Abstract
This paper examines how feminist and Afro-centrist theories address the issues of crime, unemployment, and illiteracy as well as to suggest additional ways that such schools of thought could be useful toward alleviating poverty in the black community.

From the Paper
"From 1970 to 1993 African Americans lost ground in nearly every economic category (Cha-Jua & Lang, 1999, p. 25). However, after 1993, the economic situation of Blacks appeared to improve as the country recovered from the 1989 recession. For example, the median Black family income rose 20 percent between 1993 and 1997 from $23,927 to $28,602 (Cha-Jua & Lang, 1999, p. 25). In addition, the poverty rate of Blacks in 1997 (26.5 percent) was the lowest recorded in the thirty-seven years the government had collected this data.
However, the improved economic indicators have not eliminated the vast economic disparity between Blacks and Whites (Cha-Jua & Lang, 1999, p. 25). For example, in 1997, the median income of Black families was still only 61 percent that of Whites and the poverty rate remained two and a half times that of Whites. Moreover, in accumulated wealth, the most meaningful economic category, the gap between Blacks and Whites is astronomical. In 1995, Black households' median net wealth was only $7,400, about 12 percent that of White households. Furthermore, when home equity is subtracted, median Black financial wealth plunges to $200, only 1 percent of Whites' median financial wealth of $18,000 (Cha-Jua & Lange, 1999, p. 25)."

Tags:cultural, economic, women, Asante, assimilation

Abstract
Analysis of why the improved economic indicators or African Ameicans have not eliminated the economic diisparity between Blacks & Whites. Discusses research studies on such topics as high birth rate of single African American women, poverty in the African American community. Afrocentric vs. Eurocentric world view. African cultural survival & education. Feminist theories regarding empoloyment of African American women.

From the Paper
"Afrocentrism, Feminism & Poverty in the Black Community

Poverty in the Black Community
From 1970 to 1993 African Americans lost ground in nearly every economic category (Cha-Jua & Lang, 1999, p. 25). However, after 1993, the economic situation of Blacks appeared to improve as the country recovered from the 1989 recession. For example, the median Black family income rose 20 percent between 1993 and 1997 from $23,927 to $28,602 (Cha-Jua & Lang, 1999, p. 25). In addition, the poverty rate of Blacks in 1997 (26.5 percent) was the lowest recorded in the thirty-seven years the government had collected this data.
However, the improved economic indicators have not eliminated the vast economic disparity between Blacks and Whites (Cha-Jua & Lang, 1999, p. 25). For example, in 1997, the median income ..."

Abstract
This paper describes opposition to the Afrocentric school proposed by activists as a response to a high Afro-Caribbean dropout rate in Toronto that is discussed as a generic 'African' problem. The paper makes reference to various media materials including UK/US observations.

From the Paper
"In late January of 2008, the Toronto District School Board (TSDB) approved an Afrocentric school that is expected to counteract a 40% dropout rate among `black' students compared to a generic 25% rate. (Carter 2008) The matter of a high `African' drop out rate is linked by activists to a curriculum and school culture not `African-centred' but the chair of the TSDB, John Campbell, stated that the new school will address a high Afro-Caribbean drop out rate, not the generic `black' or African rate that activists mention. (Carter 2008) Activists working towards the school seem..."

Tags:toronto 2008, afro, school, critique

Abstract
Afrocentrism, or the study of the African origin of civilization, is a relatively new area of study. The paper studies the life and works of one of Afrocentrism's founders, Sengalese Cheikh Anta Diop. It begins by talking about Diop's early life and then pursues his historical scholarship. Furthermore, it shows that Afrocentrism grew rapidly and richly because of Diop- he overcame incredible hurdles in order to present African history correctly, or at least share in the world's history. At times, scorned in his own field, Cheikh Anta Diop turned into an overnight hero at home.

From the Paper
"Cheikh Anta Diop was born on December 29, 1923 in Diourbel a town in Senegal. Senegal is a coastal country in West Africa part of what is famously known as the ivory coast. The country is not much bigger than South Dakota, yet it is most famous for its tradition of producing numerous Muslim scholars and oral historians. Diop's work was inspired primarily by a rich array of West African culture. Diop sought to expand his interests in the humanities, philosophy, and history by studying in France. In 1954, he published his first major book Nations Negres et Culture, one that he submitted for a doctorate at the University of Sorbonne in Paris. He was flatly rejected. However, Diop's work pushed serious debates on the development of Western scholarship on Africa. Nations negres had an interesting effect in the clamor it generated among many academics. Diop formally molded a thesis which put the African Negroes at the forefront of civilization. Diop claimed that the Egyptians were Negroes, one of two basic divisions of people. Since European nations borrowed so much from the Egyptians, Europeans were indeed basking in African achievement. According to Diop, Africa's past was more than a formal treatise or philosophical argument. Diop aimed to scientifically prove that Africans were contributors to world culture. Thus, Diop's work actually helped spark an exciting era of Afrocentrism."

Tags:historians, historiography, Nations, Negres, et, Culture, Danquah, biography

Abstract
In this analysis of Molefi Kete Asante, his book entitled "Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge", is compared with the movie "Amistad" .Similarities between the two movies are discussed and some discrepancies between the two only slightly arise. History and its relation to racism are discussed and compared. Asante stands as a pillar against racism and "Amistad" is shown as a related example even in the mainstream of Hollywood.

From the Paper
"TheAfrocentric Curriculum
Introduction
According to Eshleman (1991), one of the primary means of elevating the social status and self-esteem levels of African Americans is education. However, the question can be asked as to whether the standard education given to Anglo-American students is relevant to the needs of African-American students?


Some educators (e.g. Moses, 1991; Singer, 1993) feel that standard educational curricula over-focuses on European achievement and ideas thereby presenting a Eurocentric perspective that does not adequately address the educational, sociopolitical, or psychological needs of black students. Vann and Kunjufu (1993) put it this way:


A strictly Eurocentric perspective will not properly..."

From the Paper
"This research will discuss three critical areas of Christian discipleship that will need to be addressed in a newly established Black Baptist church. It will deal with three pairs of topics. First, in discussing Biblical literacy with an Afrocentric perspective, it will cover issues of a basic understanding of the Bible and of Afrocentric presences in the Bible. Second, in dealing with Christian stewardship in the Black church, it will cover a basic understanding of Christian stewardship, and especially the stewardship of money. Third, in discussing what would be a normative Christian response to social activism, it will look at the Black church's response in the past, in the present, and in the future.

Biblical Literacy with an Afrocentric Perspective
Basic Understanding of the Bible.."

Abstract
The Portuguese arrival on the Gold Coast of Africa in 1439 brought the beginnings of the Atlantic Slave Trade, subjecting the continent to four centuries of depredation. The paper argues that the intensity of the suffering endured by the African people should be described nothing short of a Holocaust. By examining tragic facts in the form of tables, this paper analyzes the Atlantic Slave Trade from an Afrocentric point of view rather than from either a Eurocentric or even Africanist perspective. In other words, this paper makes little or no apology for presenting material from an African perspective or for identifying emotionally with African history. Instead the paper "presents an insider's perspective which more overtly embraces an African identity."

Paper Outline:
From Harmony to Holocaust
Africanist vs. Afrocentric Point of View
The Effect of the Atlantic Slave Trade on African Culture (in General)
The Effect of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Specific African Cultures
African Complicity?
The Problem Remains the Same

From the Paper
"The observations made by Tunde Obadina above are echoed in "The Maafa: A Holocaust of Greed." In this reading, the situation on the African continent resulting from the slave trade is described as one of pure chaos. Kingdoms would rise and fall depending on how well they filled the individual "slave-quotas" dictated by the Europeans. Cultural continuity was almost a contradiction in terms as established groups would pass from the scene in quick succession, one after the other. So to ask if the African cultures were affected by the slave trade is go about understanding this situation in completely the wrong way. The effect was a given. Better to ask exactly how much damage was done to African culture as a result of the trade in Africans. This much is clear, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was "an event which destroyed peoples and whole cultures, an event which would destabilize a continent, changing it forever.""

Tags:Olaudah, Equiano, Maafa

Abstract
This paper discusses the following three main traditions of thinking regarding social justice: (1) liberal individualism, (2) market individualism, and (3) social democracy. The paper looks at the Afrocentric paradigm and explores possible alternative views of justice not captured by the three theoretical frameworks. The paper notes that the three theories of social work were written and developed by white individuals, thus reaffirming the power of white individuals in society without accurately reflecting the true client base in the United States.

Outline:
Objective
Introduction
Market Individualism
Liberal Individualism
Social Democrat
The Afrocentric Paradigm

From the Paper
"Market individualism holds that social justice is less focused on the distribution of justice and more focused on the process by which holdings are acquired. In this school of thought the state is involved only minimally while the market makes provision of social justice through employment, services and welfare thereby protecting the individual's freedom. There is no socially set goals for economic allocation in the theory of "market individualism". Market Individualism is a concept that was introduced in the work of Robert Nozick in his 1970 publication entitled: "Anarchy, State and Utopia" which expressed a belief that the market is the basic provider of social justice employment, services and welfare."

Tags:Afrocentric, paradigm, capitalism, Marx

Abstract
This paper defines Reggae is a heavy four-beat rhythm, which is driven in different measures, depending on the artist concerned, by two percussion instruments,drums and a corrugated stick rubbed against a plain stick called the scraper, and two string instruments, the bass guitar and the electric guitar. The author points out that reggae is influenced by the traditions of African music, and its link to life before the African diaspora, and so before slavery, runs through the music as one of its defining revolutionary elements. The paper examines Jamaican music by using a reader-response model to understand the importance of the changes in the music over the years.

Table of Contents
Introduction
The History of Jamaican Music
Reggae Reader Response
Is Reggae Still Radical?

From the Paper
"Although it might seem from our current vantage point that there has always been a connection between reggae and Rastafarianism, this connection actually came about through the work of a number of groups such as Big Youth and Black Uhuru. They pushed the messages of both reggae and the Rastafarian movement, a pan-Africanist movement, which urged the children of the African diaspora to return to the continent of their forebears and created a divinity of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I (whose birth name was Ras Tafari). The fact that Rastafarianism promotes the use of ganja (marijuana) as a sacrament did much to endear the movement to many reggae fans."

Tags:hiphop, rastafarian, psychoanalytic, afrocentrism, response