Apr 13, 2020 · 11. Describe the “community of Black women writing” that Hortense Spiller references and discuss why it is named such. 12. Who is best known for advocating Afrocentrism? What is it? 13. What is the impact of President Barack Obama and how will he be remembered? What are the titles of his memoirs?
Who is best known for advocating Afrocentrism? What is it? 13. What is the impact of President Barack Obama and how will he be remembered? What are the titles of his memoirs? 14. What is Def Poetry Jam and when was it produced on Broadway? 15. How has Oprah Winfrey impacted African American literature?
Asante is widely known for his writings on Afrocentricity, a school of thought that has influenced the fields of sociology, intercultural communication, critical theory, political science, African history, and social work.
Afrocentrism was influenced by several earlier Black nationalist movements, including Ethiopianism and Pan-Africanism. The latter became a major presence in the United States and elsewhere with the emergence of the Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey, who promoted the idea of an African diaspora and called for a separate African state for Black Americans. Garvey’s bitter enemy, W.E.B. Du Bois, who helped to found the integration-minded National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1909, was also interested in Pan-Africanism and organized world conferences on the subject from 1919 to 1927. Other antecedents included the Negritude literary movement, launched in France in the 1930s by Francophone African intellectuals such as Léopold Senghor, and the Nation of Islam, whose leaders—including Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X —preached not only the need for a Black homeland but also the cultural and genetic superiority of Blacks.
For this reason, according to Afrocentrism, people of African descent need to develop an appreciation of the achievements of traditional African civilizations; indeed, they need to articulate their own history and their own system of values.
Pan-Africanism, the idea that peoples of African descent have common interests and should be unified. Historically, Pan-Africanism has often taken the shape of a political or cultural movement. There are many varieties of Pan-Africanism. In its narrowest political manifestation, Pan-Africanists….
Afrocentric historicism developed as a medium of black protest against what was perceived as the universalistic, absolutist and fundamentalist claims of Western historiography in relation to the interpretation and determination of the place and role of Africa in history. Thus, it is rooted in the tradition of blacks’ quest for historical authenticity. Several nineteenth-century black intellectuals published to rescue African history from obscurity, and establish the antiquity of civilization in Africa. This group included Martin Delany, and the “Pioneers.” Collectively, they used evidence of African history and African cultural wealth to affirm both their humanity and citizenship, and gain recognition for Africa/Diaspora blacks as contributors to world history and civilization ( Ernest, 2004 ; Quarles, 1988; Harris, 1982 ). Their writings bore the seeds of the future Afrocentric genre. For example, Delany was unequivocal on the African origins of ancient Egyptian civilization. As he quizzed rhetorically,
The Afrocentric perspective is premised on centering Africa as the foundation of black Diaspora epistemology. It developed largely in reaction to what was perceived as a critical need for a forceful ideological response to Eurocentric historiography. Asante identifies Eurocentrism as a major threat to blacks in America. He asserts that this threat had existed since the dawn of history, and remains intractable despite the efforts and accomplishments of earlier generations (Asante, 1990) . In his view, Eurocentrism has destroyed African culture; de-Africanized the consciousness of blacks, and arrested their economic and cultural developments.It represents a potent threat to the cultural, social, economic and political development of blacks. To combat this, Asante and his ideological cohorts propose Afrocentrism, which he defines as “a frame of reference wherein phenomena are viewed from the perspective of the African person… (and which) seeks in every situation the appropriate centrality of the African person” (Asante, 1991: p. 171) . The Afrocentric solution, therefore, entails strengthening black American knowledge and awareness of African historical and cultural heritage and making Africa the foundation of knowledge. This knowledge became the defensive weapon against a pervasive and domineering Eurocentric worldview (Asante, 1993a) .