The Problem with Afrocentricity
Part I
A Book Review
By Norm R. Allen Jr.
An Afrocentric Manifesto, by Molefi Kete Asante (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2007, ISBN-13: 97807456-4103-4) 179 pp. Paper. $21.00
Molefi Kete Asante, a professor at the Department of African American Studies at Temple University,
coined the term Afrocentricity, by which he means an African-centered orientation toward history,
culture and life in general. Africans – by which he means all Black people of African descent – assume
agency “within the context of their own history.” (p. 11)
The copyright for the book is 2007. However, it was placed in the new books section of one of my local
libraries, and there is a stamp in the copy of the book I read marking it as new, January 9, 2014. In any
case, Afrocentricity still merits much scholarly attention.
During the 1990s, Afrocentricity – referred to as Afrocentrism mainly by its critics – was harshly attacked
by many Eurocentric scholars and critics such as Diane Ravitch, Arthur Schlesinger, George Will, and
Mary Lefkowitz. Asante debated Schlesinger once and Lefkowitz three times. These critics proclaimed
that Afrocentrism posed a threat to the supposed unity among U.S. citizens.
However, Afrocentricity has also had its critics among Black progressives, feminists, humanists and
others. Major Black feminist critics have included Patricia Hill Collins in her book Black Power to Hip Hop:
Racism, Nationalism, and Feminism (2006.)
Asante views feminism as a Eurocentric – and therefore negative – maintenance system “of dominance
and [White] privilege” (p. 8) that promotes particularism as though it were universal. Conversely, he
asserts that Afrocentricity sees the male and female as complementary. Moreover, he views patriarchy
as a Eurocentric phenomenon that gave rise to racism, capitalism, classism, etc. On the other hand,
many Afrocentrists have long maintained that African societies have historically been matriarchal.
Many historians have challenged this last contention. While it is true that African societies have been
matrilineal (deriving descent, property, etc. through the mother), despite the fact that there have been
African queens, African societies have been mostly led by men.
Asante bristles at claims that Afrocentrists (and Black Nationalists) have been sexist. He writes:
I am not familiar with any theoretical or philosophical discourse in the Black Nationalist ideology
that is anti-woman. On the other hand, Black Nationalists, as opposed to the radical egalitarians
who tend to be mostly Christians, have advanced an African idea of gender complementarity.
This is a more progressive position it seems to me than either that taken by Christian Socialist
egalitarians (Michael Dyson, Cornel West) or the Social Democrat Marxists…. (p. 125)
This is downright delusional! While many Black feminists – like many other progressives in general –
have been highly critical of Black male feminists such as West and Dyson, they would certainly prefer
them over male Black Nationalists, particularly those of the reactionary bent.
Asante cleverly tries to argue that many Black Nationalists see Minister Louis Farrakhan as a fringe
figure. However, though Farrakhan might be considered to be a lunatic, he is not on the fringe. On the
contrary, he is by far the most influential Black Nationalist in the U.S. He has established strong contacts
with some of the most important Black leaders in the world. It was Farrakhan that put out the call for
the wildly successful Million Man March. Since the 1980s, he has been one of the most influential Black
leaders in the U.S. Asante has to know this. However, by claiming that many Black Nationalists see
Farrakhan as a fringe figure, Asante can avoid dealing with the Nation of Islam’s blatant sexism.
What is just as bad, Asante defends the sexism of past leaders such as Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)
and Eldridge Cleaver. Carmichael was once asked, what is the position of women in the Movement? He
joked, “Prone.” In fact, this is about the only time that he is known to have made a sexist remark. Most
of the women he worked with apparently did not consider him to be sexist. This was evidently a rare,
sexist and tasteless joke. Still, it is hypocritical not to hold him accountable for it, especially considering
that so many Black women resented the sexism they encountered in the civil rights movement. After all,
if a non-racist White person makes a racist and tasteless joke, many Blacks demand that the person be
fired. Black men telling sexist jokes should be held to the same standard.
It is true that Eldridge Cleaver changed his views on women after his life as a rapist and due to his
membership in the Black Panther Party (BPP). However, some women in the BPP still considered him to
be sexist in practice. Elaine Brown in her book A Taste of Power, discusses her fear that Cleaver wanted
to have her killed.
What is especially troubling is that Asante does not discuss the blatant sexism of Maulana Karenga, who
headed the Black Nationalist organization US, as in US Black people, during the Black Power movement.
Karenga would make women walk several paces behind him. Women had to cook and serve men, but
the women were permitted to eat later. Some of the men had as many sex partners as they could
handle. Despite any lip service given to complementarity, the men were firmly in control, and most of
the women resented it.
What of sexism in Africa today? Many women are victims of Female Genital Mutilation or FGM, (a
patriarchal practice if ever there was one), sexual harassment and rape. Some African men believe that
they cannot contract HIV/AIDS if they have sex with a virgin, and some men rape virgins. Some African
men rape lesbians to “cure” them of the supposed disease of homosexuality. Many families still prefer
to educate their boys rather than girls. The most vulnerable members of African society – girls and
elderly women – are often accused of witchcraft and persecuted, robbed, etc. Girls are taught to be
submissive and boys are encouraged to be sexually aggressive. Many girls who become pregnant out of
wedlock are stigmatized. The list of crimes against girls and women in Africa is endless. Yet Asante and
other Afrocentrists are content to sweep these problems under the rug in a pathetic attempt to defend
Africans from criticism.
Perhaps this should not be surprising. Many Afrocentrists, like Asante, write and speak respectfully and
inclusively of Black women, but they do not always respect them in practice. For example, Mandisa
Thomas of the Black Nonbelievers of Atlanta has said the Afrocentric Black Atheists of Atlanta do not
believe that Black women should be leaders in the movement. In Asante’s case, if his son, M.K. Asante,
is to be believed, the Afrocentric leader has his own problems. In his excellent memoir Buck, the
younger Asante portrays the elder Asante as a horrible husband and father. While this disturbing fact in
itself could not invalidate Afrocentricity, it is still sad to see that someone can talk the talk but not walk
the walk.