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The Afrocentric Idea
Confronts the contemporary challenges that have been launched against the author's philosophical, social, and cultural theory. Rendering a critique of some postmodern positions as well as the old structured Eurocentric orientations, this title contains engagements with views expressed by Mary Lefkowitz, Paul Gilroy, and Cornel West.
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Molefi Kete Asante
107 books77 followersMolefi Kete Asante (born Arthur Lee Smith Jr.; August 14, 1942) is an American professor and philosopher. He is a leading figure in the fields of African-American studies, African studies, and communication studies. He is currently professor in the Department of Africology at Temple University, where he founded the PhD program in African-American Studies. He is president of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies.
Asante is known for his writings on Afrocentricity, a school of thought that has influenced the fields of sociology, intercultural communication, critical theory, political science, the history of Africa, and social work.He is the author of more than 66 books and the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies.
Asante is known for his writings on Afrocentricity, a school of thought that has influenced the fields of sociology, intercultural communication, critical theory, political science, the history of Africa, and social work.He is the author of more than 66 books and the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 12, 2026
A REVISION AND UPDATING OF ONE OF HIS KEY TEXTS
Molefi Kete Asante (born 1942) is an African-American scholar, historian, and philosopher, who is currently Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Temple University, where he founded the first Ph.D. program in African American Studies. He is also widely credited with being the founder of the "Afrocentricity" school of thought.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1998 (revised and expanded edition) book, “Largely because it came on the heels of my book ‘Afrocentricity’ and numerous articles, the first edition of ‘The Afrocentric Idea’ created an extraordinary amount of response. In fact I was not prepared for the varieties of criticism, commentaries, and controversies the book engendered… Labeling it ‘Afrocentrism’ rather than ‘Afrocentricity,’ conservative critics have claimed that its purpose is to bring disharmony to American society by raising the self-esteem of African American youth.
“Conflating all critiques of Eurocentrism and Martin Bernal’s important book ‘Black Athena’ with those of Afrocentricity, some classicists have tried to position themselves as the defenders of civilization in the face of assaults by irresponsible scholars. They have argued that Afrocentrists are replacing documented history with ideology by teaching that Cleopatra, Socrates, and some other ancient Greeks were black and that the French army blew the nose off the Sphinx. In fact, some in the Afrocentrist [world] have not done their homework and thus have distorted the concept of Afrocentricity to suit their purposes… Such misrepresentations have in fact become so common that I decided to address them in a revised edition of ‘The Afrocentric Idea.” (Pg. ix-xi)
He continues, “Perhaps the most important function of the Afrocentric idea is that it has demonstrated the illogic in empiricist epistemologies while at the same time questioning the conceptual cosmologies that gave rise to the concept of the foundation of civilization in Greek miracle. I have found my location in the thinking of Cheikh Anta Diop, who argues that we can never understand Africa until we dare to link Africans to the classical past. To do as he asks is to abandon the idea of Africans as those who are only marginal to Europe, as those who stand on the periphery of Western triumphalism, as those who are only acted upon rather than acting, and as those who are culturally and historically dominated. Until African Americans are thought of in terms of African history, it will be impossible to write a coherent sociology or psychology of the African American experience. Thus I offer Afrocentricity as a moral as well as an intellectual location that posits Africans as subjects, rather than as objects of human history and that establishes a perfectly valid and scientific basis for the explanation of African historical experiences.
“Of course, this position has generated its own internal clashes at the intersections of gender, class, and race and has created misunderstandings about the nature of Afrocentricity and its relation to these categories of experience. Clearly Afrocentric theorists have more work to do, but we can predict that an Afrocentrist will always reject every form of domination.” (Pg. xii-xiii)
He explains in the first chapter, “My objective has always been to present a critique that propounds a cultural theory of society by the very act of criticism. In other words, to provide a radical assessment of a given reality is to create, among other things, another reality. Furthermore, any criticism of society is, definitionally, a criticism of the ruling ideology of that society… The crystallization of this critical perspective I have named ‘Afrocentricity,’ which means, literally, placing African ideals at the center of any analysis that involves African culture and behavior.” (Pg. 2)
He states, “A speaker governs the use of language under tutelage from the audience, for it is the audience that determines effectiveness. Therefore, when King said, ‘I’ve been to the Mountaintop,’ to a black audience in Memphis, it was something he would perhaps not---rhetorically speaking---have said if he had been speaking before a white audience at, say Harvard Law School. The constraints upon him were ethnically or culturally determined. Black audiences demand to hear certain expressions, to see certain things, and enjoy certain kinds of humor… To say that is to say something about the ‘folk talk’ in the black community, whether it is ‘Your momma sure was good to me,’ or ‘Brothers and Sisters, we got a Rock on our side. Pray with me.’” (Pg. 52)
He notes, “Only a reevaluation of the constituents of communication for a multiethnic society can establish meaningful dialogue. ‘Flesh’ color Band-Aids, traditional American combs… and the ‘nude’ look---all of which disregard racial variations in skin color and bone structure---are indicative of such symbol imperialism. Language is the instrument for conveying such attitudes and perceptions, and these symbols must play havoc with symbolic structure.” (Pg. 67)
He asserts, “it is unproductive to try to explain the concept of okyeame (linguist) from a Eurocentric perspective, particularly when that concept is not present in European culture. Of course, such explanations are often attempted by those who do not understand---like the white missionaries who, once given hospitality by the Africans, wrote in their diaries that the ‘natives’ thought white men were gods. Their conceptions of themselves and their hosts contributed to an inadequate interpretation of hospitality and generosity to strangers.” (Pg. 74)
He states, “Afrocentricity is the most complete philosophical totalization of the African-being-at-the-center of his or her existence. It is not merely an artistic or literary movement, or an individual or collective quest for authenticity; it is above all the total use of method to effect psychological, political, social, cultural, and economic change. The Afrocentric idea reaches beyond decolonizing the mind.” (Pg. 137)
He argues, “It is noteworthy that William Styron’s celebrated ‘The Confessions of Nat Turner’ fails to engage Turner at the level of ‘nommo’ and duty. Styron emasculates Turner, defiling the heroic ‘vessel of God’ and creating a Sambo. Styron uses sex repression and revolutionary tendencies as the emotional and psychological fuel on which Turner runs.” (Pg. 145)
He summarizes, “Throughout this book I have been arguing that all analysis is culturally centered and flows from ideological assumptions; this is the fundamental revelation of modern intellectual history. An Afrocentric method is concerned with establishing a world view about the writing and speaking of oppressed people. Current literary theories… cannot be applied, whole cloth, to African themes and subjects. Based as they are on Eurocentric philosophy, they fail to come to terms with fundamental cultural differences.” (Pg. 173)
He adds later, “My intention is more comprehensive: I seek a critical method applicable to Africans, wherever they are, in much the same way that Western scholars have set the procedures for criticizing Western discourse. Therefore, although I am interested in the centrality of religion and other ‘deep structures,’ I have chosen to concentrate my critical attention on an Afrocentric perspective to the world. How does the speaker view the world? To what end does he or she speak? Are the symbols discordant or harmonious? … These questions must be addressed to every African who attempts discourse.” (Pg. 187-188)
This book will be of great interest those studying Afrocentricity.
Molefi Kete Asante (born 1942) is an African-American scholar, historian, and philosopher, who is currently Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Temple University, where he founded the first Ph.D. program in African American Studies. He is also widely credited with being the founder of the "Afrocentricity" school of thought.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1998 (revised and expanded edition) book, “Largely because it came on the heels of my book ‘Afrocentricity’ and numerous articles, the first edition of ‘The Afrocentric Idea’ created an extraordinary amount of response. In fact I was not prepared for the varieties of criticism, commentaries, and controversies the book engendered… Labeling it ‘Afrocentrism’ rather than ‘Afrocentricity,’ conservative critics have claimed that its purpose is to bring disharmony to American society by raising the self-esteem of African American youth.
“Conflating all critiques of Eurocentrism and Martin Bernal’s important book ‘Black Athena’ with those of Afrocentricity, some classicists have tried to position themselves as the defenders of civilization in the face of assaults by irresponsible scholars. They have argued that Afrocentrists are replacing documented history with ideology by teaching that Cleopatra, Socrates, and some other ancient Greeks were black and that the French army blew the nose off the Sphinx. In fact, some in the Afrocentrist [world] have not done their homework and thus have distorted the concept of Afrocentricity to suit their purposes… Such misrepresentations have in fact become so common that I decided to address them in a revised edition of ‘The Afrocentric Idea.” (Pg. ix-xi)
He continues, “Perhaps the most important function of the Afrocentric idea is that it has demonstrated the illogic in empiricist epistemologies while at the same time questioning the conceptual cosmologies that gave rise to the concept of the foundation of civilization in Greek miracle. I have found my location in the thinking of Cheikh Anta Diop, who argues that we can never understand Africa until we dare to link Africans to the classical past. To do as he asks is to abandon the idea of Africans as those who are only marginal to Europe, as those who stand on the periphery of Western triumphalism, as those who are only acted upon rather than acting, and as those who are culturally and historically dominated. Until African Americans are thought of in terms of African history, it will be impossible to write a coherent sociology or psychology of the African American experience. Thus I offer Afrocentricity as a moral as well as an intellectual location that posits Africans as subjects, rather than as objects of human history and that establishes a perfectly valid and scientific basis for the explanation of African historical experiences.
“Of course, this position has generated its own internal clashes at the intersections of gender, class, and race and has created misunderstandings about the nature of Afrocentricity and its relation to these categories of experience. Clearly Afrocentric theorists have more work to do, but we can predict that an Afrocentrist will always reject every form of domination.” (Pg. xii-xiii)
He explains in the first chapter, “My objective has always been to present a critique that propounds a cultural theory of society by the very act of criticism. In other words, to provide a radical assessment of a given reality is to create, among other things, another reality. Furthermore, any criticism of society is, definitionally, a criticism of the ruling ideology of that society… The crystallization of this critical perspective I have named ‘Afrocentricity,’ which means, literally, placing African ideals at the center of any analysis that involves African culture and behavior.” (Pg. 2)
He states, “A speaker governs the use of language under tutelage from the audience, for it is the audience that determines effectiveness. Therefore, when King said, ‘I’ve been to the Mountaintop,’ to a black audience in Memphis, it was something he would perhaps not---rhetorically speaking---have said if he had been speaking before a white audience at, say Harvard Law School. The constraints upon him were ethnically or culturally determined. Black audiences demand to hear certain expressions, to see certain things, and enjoy certain kinds of humor… To say that is to say something about the ‘folk talk’ in the black community, whether it is ‘Your momma sure was good to me,’ or ‘Brothers and Sisters, we got a Rock on our side. Pray with me.’” (Pg. 52)
He notes, “Only a reevaluation of the constituents of communication for a multiethnic society can establish meaningful dialogue. ‘Flesh’ color Band-Aids, traditional American combs… and the ‘nude’ look---all of which disregard racial variations in skin color and bone structure---are indicative of such symbol imperialism. Language is the instrument for conveying such attitudes and perceptions, and these symbols must play havoc with symbolic structure.” (Pg. 67)
He asserts, “it is unproductive to try to explain the concept of okyeame (linguist) from a Eurocentric perspective, particularly when that concept is not present in European culture. Of course, such explanations are often attempted by those who do not understand---like the white missionaries who, once given hospitality by the Africans, wrote in their diaries that the ‘natives’ thought white men were gods. Their conceptions of themselves and their hosts contributed to an inadequate interpretation of hospitality and generosity to strangers.” (Pg. 74)
He states, “Afrocentricity is the most complete philosophical totalization of the African-being-at-the-center of his or her existence. It is not merely an artistic or literary movement, or an individual or collective quest for authenticity; it is above all the total use of method to effect psychological, political, social, cultural, and economic change. The Afrocentric idea reaches beyond decolonizing the mind.” (Pg. 137)
He argues, “It is noteworthy that William Styron’s celebrated ‘The Confessions of Nat Turner’ fails to engage Turner at the level of ‘nommo’ and duty. Styron emasculates Turner, defiling the heroic ‘vessel of God’ and creating a Sambo. Styron uses sex repression and revolutionary tendencies as the emotional and psychological fuel on which Turner runs.” (Pg. 145)
He summarizes, “Throughout this book I have been arguing that all analysis is culturally centered and flows from ideological assumptions; this is the fundamental revelation of modern intellectual history. An Afrocentric method is concerned with establishing a world view about the writing and speaking of oppressed people. Current literary theories… cannot be applied, whole cloth, to African themes and subjects. Based as they are on Eurocentric philosophy, they fail to come to terms with fundamental cultural differences.” (Pg. 173)
He adds later, “My intention is more comprehensive: I seek a critical method applicable to Africans, wherever they are, in much the same way that Western scholars have set the procedures for criticizing Western discourse. Therefore, although I am interested in the centrality of religion and other ‘deep structures,’ I have chosen to concentrate my critical attention on an Afrocentric perspective to the world. How does the speaker view the world? To what end does he or she speak? Are the symbols discordant or harmonious? … These questions must be addressed to every African who attempts discourse.” (Pg. 187-188)
This book will be of great interest those studying Afrocentricity.
November 21, 2014
Very intriguing. The reason i gave three stars is because I would have liked the author to expand the explanation of the Afrocentric view and theories beyond rhetoric and language the circles everything back to them. This an excellent and sounds read. I would recommend this in for those that seek to understanding beyond what might be their own limited view.
December 31, 2025
Das intellektuelle Umzugsunternehmen Asante & Co.
Bevor wir uns tiefer in das Dickicht der afrozentrischen Epistemologie wagen, gilt es, ihr geistiges Fundament freizulegen. Molefi Kete Asante widmet sein wegweisendes Werk „The Afrocentric Idea“ bewusst den Geistern von Cheikh Anta Diop und W. E. B. Du Bois. Diese Widmung ist kein akademisches Höflichkeitsritual, sondern eine klare philosophische Standortbestimmung: Während Diop die historischen Wurzeln Afrikas bis ins Herz des alten Ägyptens (Kemet) zurückverfolgte, entwarf Du Bois eine soziologische Vision globaler schwarzer Befreiung. Asante positioniert sich explizit auf den Schultern dieser Giganten – nicht, um ehrfürchtig zu verharren, sondern um von dort aus den eurozentrischen Elfenbeinturm mit methodischer Präzision zu demontieren.
Molefi Kete Asante tritt in diesem Buch als eine Art Chef-Dekorateur des Bewusstseins auf. Seine zentrale Diagnose ist ebenso schlicht wie radikal: Viele Menschen afrikanischer Herkunft leben geistig in einem Haus, das ihnen nicht gehört, und versuchen verzweifelt, die Möbel eines gewissen „Eurozentrismus“ so zu verschieben, dass sie nicht ständig an dessen Kanten stoßen. Asantes Antwort darauf ist eindeutig: Schluss damit. Wir bauen unser eigenes Haus.
1. Die Vertreibung aus dem europäischen Vorgarten
Das Buch wirkt wie eine rhetorische Abrissbirne gegen die Vorstellung, Europa sei die Sonne, um die alle anderen Kulturen als blasse Monde zu kreisen hätten. Asante führt dafür den Begriff der „Location“ ein – eine Art epistemologisches GPS. Seine Diagnose: Schwarze Gelehrte wurden allzu lange zu Statisten in einer griechischen Tragödie degradiert, deren Handlung, Maßstäbe und Moral bereits feststanden. Afrozentrierung bedeutet für Asante daher, den afrikanischen Menschen vom Objekt europäischer Neugier wieder zum handelnden Subjekt der eigenen Geschichte zu machen.
2. Nommo – oder: Warum Reden Gold ist
Besonders lebendig (und überraschend tiefgründig) wird das Buch dort, wo Asante über die Macht des Wortes, den Nommo, spricht. Kommunikation ist hier keine bloße Übertragung von Information, sondern eine schöpferische Kraft, die Wirklichkeit formt. Sprache bringt Ordnung in die Welt, setzt Energien frei, stiftet Bedeutung. Wer dieses Kapitel liest, versteht plötzlich, warum ein Hip-Hop-Battle oder eine politische Rede in Harlem mehr mit der kosmischen Ordnung der Maat zu tun haben kann als mit bloßer Unterhaltung.
3. Fazit: Intellektuelles Krafttraining
„The Afrocentric Idea“ ist kein Buch für zwischendurch, sondern ein anspruchsvoller Parcours durch die Epistemologie. Asante fordert nichts Geringeres als eine kopernikanische Wende des Denkens. Er tut dies mit einer Konsequenz, die vermutlich selbst Immanuel Kant nervös an seiner Perücke hätte zupfen lassen – wenn ihm jemand erklärt hätte, dass seine „universelle Vernunft“ in Wahrheit nur ein sehr spezieller deutscher Dialekt ist.
Kurz gesagt: Dieses Buch richtet sich an alle, die keine Lust mehr haben, ihre eigene Geschichte durch das Schlüsselloch europäischer Bibliotheken zu betrachten. Es ist eine Einladung zur großen intellektuellen Heimkehr – anstrengend, radikal und gerade deshalb befreiend.
Bevor wir uns tiefer in das Dickicht der afrozentrischen Epistemologie wagen, gilt es, ihr geistiges Fundament freizulegen. Molefi Kete Asante widmet sein wegweisendes Werk „The Afrocentric Idea“ bewusst den Geistern von Cheikh Anta Diop und W. E. B. Du Bois. Diese Widmung ist kein akademisches Höflichkeitsritual, sondern eine klare philosophische Standortbestimmung: Während Diop die historischen Wurzeln Afrikas bis ins Herz des alten Ägyptens (Kemet) zurückverfolgte, entwarf Du Bois eine soziologische Vision globaler schwarzer Befreiung. Asante positioniert sich explizit auf den Schultern dieser Giganten – nicht, um ehrfürchtig zu verharren, sondern um von dort aus den eurozentrischen Elfenbeinturm mit methodischer Präzision zu demontieren.
Molefi Kete Asante tritt in diesem Buch als eine Art Chef-Dekorateur des Bewusstseins auf. Seine zentrale Diagnose ist ebenso schlicht wie radikal: Viele Menschen afrikanischer Herkunft leben geistig in einem Haus, das ihnen nicht gehört, und versuchen verzweifelt, die Möbel eines gewissen „Eurozentrismus“ so zu verschieben, dass sie nicht ständig an dessen Kanten stoßen. Asantes Antwort darauf ist eindeutig: Schluss damit. Wir bauen unser eigenes Haus.
1. Die Vertreibung aus dem europäischen Vorgarten
Das Buch wirkt wie eine rhetorische Abrissbirne gegen die Vorstellung, Europa sei die Sonne, um die alle anderen Kulturen als blasse Monde zu kreisen hätten. Asante führt dafür den Begriff der „Location“ ein – eine Art epistemologisches GPS. Seine Diagnose: Schwarze Gelehrte wurden allzu lange zu Statisten in einer griechischen Tragödie degradiert, deren Handlung, Maßstäbe und Moral bereits feststanden. Afrozentrierung bedeutet für Asante daher, den afrikanischen Menschen vom Objekt europäischer Neugier wieder zum handelnden Subjekt der eigenen Geschichte zu machen.
2. Nommo – oder: Warum Reden Gold ist
Besonders lebendig (und überraschend tiefgründig) wird das Buch dort, wo Asante über die Macht des Wortes, den Nommo, spricht. Kommunikation ist hier keine bloße Übertragung von Information, sondern eine schöpferische Kraft, die Wirklichkeit formt. Sprache bringt Ordnung in die Welt, setzt Energien frei, stiftet Bedeutung. Wer dieses Kapitel liest, versteht plötzlich, warum ein Hip-Hop-Battle oder eine politische Rede in Harlem mehr mit der kosmischen Ordnung der Maat zu tun haben kann als mit bloßer Unterhaltung.
3. Fazit: Intellektuelles Krafttraining
„The Afrocentric Idea“ ist kein Buch für zwischendurch, sondern ein anspruchsvoller Parcours durch die Epistemologie. Asante fordert nichts Geringeres als eine kopernikanische Wende des Denkens. Er tut dies mit einer Konsequenz, die vermutlich selbst Immanuel Kant nervös an seiner Perücke hätte zupfen lassen – wenn ihm jemand erklärt hätte, dass seine „universelle Vernunft“ in Wahrheit nur ein sehr spezieller deutscher Dialekt ist.
Kurz gesagt: Dieses Buch richtet sich an alle, die keine Lust mehr haben, ihre eigene Geschichte durch das Schlüsselloch europäischer Bibliotheken zu betrachten. Es ist eine Einladung zur großen intellektuellen Heimkehr – anstrengend, radikal und gerade deshalb befreiend.
September 14, 2018
Another great introduction to the Afrocentric ideal in education.
July 21, 2010
Full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations, as well as some just downright loony theories. There are much, much better works out there on Afrocentrism.
BTW, the cover photo here is to a later edition than I read.
BTW, the cover photo here is to a later edition than I read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews