John Hope Franklin, born January 2, 1915, was an African American historian who dedicated his life to teaching and studying American history and racial politics, particularly that of South America. A passionate promoter of the teaching, study, and presentation of American history, as well as the preservation of and access to its materials, Franklin died on March 25, 2009. A leading scholar of Black American history, Franklin often cited historians as influential in shaping politics in America and paved the way for other black scholars. “He became chair of the history department at Brooklyn College in 1956, making him the first black scholar to be named department head at a predominantly white college.” This event, a great achievement for an African-American academic, demonstrates Franklin's influence on history and was received with much admiration in the press. He also dedicated much of his life to the civil rights movement and combined his knowledge of history to affect change. For example, in 1954, Franklin was part of the team that helped develop the case that led to the end of the legal segregation of black and white children in public schools. Franklin always claimed that he had many personal challenges in his early life that influenced his writing and what he was trying to achieve as a historian. This is reflected in this quote from the first paragraph of his autobiography: 'Living in a world limited by laws defining race, as well as creating obstacles, disadvantages and even superstitions regarding race, has tested my survival skills. For ninety years I have met countless men and women who face this challenge equally.' This adds some clue to the specialization of Franklin's work which has... halfway through the article... it is remarkable that the same essential characteristics seem to have prevailed in all of them.' This concept of modern history follows the idea of ​​comparing different societies existing in the same era and/or similar shared cultural conditions. It is evident in this quote that Franklin aims to explore this with various African societies. Furthermore, the study of slavery, especially in a comparative sense, has been great in modern times, and Franklin's words suggest that this chapter will continue that tradition. Works Cited • Franklin, JH & Moss Jr, AA (1994) From Slavery to Freedom. 7th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.• [Online]. (2014) Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/john-hope-franklin-9301314. [Accessed April 30, 2014].• Franklin, J. H. (2005). Mirror in America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin. New York: Hill and Wang