Afrocentric Theories

The early scholarship on Afrocentric theories can be found in the work of Black scholars such as W. E. B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson. While the particular philosophies of these turn-of-the-century scholars were different, they spoke to an emphasis on the education of Black people. This emphasis included the integration of Black history, language, and culture in schooling and the elimination of segregation as a way of life for Blacks in the United States.

Contemporary Afrocentric theories emphasize Black self-identity, multiculturalism, pluralism, and curricular change in education. Dominant strands of scholarship on Afrocentric theories posit that Blacks are educated based on a Eurocentric paradigm in [Page 40]which White language, culture, and history are privileged over all others. Two core presuppositions represent a starting point for thinking about Afrocentric theory as necessary for the education of Blacks as well as other marginalized populations: (a) Education is fundamentally a social phenomenon whose ultimate purpose is to socialize the learner; to send a child to school is to prepare a child to become a part of a social group; (b) schools are reflective of the societies that develop them (i.e., a White-supremacist-dominated society will develop a White-supremacist educational system). M. K. Asante's Afrocentric theory represents an epistemological grounding that focuses on the inclusion of all cultures in the curriculum rather than a single, dominant culture. Multicultural education is fundamental for subject matter competency, and a multicultural education should include an Afrocentric initiative. Afrocentric theory represents a change in how curriculum is theorized, developed, and implemented and provides educators an opportunity to rethink and reexamine their perceptions of Blacks within the dominant society. Afrocentric theories are not anti-White theory; rather, Afrocentric theories are antiracism and antihegemony in the curriculum.

Centricity in education is defined as a perspective that positions students within the context of their own cultural references and allows them to relate socially and psychologically to other cultural perspectives. Afrocentric theories provide a lens for viewing a phenomenon from an African/Black perspective.

The central question in Afrocentric theories is: What kind of education takes place in the classroom? In educational settings where Afrocentric theories are recognized and included in the curriculum, teachers do not marginalize Black students and cause them to question the value of their language, culture, or history. Rather, the curriculum allows Black children to see themselves in the events and depictions of life in America as well as globally and as active participants in the construction of knowledge. All subject matter areas are adaptable to Afrocentric theory, and Black students can be centered inside all subjects. Ideally, Afrocentric educational programs should be infused throughout all classes, rather than considered an add-on to the curriculum.

Three challenges have been posed by Afrocentric theory:

• 1.
  It questions the imposition of the White supremacist view as universal and/or classical.
• 2.
  It demonstrates the indefensibility of racist theories that assault multiculturalism and pluralism.
• 3.
  It projects a humanistic and pluralistic viewpoint by articulating Afrocentricity as a valid, nonhegemonic perspective.