Afrocentrism

Afrocentrism is a worldview or perspective that is centered on Africa and Africans. Afrocentric scholarship attempts to shift the study and evaluation of world history and civilization from a traditionally Western, Eurocentric paradigm with a beginning in Greco-Roman civilization to one that focuses primarily on black Africa and Egyptian history and the claim that black Africans contributed to early Western civilization.

Central to Afrocentrism is the claim that black civilizations such as Kerma and the Meroitic civilizations of Nubia and early dynastic Egypt made important contributions to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations that traditionally have been either overlooked or appropriated by the West. Afrocentrism, however, finds itself in direct opposition to the views of mainstream historians, including British historian Arnold Toynbee, who regarded the ancient Egyptian cultural sphere as having died out without leaving a successor and who derided as a "myth" the idea that Egypt was the "origin of all civilization."

Afrocentrism has been charged by mainstream scholars as being "a mythology that is racist, reactionary, and essentially therapeutic." Afrocentrists, however, levels similar charges towards Eurocentrism, countering that they are merely attempting to set the historical record straight by overturning a false paradigm whose basis rests on perceived Eurocentric scholarship.

Criticisms of Afrocentrism

While Afrocentrism is generally viewed with skepticism or contempt, unlike the so-called "radical" strain of Afrocentrism, historical Afrocentrism opposes the notion that any one culture is superior to another. Afrocentric scholars maintain that a paradigm shift from a view of world history centered around European accomplishments and deeply racist assumptions about other peoples and cultures to one which emphasizes the black beginnings of humankind and black contributions to world history, would result in significant attitudinal shifts both in Western culture and beyond. Indeed, many claim that a dramatic shift has already occurred.

This, then, they argue, challenges the Eurocentric view of world history which for so many centuries devalued and appropriated, or simply ignored achievements by Africans. Critics counter that historical Afrocentric research simply lacks scientific merit, and that it actually seeks to supplant and counter one form of racism with another, rather than attempt to arrive at the truth.

Some multiculturalists express a certain sympathy towards historical Afrocentrism due largely to its re-emphasis on the history and cultures of a continent long-neglected. This, however, does not mean that the generally controversial areas of Afrocentric scholarship are accepted by most or even many multiculturlists. Nor does it mean that those who reject historical Afrocentrism tend to view African cultures as a monolithic product of a single "black race."

Many critics assert that Afrocentrism largely consists of myth presented as history, and that it is a projection of modern racial and geographical categories onto ancient cultures which simply did not exist as such. Afrocentrists, however, contend that race as a social and political construct still exists and that one of its impacts has been the "whitewashing" of history. They charge that important achievements by blacks have been ignored, appropriated or distorted by whites, who for centuries claimed blacks had no history or culture of any value and thus made no contributions of note to world civilization.

The debates over historical Afrocentrism largely involve disputes regarding the factual verifiability of key claims made by Afrocentric scholars. One central claim directly links African civilizations with ancient Egypt. Others also feature ancient Greece, and elsewhere. Afrocentric historian Martin Bernal, for example, in his Black Athena, argues that Afroasiatic and Semitic civilizations were direct predecessors of the Classical ones. Bernal's study, however and the claims made by Afrocentrics scholars, in general are accepted by few scholars. Among these, Mary Lefkowitz's Not out of Africa, is widely regarded as the foremost critical work. In it, she contends Afrocentric historical claims are grounded in identity politics and erroneous myth rather than sound scholarship.

Egyptian and Greco-Roman origins

Two particular areas have been the locus of most of the factual debate among Afrocentrist and traditional historians: the links between sub-Saharan African civilizations and ancient Egypt, and the extent of African influence on classical Greco-Roman civilization. Afrocentric historian Martin Bernal, for example, in his Black Athena, argues that Afroasiatic and Semitic civilizations were direct predecessors of the Classical ones. Among these, Mary Lefkowitz's Not out of Africa, is widely regarded as the foremost critical work. In it, she contends Afrocentric historical claims are grounded in identity politics and erroneous myth rather than sound scholarship. Bernal's study, however, is strongly contested by most scholars.

List of notable Afrocentric historians

• Molefi Kete Asanti
• Martin Bernal
• Cheikh Ante Diop
• Yusef Ben Jochannan
• Ali Rashidi
• Ivan van Sertima
• Chancellor Williams

External Links

• Building Bridges to Afrocentrism by Ann Macy Roth, for the University of Pennsylvania's African Studies Center

• Fallacies of Afrocentrism by Grover Furr, for the Montclair State University

• "Race in Antiquity: Truly Out of Africa," by Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, a critical assessment of Lefkowitz's Not Out of Africa.

• Abstract of "The effects of negative racial stereotypes and afrocentricity on black couple relationships" from The Journal of Family Psychology

References

• Lefkowitz, Mary R. Not out of Africa: how Afrocentrism became an excuse to teach myth as history (BasicBooks, NY, c1996).

• Henderson, Errol Anthony. Afrocentrism and world politics: towards a new paradigm (Praeger, Westport, Conn., 1995).

• Terry Kershaw, "Afrocentrism and the Afrocentric method." Western Journal of Black Studies, 1992, 16(3), pp. 160-168.

• Howe, Stephen. Afrocentrism: mythical pasts and imagined homes (Verso, London, 1998).

• Moses, Wilson Jeremiah. Afrotopia: the roots of African American popular history (Cambridge University Press, 1998).

• Asante, Molefi Kete. Kemet, Afrocentricity, and knowledge (Africa World Press, 1990).

• Sniderman, Paul M. and Piazza, Thomas. Black pride and black prejudice (Princeton University Press, 2002).

• Magida, Arthur J. Prophet of rage a life of Louis Farrakhan and his nation (BasicBooks, NY, 1996).

• Spivey, Donald. Fire from the soul: a history of the African-American struggle (Carolina Academic Press, 2003).

• Binder, Amy J. Contentious curricula : Afrocentrism and creationism in American public schools (Princeton University Press, 2002).

• Henke, Holger and Reno, Fred (eds.). Modern political culture in the Caribbean (University of the West Indies Press, 2003).

• Bailey, Randall C (ed.). Yet with a steady beat: contemporary U.S. Afrocentric biblical interpretation (Society of Biblical Literature, 2003).

• Lewis, Martin W. The myth of continents: a critique of metageography (University of California Press, 1997).