Antonio [Mark Anthony] to murder Julius Caesar." This would be highly problematic considering Julius Caesar was assassinated 14 years before
Cleopatra VII's suicide.
[14]