Professor Emeritus Martin Gardiner Bernal

Dear Professor Leslie and family,

We were so very sorry to hear of Dr. Bernal's passing. We will always remember him as a kind and gentle person, who had such a huge gift of knowledge to share with the world.

Please accept our deepest sympathy during this difficult time.

Dr. Luis Mauleon and Dr. Kristna Kapur

Dear Leslie and Family: I am so sorry for your loss. I have always been impressed with Martin's intellect, but I had no idea until I read this obituary just how accomplished he was at so many varied things. His facility with languages is especially impressive, as is the modesty with which he always conducted himself. I'm so glad I had the chance to know Martin, even if only a little. Again, I am so sorry for your loss and hope that knowing your friends and family have you in their thoughts...

Professor Bernal contributed more than he probably knew to the scholarly study of Haitian culture, especially the African-rooted religion of Haiti. My contacts with him were few but always clarifying and illuminating.He passed his wisdom and knowledge along with uncommon grace.

Recently we sang at services (Unitarian Fellowship) of mourning and grief and hope and love entwined and existing together and I thought of Martin and all of his wonderful complexities. Not only was he brilliant but he was loving and caring and funny and thoughtful - he loved to eat and sing and be with children. He will be missed but will live on in our memories.

Celebrating a life well lived. We will cherish the memories forever.

Dr. Bernal,

Thank you for setting the record straight and the paradigm shift your works have produced.

"Yet to tell this they saying to Zeus who hurleth the thunderbolt will I myself go to snowy Olympus, in hope that he may hearken. But do thou tarry by thy swift, sea faring ships, and continue thy swift sea-faring ships, and continue thy wrath against the achaens, and refrain thee utterly from battle; for Zeus went yesterday to Oceanus, to the blameless Ethiopians for a feast,...

To the family of Martin Bernal: I am very sorry to hear of Martin Bernal's passing. He was my M.A. advisor at Cornell, and I will always remember his personal compassion and support during a difficult time for me. His courage, his insights, and his perspectives will always remain an inspiration for me.

We will miss terribly Martin's humble genius, kindness, generosity, and subtle humor. My profound condolences to his family and friends.

Martin was one of the great minds and one of the gentlest, nicest people, of our times. His contributions to our understanding of the ancient world and of our own preconceptions in discussing it were always incisive and challenging. His extraordinary range of knowledge and competence guided by his brilliant insights made his work controversial: often resented more than admired by colleagues in academia, who usually attacked in teams or focused on one dimension of his research in order to...