Africa and Afrocentric Historicism: A Critique
Author(s)
Tunde Adeleke
ABSTRACT
Since the dawn of slavery in America, black activists have used Africa to construct a countervailing frame of resistance to oppression. Africa had functioned both as the justification for enslavement and racial discrimination for the dominant white society, and as the counter-hegemonic weapon of resistance and empowerment for blacks. Reacting to subordination and marginalization, modern black intellectuals, borrowing from the past, have equally invoked Africa in their quest for a useable and instrumental historical past with which to counteract the Eurocentric constructions of their heritage and experiences. However, the resultant Afrocentric historicist framing of Africa, as well as its racialized and essentialist character, had only replicated precisely the negative shortcomings of the Eurocentric historiography and black intellectuals were attempting to debunk.
Since the dawn of slavery in America, black activists have used Africa to construct a countervailing frame of resistance to oppression. Africa had functioned both as the justification for enslavement and racial discrimination for the dominant white society, and as the counter-hegemonic weapon of resistance and empowerment for blacks. Reacting to subordination and marginalization, modern black intellectuals, borrowing from the past, have equally invoked Africa in their quest for a useable and instrumental historical past with which to counteract the Eurocentric constructions of their heritage and experiences. However, the resultant Afrocentric historicist framing of Africa, as well as its racialized and essentialist character, had only replicated precisely the negative shortcomings of the Eurocentric historiography and black intellectuals were attempting to debunk.
Cite this paper
Adeleke, T. (2015) Africa and Afrocentric Historicism: A Critique. Advances in Historical Studies, 4, 200-215. doi: 10.4236/ahs.2015.43016.
Adeleke, T. (2015) Africa and Afrocentric Historicism: A Critique. Advances in Historical Studies, 4, 200-215. doi: 10.4236/ahs.2015.43016.
References
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(2006). Somalis and Sudanese in Norway: Religion, Ethnicity/Clan and Politics in the Diaspora. In L. Manger, & M. Assal (Eds.), Diasporas within and without Africa: Homogeneity, Heterogeneity, Variation (pp. 165-196). Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute. [16] Berger, J. (1990). Professor’s Theories on Race Stir Turmoil at City College. The New York Times, 20 April 1990. [17] Bernal, M. (1987). Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, Vol. 1. The Fabrication of Ancient Greece, 1785-1985. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, [18] Bernal, M. (1991). Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, Vol. 2. The Archaeological and Documentary Evidence. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. [19] Bernal, M. (2001). Black Athena Writes Back: Martin Bernal Responds to His Critics. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/9780822380078 [20] Blaut, J. M. (1993). 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(2009). A Faithful Account of the Race: African American Historical Writing in Nineteenth-Century America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5149/9780807899199_hall [39] Hamilton, R. et al. (2007). Rethinking the African Diaspora: Global Dynamics. In: R. Hamilton (Ed.), Routes of Passage: Rethinking the African Diaspora, Vol. 1, Part 1 (pp. 1-39). East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press. [40] Harding, V. (1970). Beyond Chaos: Black History and the Search for the New Land. In J. A. Williams, & C. F. Harris (Eds.), Amistad 1: Writings on Black History and Culture (pp. 269-292). New York: Vintage Books. [41] Harris Jr., R. L. (1982). Coming of Age: The Transformation of Afro-American Historiography. The Journal of Negro History, 67, 107-121. [42] Holloway, J. (Ed.) (2005) Africanisms in American Culture (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. [43] Howe, S. (1998). Afrocentrism: Mythic Pasts, Imagined Homes. London: Verso. [44] James, G. G. M. (2009). Stolen Legacy. New York: Classic House Books. (Originally published in 1954) [45] Justice, P. (2005). The Black World: Evolution to Revolution. London: A.U Publishers. [46] Kershaw, T. (1990). The Emerging Paradigms in Black Studies. In T. Anderson (Ed.), Black Studies: Theory, Methods, and Cultural Perspectives (pp. 17-24). Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press. [47] Keto, C. T. (1995). Vision, Identity and Time: The Afrocentric Paradigm and the Study of the Past. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/ Hunt. [48] Kharem, H., & Hayes, E. (1990). Separatism or Integration: Early Black Nationalism and the Education Critique. In W. H. Watkins (Ed.), Black Protest Thought and Education (pp. 67-88). Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. [49] Lauren, P. G. (1988). Power and Prejudice: The Politics and Diplomacy of Racial Discrimination. Boulder, CO: Westview. [50] Lefkowitz, M. (1994). The Origins of the “Stolen Legacy”. In J. Miller (Ed.), Alternatives to Afrocentrism (pp. 27-31). Washington DC: Manhattan Institute. [51] Lefkowitz, M. (1996). Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History. New York: Basic Books. [52] Louri, G. (1993). Free at Last? A Personal Perspective on Race and Identity in America. In G. Early (Ed.), Lure and Loathing (pp. 1-12). New York: The Free Press. [53] Madhubuti, H. (1978). Enemies: The Clash of Race. Chicago: Third World Press. [54] Meier, A., & Rudwick, E. (1986). Black History and the Historical Profession, 1915-1980. Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press. [55] Owens, M. E. (2009). Yes, I Am Who I Am: A New Philosophy of Black Identity. Tulsa, OK: Yorkshire Publishing Group. [56] Perlstein, D. (2005). Minds Stayed on Freedom: Politics and Pedagogy in the African American Freedom Struggles. In W. H. Watkins (Ed.), Black Protest Thought and Education (pp. 33-66). New York: Peter Lang. [57] Richards, D. M. (1980). Let the Circle be Unbroken: The Implications of African Spirituality in the Diaspora. Trenton, NJ: Red Sea Press. [58] Richburg, K. (1996). Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa. New York: Basic Books. [59] Rojas, F. (2007). From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Movement Became an Academic Discipline. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. [60] Rooks, N. (2006). White Money, Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. [61] Schlesinger Jr., A. (1998). The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society (revised and enlarged edition). London: W.W. Norton & Co. [62] Shabaaz, B. (1990). Malcolm X on Afro-American History. New York: Pathfinder. [63] Shavit, Y. (2001). History in Black: African Americans in Search of an Ancient Past. London: Frank Cass. [64] Smedley, A. (1993). Race in North America: The Origins and Evolution of a Worldview. Boulder, CO: Westview. [65] Smith, A. (1990). Towards a Global Culture? In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity (pp. 170-191). London: Sage Publications. [66] Smithers, G. D. (2011). Challenging a Pan-African Identity: The Autobiographical Writings of Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, and Caryl Phillips. Journal of American Studies, 45, 483-502.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021875810002410 [67] Stuckey, S. (1971). Twilight of Our Past: Reflections on the Origins of Black History. In J. A. Williams, & C. F. Harris (Eds.), Amistad 2: Writings on Black History and Culture (pp. 261-295). New York: Vintage Books. [68] Thorpe, E. (1971). Black Historians: A Critique. New York: William Morrow & Co. [69] Uya, O. (1984). Trends and Perspectives in African History. In E. O. Erim, & O. Uya (Eds.), Perspectives and Methods of Studying African History (pp. 1-9). Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension Press. [70] Walker, C. E. (2001). We Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument about Afrocentrism. New York: Oxford University Press. [71] Williams, C. (1976). The Destruction of Black Civilization. Chicago, IL: Third World Press. [72] Williams, C. (1993). The Rebirth of African Civilization. Hampton, VA: UB & US Communications. [73] Wilson, A. (1993). The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness: Eurocentric History, Psychiatry and the Politics of White Supremacy. New York: Afrikan World Infosystems. [74] Wright, W. D. (1997). Black Intellectuals, Black Cognition, and a Black Aesthetic. Westport, CT: Praeger. [75] Wright, W. D. (2002). Black History and Black Identity: A Call for a New Historiography. Westport, CT: Praeger. [76] Wright, W. D. (2007). Crisis of the Black Intellectual. Chicago, IL: Third World Press.
[1] Abusharaf, R. (2006). Southern Sudanese: A Community in Exile. In L. Manger, & M. A. M. Asal (Eds.), Diasporas within and Without Africa (pp. 140-164). Uppsala: The Nordic Africa Institute. [2] Adeleke, T. (2002). Contemporary Relevance of the Du Boisean Duality Construct. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, 16, 65-76. [3] Adeleke, T. (2010). Against Euro-Cultural Hegemony: Black Americans, Afrocentricity and Globalization. In W. Ommundsen, M. Leach, & A. Vandenberg (Eds.), Cultural Citizenship and the Challenges of Globalization (pp. 225-244). Cresskill, NJ: Putnam Press. [4] Afikgbo, A. E. (1977). The Poverty of African Historiography. Idanre: Agrografrika Publishers. [5] Akbar, N. (1984). Africentric Social Sciences for Human Liberation. Journal of Black Studies, 14, 395-414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002193478401400401 [6] Ani, M. (1994). Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behaviour. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. [7] Asante, M. K. (1987). The Afrocentric Idea. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. [8] Asante, M. K. (1988). Afrocentricity. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. [9] Asante, M. K. (1990). Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. [10] Asante, M. K. (1991). The Afrocentric Idea in Education. Journal of Negro Education, 60, 170-180. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2295608 [11] Asante, M. K. (1993a). On Historical Interpretation, in his Malcolm X as Cultural Hero and Other Afrocentric Essays. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. [12] Asante, M. K. (1993b). Race, Consciousness and Afrocentricity. In G. Early (Ed.), Lure and Loathing: Essays on Race, Identity and the Ambivalence of Assimilation (pp. 127-143). New York: Penguin Books. [13] Asante, M. K. (1999). The Painful Demise of Afrocentrism: An Afrocentric Response to Critics. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, [14] Asante, M. K. (2007). The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony. London: Routledge. [15] Assal, M. A. M. (2006). Somalis and Sudanese in Norway: Religion, Ethnicity/Clan and Politics in the Diaspora. In L. Manger, & M. Assal (Eds.), Diasporas within and without Africa: Homogeneity, Heterogeneity, Variation (pp. 165-196). Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute. [16] Berger, J. (1990). Professor’s Theories on Race Stir Turmoil at City College. The New York Times, 20 April 1990. [17] Bernal, M. (1987). Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, Vol. 1. The Fabrication of Ancient Greece, 1785-1985. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, [18] Bernal, M. (1991). Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, Vol. 2. The Archaeological and Documentary Evidence. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. [19] Bernal, M. (2001). Black Athena Writes Back: Martin Bernal Responds to His Critics. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/9780822380078 [20] Blaut, J. M. (1993). The Colonizer’s Model of the World: Geographical Diffusionism and Eurocentric History. New York: Guilford Press. [21] Cohen, R. (1997). Global Diasporas: An Introduction. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. [22] Conrad, B. (2006). “We Are the Warsay of Eritrea in Diaspora”: Contested Identities and Social Divisions in Cyberspace and in Real Life. In L. O. Manger, & M. A. M. Assal (Eds.), Diasporas within and without Africa: Dynamism, Heterogeneity, Variation (pp. 104-139). [23] Cook, S. D. (1960). A Tragic Conception of Negro History. The Journal of Negro History, 54, 219-240. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2716583 [24] Crouch, S. (1993). Who Are We? Where Did We Come From? Where Are We Going? In G. Early (Ed.), Lure and Loathing (pp. 80-94). New York: Penguin. [25] Crouch, S. (1995). The All-American Skin Game, or the Decoy of Race: The Long and the Short of It, 1990-1994. New York: Pantheon Books. [26] Delany, M. R. (1868). The International Policy of the World towards the African Race. In F. Rollin (Ed.), Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany (pp. 313-327). Boston: Lee and Shepard. [27] Diop, C. A. (1974). The African Origins of Civilization: Myth or Reality. Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill. [28] Diop, C. A. (1981). Origins of the Ancient Egyptians. In G. Mokhtar (Ed.), UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. 2. Ancient Civilizations of Africa (pp. 27-57). Berkley, CA: The University of California Press. [29] Diop, C. A. (1984). Africa: Cradle of Humanity. Nile Valley Civilizations (Journal of African Civilization), 6, 23-28. [30] Diop, C. A. (1991). Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology. New York. [31] Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches. Chicago, IL: A. C. McClurg & Co. [32] Du Bois, W. E. B. (1971). The Talented Tenth. In: A. G. Paschal (Ed.), A W. E. B. Du Bois Reader (pp. 31-51). New York: Collier-Macmillan. [33] Ernest, J. (2004). Liberation Historiography: African American Writers and the Challenge of History, 1794-1861. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. [34] Franklin, J. H. (1963). The Dilemma of the American Negro Scholar. In R. Hill (Ed.), Soon, One Morning: New Writings by American Negroes, 1940-1962 (pp. 62-76). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. [35] Franklin, J. H. (2010). From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. [36] Greene, J. P. (1992). Beyond Power: Paradigm Subversion and Reformulation and the Re-creation of the Early Modern Atlantic World. In D. C. Hine, & J. McLeod (Eds.), Crossing Boundaries: Comparative History of Black People in Diaspora (pp. 319-342). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. [37] Grisham, G. N. (1975). The Function of the Negro Scholar. In: P. S. Foner (Ed.), The Voice of Black America: Major Speeches by Blacks in the United States, 1797-1973, Vol. 1 (pp. 629-630). New York: Capricorn Books. [38] Hall, S. (2009). A Faithful Account of the Race: African American Historical Writing in Nineteenth-Century America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5149/9780807899199_hall [39] Hamilton, R. et al. (2007). Rethinking the African Diaspora: Global Dynamics. In: R. Hamilton (Ed.), Routes of Passage: Rethinking the African Diaspora, Vol. 1, Part 1 (pp. 1-39). East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press. [40] Harding, V. (1970). Beyond Chaos: Black History and the Search for the New Land. In J. A. Williams, & C. F. Harris (Eds.), Amistad 1: Writings on Black History and Culture (pp. 269-292). New York: Vintage Books. [41] Harris Jr., R. L. (1982). Coming of Age: The Transformation of Afro-American Historiography. The Journal of Negro History, 67, 107-121. [42] Holloway, J. (Ed.) (2005) Africanisms in American Culture (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. [43] Howe, S. (1998). Afrocentrism: Mythic Pasts, Imagined Homes. London: Verso. [44] James, G. G. M. (2009). Stolen Legacy. New York: Classic House Books. (Originally published in 1954) [45] Justice, P. (2005). The Black World: Evolution to Revolution. London: A.U Publishers. [46] Kershaw, T. (1990). The Emerging Paradigms in Black Studies. In T. Anderson (Ed.), Black Studies: Theory, Methods, and Cultural Perspectives (pp. 17-24). Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press. [47] Keto, C. T. (1995). Vision, Identity and Time: The Afrocentric Paradigm and the Study of the Past. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/ Hunt. [48] Kharem, H., & Hayes, E. (1990). Separatism or Integration: Early Black Nationalism and the Education Critique. In W. H. Watkins (Ed.), Black Protest Thought and Education (pp. 67-88). Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. [49] Lauren, P. G. (1988). Power and Prejudice: The Politics and Diplomacy of Racial Discrimination. Boulder, CO: Westview. [50] Lefkowitz, M. (1994). The Origins of the “Stolen Legacy”. In J. Miller (Ed.), Alternatives to Afrocentrism (pp. 27-31). Washington DC: Manhattan Institute. [51] Lefkowitz, M. (1996). Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History. New York: Basic Books. [52] Louri, G. (1993). Free at Last? A Personal Perspective on Race and Identity in America. In G. Early (Ed.), Lure and Loathing (pp. 1-12). New York: The Free Press. [53] Madhubuti, H. (1978). Enemies: The Clash of Race. Chicago: Third World Press. [54] Meier, A., & Rudwick, E. (1986). Black History and the Historical Profession, 1915-1980. Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press. [55] Owens, M. E. (2009). Yes, I Am Who I Am: A New Philosophy of Black Identity. Tulsa, OK: Yorkshire Publishing Group. [56] Perlstein, D. (2005). Minds Stayed on Freedom: Politics and Pedagogy in the African American Freedom Struggles. In W. H. Watkins (Ed.), Black Protest Thought and Education (pp. 33-66). New York: Peter Lang. [57] Richards, D. M. (1980). Let the Circle be Unbroken: The Implications of African Spirituality in the Diaspora. Trenton, NJ: Red Sea Press. [58] Richburg, K. (1996). Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa. New York: Basic Books. [59] Rojas, F. (2007). From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Movement Became an Academic Discipline. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. [60] Rooks, N. (2006). White Money, Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. [61] Schlesinger Jr., A. (1998). The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society (revised and enlarged edition). London: W.W. Norton & Co. [62] Shabaaz, B. (1990). Malcolm X on Afro-American History. New York: Pathfinder. [63] Shavit, Y. (2001). History in Black: African Americans in Search of an Ancient Past. London: Frank Cass. [64] Smedley, A. (1993). Race in North America: The Origins and Evolution of a Worldview. Boulder, CO: Westview. [65] Smith, A. (1990). Towards a Global Culture? In M. Featherstone (Ed.), Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity (pp. 170-191). London: Sage Publications. [66] Smithers, G. D. (2011). Challenging a Pan-African Identity: The Autobiographical Writings of Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, and Caryl Phillips. Journal of American Studies, 45, 483-502.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021875810002410 [67] Stuckey, S. (1971). Twilight of Our Past: Reflections on the Origins of Black History. In J. A. Williams, & C. F. Harris (Eds.), Amistad 2: Writings on Black History and Culture (pp. 261-295). New York: Vintage Books. [68] Thorpe, E. (1971). Black Historians: A Critique. New York: William Morrow & Co. [69] Uya, O. (1984). Trends and Perspectives in African History. In E. O. Erim, & O. Uya (Eds.), Perspectives and Methods of Studying African History (pp. 1-9). Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension Press. [70] Walker, C. E. (2001). We Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument about Afrocentrism. New York: Oxford University Press. [71] Williams, C. (1976). The Destruction of Black Civilization. Chicago, IL: Third World Press. [72] Williams, C. (1993). The Rebirth of African Civilization. Hampton, VA: UB & US Communications. [73] Wilson, A. (1993). The Falsification of Afrikan Consciousness: Eurocentric History, Psychiatry and the Politics of White Supremacy. New York: Afrikan World Infosystems. [74] Wright, W. D. (1997). Black Intellectuals, Black Cognition, and a Black Aesthetic. Westport, CT: Praeger. [75] Wright, W. D. (2002). Black History and Black Identity: A Call for a New Historiography. Westport, CT: Praeger. [76] Wright, W. D. (2007). Crisis of the Black Intellectual. Chicago, IL: Third World Press.