African-centered scholarship essentially integrates the interest of African people into all areas of society. As it stands, a large percentage of Black people are unknowingly carrying out the interests of Europeans through a well-organized system that supports Eurocentrism, a belief in dominance of European models of society and human relations (“civilization”), and social practices that reinforce white elites’ power interests, ideologies and cultural mores.
Renowned author and anthropologist Dr. Marimba Ani recognizes that it is natural for any one group of people to be biased toward their own interests. When asked about the disclaimer that her most lauded book, “Yurugu: An Afrikan-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior” should not be viewed as “objective,” Ani states:
“The concept of objectivity itself is something that has been used by Europeans to control African people. It is a concept which says, ‘We can contemplate truth without being connected to any culture, without coming from any perspective, without having any political implications in what we do.’ That, of course, is not the case. And what we (African people) did was to accept that their scientists, their scholars are describing us objectively. What they were doing was promoting a particular way of viewing the world, promoting a political interest in the world.”
African people must realize that the business of maintaining global white supremacy is very political, therefore the myth of “objectivity” is a disarming political strategy.
Below are four of the most crucial areas that need more African-centered scholarship to properly decipher and articulate the interests of African people within the respective discipline.
