Dr. John Hope Franklin, who has become one of the nation’s foremost historians in African-American history, hasn’t always been interested in history, yet the 85-year-old scholar has become world renowned for his research and published works of it. His best known book is From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, is now in its seventh edition and translated into several languages, and his most current research publication is entitled, Dissidents on the Plantation: Runaway Slaves.

Most recently, the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History was chosen by President William Jefferson Clinton to serve as the chairman of the Advisory Board for "One America: The President’s Initiative on Race." For seven years, he was professor of Legal History in the Law School at Duke University. The Oklahoma native is a graduate of Fisk University and received his master's and doctorate degrees in history from Harvard University. He has taught at a number of institutions, including Fisk University, St. Augustine’s College, North Carolina Central University, and Howard University. He was selected in 1978 by Who’s Who in America as one of eight Americans who have made significant contributions to society.

He also has been elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, has received the Jefferson Medal for 1984 awarded by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, and received the Encyclopedia Britannica Gold Medal for the Dissemination of Knowledge. In addition, he has received honorary degrees from more than 100 colleges and universities. Dr. Franklin, and his late wife Aurelia, have one son.

On this particular day, this regal, yet humble gentleman welcomed this writer from THE BLACK COLLEGIAN into his Durham, North Carolina, home with an easy smile and sweep of his arms toward the living room. There he swung his legs over an arm chair poised and ready to share his knowledge and converse about the lofty career he fashioned for himself.

Though raised in an educated home, Dr. Franklin worked hard early in life to make his living. His intention when he matriculated to college was to get through quickly and become his attorney father’s "sidekick" manager. "I wanted to make people pay the money they owed him," said Franklin, who noted that his father was more interested in providing legal assistance than collecting his earnings. His father had a fairly large practice with some Indian clients and very few African Americans, said Franklin, explaining that many patronized white lawyers because they felt they could make their way through the justice system with more success than with a Black lawyer.

Despite those good intentions to return to his father’s side, Franklin’s plans began to change in his freshman year. "I ran into a young white professor, Theodore S. Currier, who was astounding." Franklin took a course from Currier his sophomore year and "within my first term, I knew I had career problems. He was so transforming, so powerful, so influential. I knew I wanted to be a historian just like him."

Currier took great interest in young John Hope and began to prepare him for Harvard University. John Hope was accepted to Harvard as the first graduate of a historically Black institution, Fisk University, to be admitted without probation. That accomplishment was partly due to the fact that Fisk had been placed on a list approved by the Association of American Universities, said Franklin.

Franklin says he was studious and a quick learner, but still took time to have fun, though he didn’t believe in burning the candle at both ends. Money was the challenge the magna cum laude graduate faced in order to meet the objective of attending Harvard. So he went home to find a job or jobs to raise the money to get there. It was during that summer that Professor Currier called to check on him and was told of his financial plight.

Currier told him he would borrow enough to get him from Nashville, Tennessee, if Franklin could raise enough to get to Tennessee from Oklahoma. "He told me that money would not keep me out of school," said Franklin. The prospect of returning to his formal studies was exciting, but he feared nothing, he said. "Somehow, I knew I could make it. It didn’t bother me at all. I had absolute confidence in myself." That’s the confidence Franklin admonishes all to have as your academic and professional careers unfold. Couple that with the determination to be the best and you can be successful, urges Franklin.

"You have to be the best, or near the best. My mother always told me to ‘Do the best you can. The angels can’t do better.’ I had deficiencies but I worked on them and got them straight." By the time Franklin got to Harvard, Professor Currier had borrowed $500. Tuition was $400, and only $100 was required as a down payment for entry. To sustain himself, Franklin secured a job washing dishes for his evening meals and typing dissertations to pay for his room. "I was in business," he said.

At the end of the first year, he received a Harvard fellowship and earned a monthly award from the Rosenwald Fund. He then taught in Currier’s place for one year at Fisk, earning enough money to reimburse Currier and pay for his room and board. He finished his coursework in three years. "I worked hard and first things came first. The result is the life I live," he said, referring to his full-time secretary and his want for nothing material. "Those are the rewards one gets from sticking to it."

He freely shares the wisdom he has acquired from his experiences, travel, and determination:

• On standing up for yourself: "Know your rights. You must stand up for them."

• On giving back: "Don’t always think racially when it comes to giving back. We can be overly sensitive about it, and we might miss some opportunities."

• On being the best: "You have to have the knowledge, but you don’t have to be French to teach French."

• On racism: "Those things don’t distress me. Why should I be distressed by ignorance? I know who I am superficially and deep down."

Crystal Kimpson Roberts is a contributing writer based in Durham, N.C.