Preface

Several years ago, not long after my first book was published, I saw a rainbow.  Now, during the course of my previous forty years of life I had seen many rainbows.  However, at that particular stage in my life, seeing the rainbow took on a different meaning.  Looking at the brilliant colors that comprise the rainbow and the beautiful harmony that exists between the colors was a “new” marvel for me. It suddenly dawned on me that while we, as human beings, may have our individual color preference, there is no preference of color in the natural world.  Indeed, within the structure of the rainbow there is an equality that exists amongst the colors, and if any one of the colors were to cease to exist then the rainbow, as a rainbow, would also be greatly diminished and lessened.  In essence, the rainbow, as a rainbow, would cease to exist if any one of its constituent colors were to suddenly disappear. 

 

Additionally, recalling my days in physics class, I was reminded that the rainbow is the universal signature of the galaxies and the stars, and, from my theological studies, I was informed that, from the perspective of many religious traditions, the rainbow is the signature of God.  

 

These wondrous thoughts led to a “revelation” for me.  The revelation was that since God gave me the gift of writing that I should honor that gift by exalting the writing… the signature… of God. The revelation was that in my writing career there could be no higher calling than to be “commissioned” to exalt the “rainbow.”  By this I reasoned that my main literary task in this life would be to write a series of books that would reflect the “rainbow” that is humankind and exalt that “rainbow” as being, in and of itself, a signature of God. 

 

To exalt the rainbow that is humankind would entail writing a series of books emphasizing the multi-cultural heritage of America.  I envisioned writing a separate series of books detailing the history of African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Indigenous Americans, European Americans, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, Christian Americans, Hindu Americans, Buddhist Americans, Gay Americans and Rainbow Americans.  I even planned on giving each set of Americans their own particular book color, and I earnestly set about to produce books to fill the colors.  Thus, over the years, I felt a certain sense of accomplishment as the colors began to take shape … as the African American segment appeared in green, the Muslim American segment appeared in navy blue, and the Rainbow American segment appeared in teal.  I was well on my way, when as sometimes occurs with such visions, life happens.

 

Beginning in 2003, personal and professional commitments began to interfere with my creation of the “rainbow.”  While between 1996 and 2003, I had written six books, between 2003 and 2007 I wrote none.  By the time 2007 had arrived, I had come to the realization that I would never complete the “rainbow” – that the notion of creating a series of books for all the American segments was physically beyond my grasp. 

 

It was in this moment of realization that a “second revelation” came to me. It came to me that I was never destined to create a series of books which reflect the colors of the rainbow but rather that I was to create books that show that the rainbow lies within.  My “true commission” should be to show that no matter what color the cover of the book may be, inside of each book the rainbow exists just as inside of each individual a “rainbow of humankind” exists.

 

This “second revelation” had a profound impact on me because it has always been my desire that my books be a reflection of humanity.  And just as within each book resides a “rainbow” of history, so too within each individual there resides a “rainbow” of heritage that is responsible for making the individual what he or she has come to be.

 

Accordingly, with this “second revelation,” and with this “revised commission,” I presented what was ostensibly the first volume of my Rainbow Chronology series to the publisher of my books.  However, once again, life had changed circumstances.  Massive reference projects such as the one I contemplated were deemed to be impractical and not financially feasible.  Other book projects were promoted by my publisher and I was urged to concentrate on the projects that were at hand.

 

For the next five years I did precisely that.  I concentrated on the book projects that others believed that I should pursue, only to find, at the end of that time period, that reference books were being replaced by internet reference works.  In essence, I was a dinosaur writing a work that had already become a fossil.

 

This "evolutionary" realization led me to the third "revelation".  It dawned on me that now would be the appropriate time to venture into the 21st century by publishing the Rainbow Chronology on the internet.  And, as sometimes happens, that is what is now being done.

 

While this is the beginning of my internet version of The Rainbow Chronology, its place in time actually corresponds with a time period that began where the last volume of my Muslim Diaspora series ended.  This work begins with the year 1799 and coincides with ascendancy of Napoleon.

 

The time period covered by this work also corresponds with the period of time covered by Will and Ariel Durant in the last volume of their monumental series The Story of Civilization. The depth of knowledge encompassed in the Durants’ The Story of Civilization is remarkable and unique.  My rather humble works cannot begin to compare with theirs in terms of depth.  However, while this work cannot compare in terms of depth, it is my belief that it can and does provide more breadth than the work of the Durants by providing different and more varied perspectives on the history of humankind.

 

It is my sincere desire that by creating this Rainbow Chronology we can all begin to see the beauty that lies within the "other" and to see that enabling the beauty of the "other" is essential if we are to reveal the beauty of "us".

 

                Everett Jenkins

                Fairfield, California

                February 2013