Overview

Jehovah's Witnesses are both spiritually and digitally connected--with a singular purpose--to Africans on an unprecedented scale. The history of the self-sacrificing service of Black and White Witnesses--offered at their own expense--is surreal. And currently, indigenous Africans have an unequaled 85 languages to select from when reading the Bible (New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures) in whole or in part online at JW.org, the official Web site of Jehovah's Witnesses. And for the deaf, Bible-based information is offered in an incomparable array of African languages: Angola Sign Language, Kenya Sign Language, Madagascar Sign Language, Malawi Sign Language, Mozambican Sign Language, South African Sign Language, Zambian Sign Language, and Zimbabwe Sign Language. Aside from the site language being initially presented in English, JW.org can be read in 61 African languages--an unparalleled accomplishment. By making such available, the Witnesses have immeasurably contributed to shrinking Africa's digital divide. And for Africans living in the U.S. there are about 40 groups or congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses--meeting from coast to coast--where Bible instruction can be received in their mother tongue. Over the decades Jehovah's Witnesses have led thousands of Black Africans to the enlightenment of literacy through special classes conducted by unpaid member volunteers. They have also facilitated goodwill between Africa's diverse ethnic groups. Upon completing an extensive study of Jehovah's Witnesses in Africa Oxford University sociologist Bryan Wilson observed: The Witnesses are perhaps more successful than any other group in the speed with which they eliminate tribal discrimination among their own recruits. Firpo Carr is uniquely qualified to discuss the subject matter since as a Witness-raised African American he has observed and studied the dynamics between Blacks and Witnesses for over five decades, and has written several books and newspaper articles on the topic. As a university instructor of comparative religion he has touched the lives of African royalty and prominent Whites in South Africa. Legacy, Africa's leading magazine on social issues, has recognized his works. Having spent years as a social commentator and investigative journalist with his own column at the Los Angeles Sentinel/Watts Times newspaper, the city's legacy Black newspaper and one of the nation's most influential, Firpo is keenly and passionately tuned into the sensitivities of issues in Black. In his extraordinary encyclopedic book he explores the positive influence of Jehovah's Witnesses on every country in Africa, as well as in islands surrounding the exotic continent. Aside from having worked with and represented Patrice Lumumba's son before the Los Angeles City Council (who subsequently honored Lumumba with a prestigious award), Firpo has co-authored the article Jehovah's Witnesses in the comprehensive two-volume encyclopedia set African American Religious Cultures (2009); has taught comparative religion on a university level for nearly two decades; and has pioneered newsworthy efforts at digitized telecommunications during his 10 years with IBM. Furthermore, he has taught computer-related courses at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension as well as at Mount Saint Mary's College (LA's Chalon Campus in Brentwood). On separate occasions, both Lumumba and President Bill Clinton have discussed with Firpo his ground-breaking book, Germany's Black Holocaust: 1890-1945, which discusses stunning events involving Jehovah's Witnesses, Africans, and African Americans in both Africa and Germany. Without a doubt, Carr's manifold background and qualifications are tailored-made to explore the intriguing connections between Jehovah's Witnesses and Africans. Firpo Carr currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

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