Afrocentricity

Development of the Concept

The origin of Afrocentricity is traced to the publication of the book Afrocentricity in l980 by Molefi Kete Asante. Additional books and articles helped to create the discourse that thrust the concept into the intellectual world as a perspective whose core was the interpretation and explanation of phenomena from the standpoint of Africans as subjects rather than as victims or objects.

Central to the Afrocentric idea is the fact that Africans were moved off of intellectual, philosophical, and cultural terms by the 500 years of European hegemony. To return to an authentic consciousness, it was necessary for African people to see themselves in the midst of their own history and not as in the margins of Europe. This meant that it was essential to return to the classical civilizations of Africa. Thus, the return to a discussion of the ancient African civilizations of Egypt and Nubia was essential for an appreciation of the role that Africans and Africa played in world history. The Afrocentrists were the first to see the overthrow of European domination in the African's mind by a return to classical Africa. Besides its acceptance of classical Africa, Afrocentricity was grounded in the historical reality of African people through the presentation of key intellectual ideas.

For example, it was important to contend that the Eurocentric view had become an ethnocentric view that elevated the European experience and downgraded all others. For the Afrocentrists, it was clear that Afrocentricity was not the counterpoint to Eurocentricity but rather a particular perspective for analysis that did not seek to occupy all space and time as Eurocentrism has often done. For example, to say classical music, theater, or dance is usually a reference to European music, theater, or dance. However, this means that Europeans occupy all of the intellectual and artistic seats and leave no room for others. The Afrocentrists argue for pluralism in philosophical views without hierarchy. All human cultures must be centered, in fact, subject of their own realities.

Principal Ideas

In the Afrocentric view, the problem of location takes precedence over the topic or the data under consideration. Two methodological devices have emerged to assist in the construction of a new body of knowledge: reasonable plausibility and intelligent conclusion. Both are common terms used in a definite and precise sense to deal with the issue of historical, social, and cultural lacunae in many discourses on African people. Although seen as speculative supports, these devices are central to understanding how Africans responded in situations where there was little information.

...