Afrocentrism is a pseudohistorical, political movement which claims that African-Americans should trace their roots back to ancient Egypt which, it is claimed, was peopled by black Africans. Some of afrocentrism's claims include that the ancient Greeks stole their main cultural achievements from black Egyptians; that Jesus, Socrates and Cleopatra, among others, were black; and that Jews created the slave trade of black Africans.
The main purpose of afrocentrism is to encourage black nationalism and ethnic pride as a psychological weapon against the destructive and debilitating effects of universal racism.
Some of afrocentrism's leading proponents are Professor Molefi Kete Asante of Temple University, Professor Leonard Jeffries of City University of New York, and Martin Bernal, author of Black Athena. One of the more important afrocentric books is the pseudohistorical Stolen Legacy (1954) by George G. M. James, who claims, among other things, that Greek philosophy was stolen from Egypt, that the ancient Greeks didn't have the native ability to develop philosophy, and that the Egyptians from whom the Greeks stole their philosophy were black Africans. Many of James's ideas were taken from Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), who taught that white accomplishment is due to teaching children they are superior and that blacks would have to do the same. James's pseudohistory is the basis for other afrocentric pseudohistories such as Africa, Mother of Western Civilization by Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannnan, one of James's students, and Civilization or Barbarism by Cheikh Anta Diop of Senegal.
Afrocentrism is being taught in many universities and colleges, and is the basis of an entire curriculum for children in two Milwaukee schools.
See related entry on pseudohistory.
reader comments
3 Dec 1996
Everybody knows that Cleopatra wasn't black--she was from Mars.
Keep up the good work,
Aaron Ramson White
10 Dec 1996
I realize that this is the skeptic's dictionary and all, meaning it is a
dictionary for people who are skeptical about various topics, beliefs,
etc. However I have a comment on the tone of your entry on
Afrocentrism. You are saying in essence that the belief that the
inhabitants of ancient Eqypt were black is unfounded and therefore
untrue. However no one has proved that the inhabitants of Ancient
Egypt were not black either. I am not saying that they were nor am I
saying that they weren't. See, it can go both ways. It can be noted
though that they definitely weren't of White or European descent. They
were definitely people of color as is proved by Ancient Egyptian art
which depicts people are a darker skin tone.
Lynne
reply: The Egyptians of 5,000 years ago were probably similar in skin tone to modern Egyptians, as today's Ethiopians are probably similar in skin tone to their ancestors. Egyptians and Ethiopians are quite distinct in skin color; you are quite right: neither is white or European. Neither ancient Egyptians nor Ethiopians apparently made as much fuss about skin color as we do, except within their own societies. In Egyptian painted sculpture, for example, males are depicted as dark, and females as light. We probably make much more of this fact than the ancient Egyptians did.
The claim that "no one has proved that the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt were not black" is curious. If by 'prove' you mean demonstrate with absolute certainty, then that is true but trivial: no empirical claim can be proved with absolute certainty. On the other hand, if by 'prove' you mean, demonstrate to a high degree of probability, then you are also right but that is because it has not needed any proof, any more than say, one needs to prove that the modern Japanese are not black. I think it is unfortunate that because of the claims of Afrocentrists, historians such as Mary Lefkowitz have been diverted to the task of providing arguments in support of the claim that the ancient Egyptians were not black.
further reading
The Last Word on Afrocentrism? by Diane Ravitch
Pride and prejudice by Dinesh D'Souza
Building Bridges to Afrocentrism by Egyptologist Ann Macy Roth
Lefkowitz, Mary, Not Out of Africa - How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History (New York: Basic Books, 1996). Reviewed in The Skeptic's Refuge