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 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.""
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."
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 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)."
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 "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.."
An examination of the value and viability of alternatives to Eurocentric education. Includes theory, multiculturalism, the impact on students, examples, role of teachers and learning goals.
3,825 words (approx. 15.3 pages), 19 sources, 1994, $ 135.95
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..."
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."
Abstract This paper reviews, compares and contrasts the 1991 film "Boyz N the Hood", directed by John Singleton and the 1995 Nick Gomez film, "New Jersey Drive". The paper begins by summarizing the themes of "Boyz": the often unspoken battles between Afro-Centrism and assimilation; between action and resignation; between scholars and gangsters. According to the paper, Singleton's formula was so successful that it spawned dozens of similar films, including Gomez's "New Jersey Drive." The paper compares and contrasts each movie's treatment of racism and the struggle for the black characters in -- and against -- a white-dominated society. The paper also explores how each film treats the issues of urbanization and gang affiliation.
From the Paper "New Jersey Drive" is far less subtle in its definitions of "oppressor" and "other." Nearly all the police officers in the film are white, and many display overtly violent and racist tactics toward the black youths on which the film focuses, One exception is a black officer who, when asked if he knows a young prisoner's identity, ironically replies with a staple racist remark; "Who knows... I can't tell them apart." Clearly, in the ghetto Nick Gomez paints, racism and white supremacy are the root causes of tension. In "Boyz N the Hood," the tension (while still palatable) is less racial, and more ideological. Returning to the classroom scene, one young, black student responds to Tre's Afrocentric lesson on the origins of Man by quipping, "I ain't from Africa, I'm from Crenshaw Mafia." This simple statement sets up one of the films most prevalent themes; the tension, the direct opposition between racial identity (Afrocentrism), and loss of that identity (gang affiliation) (Boyd, 347)."
Abstract This paper explains that, in Chapter 7 of their book "Black Theatre: Premise and Presentation", Carlton W. Molette and Barbara J. Molette stress the intrinsically European and Eurocentric notion of the concept of the 'universal hero' in literature; even Othello is still a resolutely European hero. The paper also points out that Molette amd Molette write that wit and irony, ritual participation and verbally inventive performance are traditional ways for black heroes to gain heroic status. The paper contends that suggesting that only the black community folklore can produce black heroes can be overly limiting.
From the Paper "Although European drama during Shakespeare's time was intensely interactive, today only in African-American theaters is the audience such an integral part of the performance that the 'call and response' can change the entire nature of the hero-audience dynamic, one reason why going to a church, movie, or theatrical performance in the Afrocentric tradition often seems very similar in terms of its levels of audience participation."
Tags: eurocentric afrocentric, call and response, othello, rhetorical style
