African Studies and the Afrocentric Paradigm: A Critique

Author(s): Bayo Oyebade

Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2, Afrocentricity (Dec., 1990), pp. 233-238
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
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 AFRICAN STUDIES AND THE
AFROCENTRIC PARADIGM
A Critique
BAYO OYEBADE
TempleUniversity

The studyofAfricanpeoplesfroman Africa-centered prismhas

beenreferred Thisparadigm
toas Afrocentricity. ofstudying Africa
whichhasitstheoretical foundationintheworksofcontemporary
scholarsin theUnitedStatesis, to be sure,notan entirely new
perspectiveinAfrican intellectual
thought. histori-
Africa-centered
ography, infact,datesbacktotheclosingyearsofcolonialrulein
Africa.Intheearly1960sthisapproachfoundincreased expression
in theworksofAfricanscholars,whoconsciously grounded their
researcherinAfrican methodology.' However,thedevelopment of
the Africa-centered approachas a theoryand philosophyis a
productof the 1980s and of diasporianAfricanwritings.The
theoretical
conceptualization ofanAfrica-centered
approachis the
handiwork of Afrocentric scholarssuch as MolefiKete Asante,
TsheloaneKeto,MualanaKarenga,and a hostof othersbased in
theUnitedStates.The aimofthisarticleis toattempt a critiqueof
Afrocentricthought as seenin theworksofAsanteandKeto,two
ofitsleadingexponents.2

SUBJECTMATTER
The subjectmatter oftheAfrocentric paradigm is itsplacement
ofAfricaatthecenter ofanyanalysisofAfrican history andculture,
including theAfrican-American experience.
As Keto(1989) puts
it:"TheAfrica-centered perspective ofhistory
restsonthepremise
thatitis validtopositAfricaas a geographical
andcultural starting
base inthestudyofpeoplesofAfricandescent"(p. 1).
JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES, Vol.21 No. 2, December1990 233-238
? 1990Sage Publications,
Inc.
233
234 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /DECEMBER 1990

The need to createan Africa-centered perspective thattakes

Africaas a pointof departure forAfricanstudiesstemsfromthe
natureoftheEurocentric paradigm, whichhas beenusedinmany
previousAfricanstudies.In thehistory ofintellectualthought,the
Eurocentric paradigmhas oftenassumeda hegemonicuniversal
character, andEuropeanculture hasplaceditselfatthecenterofthe
socialstructure, becomingthereference point,ortheyardstick, by
whicheveryothercultureis defined.For instance,theWestern
definition ofcivilization
has becomethestandard ofwhatconsti-
tutesa civilization.The Eurocentric worldviewhas becomeso
dominant inthecontemporary worldthatithasovershadowed other
worldviews. The Afrocentric perspectiveseekstoliberateAfrican
studiesfromthisEurocentric monopolyon scholarship and thus
asserta valid worldviewthrough whichAfricacan be studied
objectively.
Afrocentric scholarshastento add thatan Afrocentric perspec-
tivedoes notaimtoreplaceEurocentricity as a universalperspec-
tive.Indeed,Afrocentricity recognizesthevalidityof othernon-
hegemonicperspectives-Asia-centered, America-centered, and
evenEurope-centered in itsnonhegemonic form.It is thetotality
ofthesenon-ego-boosting perspectivesthatconstituteswhatKeto
calls "a pluriversal"
perspective.Thispossibility oflookingat the
worldfromdifferent centersratherthanfroma singleangle is
necessary ifwe aretohavea betterunderstanding ofthisdiversified
andmulticultural universe.

METHODOLOGY

Since Afrocentricity adoptsAfricaas a takeoffpointin any

it is Diopian in methodology.
discussionof Africancivilization,
IndeedtheDiopianschoolofAfrocentric thought insiststhatthe
ancientKemetic(Egyptian)civilizationshouldbe the classical
reference pointforthestudyofAfricancivilization, as theGreek
is foranalysisofEuropeancivilization.
civilization
Muchhas beenwritten aboutEgyptandtheKemetickingdom,
mostofthewritings beingEurocentricinthattheydenytheAfrican
 Oyebade/THE AFROCENTRIC PARADIGM 235

originofthecivilization
builtbytheancientEgyptians.
However,
recentworks,fromCheikhAntaDiop's (1974) TheAfricanOrigin
of Civilizationto MartinBernal's (1987) BlackAthena: The Afro-
asiatic Roots ofClassical Civilization,have confirmedbeyondany
reasonabledoubttheAfricanoriginof theKemeticcivilization.3
AncientKemetis theearliestknownremarkable civilizationin
Africaand indeedin theworld.The civilization, fromavailable
evidence,seemsto haveresolvedmostof theissuesthatcontem-
porary civilization
facestoday-justice,government, interpersonal
relations,racial harmony. This near perfection of the Kemetic
civilizationis thebasis of its adoptionby Afrocentricists as a
classicalreference pointin whichstudiesofAfricancivilizations
shouldbe anchored.
Afrocentricscholarshaveincreasingly drawna linkagebetween
theirworkand theancientEgyptiancivilization. Some of these
scholarsincludeKariamuWelsh-Asante, LeonardJaffries, Jacob
Carruthers and MualanaKarenga.Butmakinga linkagebetween
EgyptandotherAfrican cultures is notstrictly
a newphenomenon.
The Africanscholar,SaburiBiobaku(1971), in theearly1960s
propounded a theorylinkingtheoriginoftheYorubaofWestAfrica
to theNile region.Beforehim,OlumideLucas (1948) hadspecu-
latedon theEgyptian originoftheYorubas.However,thepresent
trendinAfrocentric scholarship is thatresearchersareconsciously
makingEgypttheirpointof departure in thestudyof African
culture.
ThisAfrocentric parameter of studying Africancivilizations is
innowaylessapplicabletoAfrican-American civilization.Indeed,
Afrocentricity sees African-American experienceas a dimension
ofAfricanhistory andculture. Afrocentricity therefore insiststhat
African-American studiesshouldbe Africa-centered. It does not
see anydichotomy betweentheAfrican pastandAfrican-American
history.Afrocentricity rathersees African-American history as an
integralpartofAfrican history.Thispresupposes thatAfrocentricity
is incompatiblewithanyperspective thattendstosee thebeginning
ofAfrican-American historyintheEmancipation Declaration. The
weaknessoftheperspective fromwhichinitialAfrican-American
historyhasbeenapproached is thatitis ahistorical,
inthatittended
236 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /DECEMBER 1990

to blotoutAfrican-American historical
experiencepriorto free-
dom.Sucha perspective failstorecognizetheantiquityofhistory
andis therefore incompatible withAfrocentricity.
For Afrocentricity, any perceiveddiscontinuity in African-
Americanhistory atanygivenpointintimeis a myth. To be valid,
anystudyofAfrican-American experiencemustbe rootedinAfri-
can culture.Asante(1987,pp. 83-95)hasdemonstrated thisAfro-
centricparameter in his analysisof African-American oratory.
Briefly,whatAsantecallsnommo, thepowerofthespokenword,
is well articulatedamongAfrican-Americans. But thisrhetorical
powerin speech,song,and mythis a carryover of theancestral
practice.WhenenslavedAfricansarrivedin America,thecarried
withthemtheAfricanpowerof oral expressionwhichtheyex-
pressedindrumming, storytelling,
andpraisesinging.
Nommowas
an effectivecommunication powerusedbytheenslavedAfricans
to protesttheirincarceration. The pioneersof the Civil Rights
movement also used thepowerof thespokenwordthrough ser-
mons,lectures, raps,gospelsongs,andpoetry. Thusto ignorethe
linkagewithAfricaintreating African-Americanhistoryandcul-
tureis tomissan essentialpartofthatstudy.

CONCLUSION

Afrocentricityas a theory ofAfricology is undoubtedlystillin

theprocessofevolving.Forexample,Afrocentric scholarsarenot
yetagreedon whether Marxismhas a roleto playin Afrocentric
discourse.To Asante(1987), "Marxismis nothelpfulin develop-
ingAfrocentric conceptsandmethodsbecauseit,too,is a product
of a Eurocentric consciousnessthatexcludesthehistoricaland
culturalperspectivesofAfrica"(p. 8). Keto(1989) holdsanoppos-
ingview:"Therelationship betweenanAfrica-centered perspective
andMarxisttheory can be eithermutuallyexclusiveorsymbiotic"
(p. 21). One is inclinedto believethatMarxisttheoriescan be
compatible withAfrocentricity whentheyareused,forexample,to
analyzeAfrica'spoliticaleconomyin relationto theexploitative
globaleconomydominated by thecapitalistWest.As a matter of
 Oyebade/THE AFROCENTRIC PARADIGM 237

fact,ofthearrayofscholarship onthequestionofslavery, colonial-

ism,and neocolonialism, thoseauthorswho engagein Marxist
analysisseemto providethebestunderstanding of thesethemes.
Butwhatever methodology ofresearchandanalysisis adoptedby
an Afrocentric scholar,Afrocentricity insiststhatinvestigationof
African phenomena, be itlanguage,history,orgenderstudies, must
be subjectedto properresearch.Forthosewho confuseAfrocen-
tricitywithNegritude, thosewho tendto see itas a reincarnation
of Negritude, thisinsistence on meticulous researchdistinguishes
it.Afrocentricity,itis true,is similarto Negritude in itsideologi-
cal orientation,
butit deviatesfromNegritude at thepointwhere
thelatteradornsitselfwitha romanticgarb.To theextentthat
Afrocentricityrejectsundueglorification ofAfrica,itgoesbeyond
Negritude.
Afrocentricity is also particularon a properlanguageof dis-
course.For too long Eurocentric writershave used derogatory
languagetoqualifyAfricaandAfricans. Unfortunately, evenAfri-
can scholarshave helpedto perpetuate thishistoriography. They
still,forinstance,use termslike"tribes"and"Thirdworld"when
theyare discussingAfrica.These are termsdefinedby othersto
denyAfricacivilization. Thisis whythedefinition ofAfricamust
be Africa-centered.
Afrocentricityexpressestheneedtochangehegemonic cultural
aggression through research andwriting fromtheAfrican perspec-
tive.Butitaimsbeyondthis.Apartfromasserting a validperspec-
tivefromwhichAfricawill be objectively studied,it aimsat the
humanization of theuniverseby theBlack man.Afrocentricity is
thusa searchforthosevaluesthatwillmakemantorelateto man
ina humanistic wayandnotinan imperialistic orexploitativeway.

NOTES

1. The beginningof thetradition

of academichistory
fromtheAfricanpointof view
canbe tracedtoKennethDike's TradeandPoliticsintheNigerDelta,published
byOxford
Pressin 1956.
University
238 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /DECEMBER 1990

2. MolefiKeteAsanteis professor
andchairman oftheDepartment ofAfrican-Ameri-
can StudiesatTempleUniversity.TsehloaneKeto,whois a professor in thesamedepart-
ment,directstheInstitute
forAfrican-American
Affairs. Temple'sAfrican-American Stud-
ies Department is mostidentified
withtheadvancement of theAfrocentric scholarship.
Studiesin thedepartmentarebasedon theAfrocentrictheory andmethodofanalysis.
by CheikhAntaDiop is thefirstmajorworkon
3. TheAfricanOriginofCivilization
EgypttoasserttheAfricanoriginoftheKemeticcivilization. MartinBernal'sfirst volume
of Black Athena(The Fabricationof AncientGreece 1785-1985),discusseshow the
"AncientModel," recognized Egypt(andPhoenicia)as therootofclassicalcivilization
was
overthrown bythe"AryanModel" whichdeniedit.

REFERENCES

Asante,M. K. (1980).Afrocentricity:Thetheory ofsocial change.Buffalo,NY: Amulefi.

Asante,M. K. (1987). TheAfrocentric idea. Philadelphia:
TempleUniversity Press.
Asante,M. K. (1988).Afrocentricity.Trenton,NJ:AfricaWorldPress.
Bernal,M. (1987). BlackAthena:TheAfroasiatic rootsofclassicalcivilization.
London:
FreeAssociationBooks.
Biobaku,S. 0. (1971).TheoriginoftheYorubas.HunanitiesMonograph Series(University
ofLagos), 1.
Dike,K. (1956). TradeandpoliticsintheNigerdelta.New York:OxfordUniversity Press.
Diop, C. A. (1974). TheAfricaoriginofcivilization:
Mythand reality.New York:L. Hill.
Keto,T. (1989). TheAfica-centeredperspective ofhistory.NewJersey: K. A. Publications.
Lucas,0. (1948). ThereligionoftheYorubas.Lagos: C.M.S. Bookshop.

Bayo Oyebadeis a Ph.D. student in theHistoryDepartment

at TempleUniversity.
He is also on theteachingstaff
oftheHistoryDepartmentofOgunStateUniversity
inNigeria.