Molefi Kete Asante ─ A Critical Afrocentric Reader

Conceptually, Molefi Kete Asante: A Critical Afrocentric Reader is a reflexive analysis of the editor’s space in higher education over the past three decades. As a historical assessment, this reader is a narrative that offers a constructive perspective of Afrocentricity, as the sheer mention of the word draws reaction and fear from either uniformed or conventional personnel. The book organizes Asante’s writings into four categories: history, mythology, ethos, and motif. Arranged theoretically, these are the four concepts that describe and evaluate culture from an Afrocentric perspective. This study offers an assessment of Asante’s body of literature that continues to position the philosophy and ideals of the Afrocentric movement internationally. In the context of being a public intellectual, the core of Asante’s analysis draws inferences in locating Africana occurrences in place, space, and time. Advancing this idea further, the purpose of these presages is to motivate scholars in the field of Africana studies to contribute to the intellectual history of W. E. B. Du Bois, Maria Stewart, Carter G. Woodson, John Henrik Clarke, and the countless others who have advanced Africana research and writing. For many cynics and associates, the scholarship of Asante has not been thoroughly vetted. Directly or indirectly, Asante offers a foundation of optimism in forming the outliers of breakdown and breakthroughs for victorious thought of an Afrocentric perspective.

James L. Conyers, Jr., is Director of the African American Studies Program, Director of the Center for African American Culture, and University Professor of African American Studies at the University of Houston. He is the author or editor of thirty-five books and currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Black Studies and the International Journal of Africana Studies. He is the founding editor of the serial Africana Studies: A Review of Social Science Research and editor of the book series Africana Studies. His most current publication is the edited volume Qualitative Methods in Africana Studies. His educational background includes a B.A. in communications from Ramapo College of New Jersey, a M.A. in Africana studies from the State University of New York at Albany, a Ph.D. in African American studies from Temple University, and graduate training in oral history at Columbia University.