There is nothing the continent can do about it. The colonial masters did a good job through indoctrination and brainwashing. We go to their school, speak their language, apply their master-slave economic policy taught to us i ... read full comment
There is nothing the continent can do about it. The colonial masters did a good job through indoctrination and brainwashing. We go to their school, speak their language, apply their master-slave economic policy taught to us in their schools, we follow their gods and everything Caucasian in superior in our minds. Majority of our current leaders are uncle tom negros who prefer anything American or European!!!
Kojo T 10 years ago
"Small drops make the mighty ocean , and a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step". Let us start changing the books our kids read at school and make them Afrocentric
"Small drops make the mighty ocean , and a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step". Let us start changing the books our kids read at school and make them Afrocentric
Agyeman 10 years ago
The african mind doesn't need so much of decoloniztion as it needs reprogramming,new enculturation and new socialization.The white man doesn't go shitting in the open all over town like Ghanamen do,he doesn't go building unap ... read full comment
The african mind doesn't need so much of decoloniztion as it needs reprogramming,new enculturation and new socialization.The white man doesn't go shitting in the open all over town like Ghanamen do,he doesn't go building unapproved shacks on the rd side,he doesn't trash his doorstep with stinking garbage like us,he doesn't walk by tons of trash and killer stench like we do in the big trenches of Old Fadama and he can't stand unplanned,chaotic and polluted cities like Accra.He values order and cleanliness,advanced science and cutting edge tech and he has fortitude and resilience to pursue his dreams with diligence that has enculturated his inventive and productive mind.
So to say that we're "decolinizing the african mind" is to presume that we're at these same heights when in actuality we're still in stoneage mentality.Its intellectual dishonesty of gargantuan proportions.
Kojo T 10 years ago
Did we not have toilets and were our homes not swept dutifully before " obroni" came. Let us go back to what our ancestors taught us about hygiene and the rest while we incorporate modern methods. That is the " decolonizatio ... read full comment
Did we not have toilets and were our homes not swept dutifully before " obroni" came. Let us go back to what our ancestors taught us about hygiene and the rest while we incorporate modern methods. That is the " decolonization" of our minds
KB 10 years ago
Francis,'glad you're back.I suggested commentarily that you do a re-posting of your earlier piece to sustain it's currency and urgency but obviously you're not going away anytime soon,and just as well.We need this.I guess you ... read full comment
Francis,'glad you're back.I suggested commentarily that you do a re-posting of your earlier piece to sustain it's currency and urgency but obviously you're not going away anytime soon,and just as well.We need this.I guess your style is your style and perhaps we've got to deal with it even though I'd have loved a more simplified clarity of diction to reach a wider audience.For one thing,the issues raised by your article are simple and straight forward enough,choice of words not withstanding,but greater simplicicity of expression would certainly go long way to enable a wider audience to appreciate the import of it.Perhaps it is inevitable in your effort to make your point,but the 'scholastic' leaning of your presentation also inevitably may limit a greater and wider impact,which is a wee bit troubling for me.Having said that,I wish to know from you what is the difference in your opinion between Afrocentrism and Afrocentricity,and why you say the latter is a misnomer(your response to a comment on your earlier feature refers).I'd appreciate your response because I'm not done yet in my actual reaction to this article.
Gerald 10 years ago
You could have conveyed the message in a very simple language for for all to understand. The article is too long. Brevity is the soul of wit
You could have conveyed the message in a very simple language for for all to understand. The article is too long. Brevity is the soul of wit
Francis Kwarteng 10 years ago
KB,
Thanks for the question.
There are two basic idelogical instruments currently at loggerheads, culture war, within the Western academy, mostly the West, Eurocentrism and Afrocentricity.
One, Eurocentrism, claims ... read full comment
KB,
Thanks for the question.
There are two basic idelogical instruments currently at loggerheads, culture war, within the Western academy, mostly the West, Eurocentrism and Afrocentricity.
One, Eurocentrism, claims its ideas, values, collective experience, and history are universal. The other Afrocentricity,claims its ideas, values, collective experience, and history are unique to the experience of a people, African people, diasporic and continental. Both are merely instruments of analysis, whatever form it takes.
Obviously, a problem arises because one, Eurocentrism, identifies itself with hegemonic universalism, while the other, Afrocetricity, identifies itself with geopolitical-historical-cultural particularity, the African world. Therefore, the problematic resolves around the simple question of cultural "perception." Afrocentricity argues that Eurocentrism cannot impose itself on the rest of the world because of regional (cultural, historical, cultural) particularities.
Therefore, theoreticians of Afrocetric theory developed the concept to challenge the forced universalist supremacy of Eurocentrism (white supremacy in the Western academy). For instance, we now know that Western civilization is a derivative of African civilizations (ancient Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopian, Mali, etc.) and Asian civilizations(China, India, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Persia, Cananite, Sumeria, etc., although many of these ancient Asian civilizations are themselves African. The Greeks--Herodotus, et al, testify to the Africaninity of these ancient Asian civilizations. Even Ivan Van Sertima's book "Africans in Early Asia" tells us which ancient Chinese dynasty had Africans among its leadership). But that is beyond the point.
Now to your question: The seminal developers of Afrocentricity (who are my very good friends) chose the word "Afrocentricity" to describe that concept. The word came into "existence" with the publication of the grounding breaking books "Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change (1980)", "Kemet, Afrocentricity, and Knowledge (1992), and "The Afrocentric Idea (1987)". These books transformed Western thinking about the African world.
But the concept has a long intellecual tradition in Black thought(continental and diasporic). Primarily, Cheikh Anta Diop, George James, Yosef Ben-Jochannan, Marcus Garvey,Kwame Nkrumah, J.C. Degraft-Johnson, and WEB Du Bois, etc., come to mind.
The word Molefi Kete Asante (African American, and the leader of the Afrocetric movement) settled on was "Afrocentricity." He avoided the --ism because he did not want it to share the same suffix with Eurocentrism. I guess it's more a personal choice. Plus, he wanted it to stand apart from other intellectual gehemonies (including Eurocentrism). In fact, the leading researchers in the field strongly objects to the use of "Afrocentrism."
Remember, others (from Asia, primarily) are also challenging the hegemony of Eurocentrism. Edward Said's (Palestianian; deceased) "Orientalism," Samir Amin's (Egyptian) "Eurocetrism: A Critique of Eurocetrism and Culturalism," Richard Poe's (Greek)"Black Spark, White Fire: Did Ancient Africans Civilize Greece," George James' (Guyanese; deceased) "Stolen Legacy," Martin Bernal's (British-Jewish) three volumes of "Black Athena," Cheikh Anta Diop's (Senegalese; deceased) "African Origin of Civilization" and "Civilization or Barbarism," etc.
So, as you can see, the intellectual challenge mounted against the forced supremacy of white thought cuts accross national, ideolgical, ethnic, religious spectra. It's not restrictively an African thing!
But it has become a global intellectual phenomenon nonetheless. The Western world doesn't look at the African world in the same paternalistic sense it did in the past five hundred years. Afrocentricity changed that perception.
I hope my explanations add to your understanding. Anyway, my email is (franciskkwarteng@yahoo.com). Send me an email.
In the meantime, I shall tone down the language.
Thanks.
I AND I 10 years ago
My Main Man,i like your piece tough but YOU MUST first go thru' some transformation or as i'd put it,transforNAMEtion.Your name Francis is not African so check it out.Ghana's Education Minister had said parents shd stop givin ... read full comment
My Main Man,i like your piece tough but YOU MUST first go thru' some transformation or as i'd put it,transforNAMEtion.Your name Francis is not African so check it out.Ghana's Education Minister had said parents shd stop giving their wards foreign names and for me that's a bold step to rid our minds of this poison.PEACE & LOVE MY BRETHREN.
Francis Kwarteng 10 years ago
I AND I,
I am changing my name early next year when my passport comes up for renewal. I have never liked European names myself. My new name shall be Yaw Kwarteng.
Thanks for bringing it up.
I AND I,
I am changing my name early next year when my passport comes up for renewal. I have never liked European names myself. My new name shall be Yaw Kwarteng.
Thanks for bringing it up.
DAN 10 years ago
and my first wife..bet she took it out of phone book to give to immigration
and my first wife..bet she took it out of phone book to give to immigration
I AND I 10 years ago
NUFF RESPECT MY GOOD BRETHREN AND JAH BLESS.
NUFF RESPECT MY GOOD BRETHREN AND JAH BLESS.
Kofi Basabasa 10 years ago
I'm glad you are changing your name to an authentic one! You have taken the right step. Your mind can never be decolonized as long as you bear an Anglo-Saxon name. Your name change should have preceded your article.
I'm glad you are changing your name to an authentic one! You have taken the right step. Your mind can never be decolonized as long as you bear an Anglo-Saxon name. Your name change should have preceded your article.
sansabonsan 10 years ago
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh.... ... read full comment
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh....the point here is communication......the simplier for the reader to understand your point was your goal.....just trying to help a brother
sansabonsan 10 years ago
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh.... ... read full comment
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh....the point here is communication......the simplier for the reader to understand your point was your goal.....just trying to help a brother
sansabonsan 10 years ago
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh.... ... read full comment
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh....the point here is communication......the simplier for the reader to understand your point was your goal.....just trying to help a brother
DAN 10 years ago
would be better if the white man was back in charge of africa...At least the slaves got to eat!
would be better if the white man was back in charge of africa...At least the slaves got to eat!
Joe 10 years ago
You may have something worthwhile to say. But the art of good writers is to put across
their message in a simple and concise form. Long and obscure words do not impress.
You may have something worthwhile to say. But the art of good writers is to put across
their message in a simple and concise form. Long and obscure words do not impress.
OMANBA 10 years ago
Thanks Joe!!!.It appears as if the writer is presenting a paper to a group of academics for discussion and evaluation.He has forgotten that he is writing to readers most of whom are not well educated enough to grasp anything ... read full comment
Thanks Joe!!!.It appears as if the writer is presenting a paper to a group of academics for discussion and evaluation.He has forgotten that he is writing to readers most of whom are not well educated enough to grasp anything meaningful from his style of writing.I hope next time he will write simple,staightforward English which will be easily understood by most readers.
king 10 years ago
Please,stop showing off and come down to earth.
Please,stop showing off and come down to earth.
KWABENA OHEMENG,LONDON 10 years ago
The first most important step towards the decolonization of African minds is for Africans to realize and accept that they are not inferior human beings and to refuse to be treated as such by other races,especially the Caucasi ... read full comment
The first most important step towards the decolonization of African minds is for Africans to realize and accept that they are not inferior human beings and to refuse to be treated as such by other races,especially the Caucasian race which came to colonize Africa and frowned on everything African.I will never accept that in relation to other races Africans are inferior.Never!!!.
Kwame 10 years ago
A DNA test on the descendants of Abram Petrovich Hannibal has established that he was from Cameron in West Africa. Abram Petrovich Hannibal got to the position of the second in command of the Russian army.
A DNA test on the descendants of Abram Petrovich Hannibal has established that he was from Cameron in West Africa. Abram Petrovich Hannibal got to the position of the second in command of the Russian army.
Kojo T 10 years ago
We need to just believe in ourselves and so act on it. How many whites are inventors but they have used those to colonize us. Let these writings be used to liberate us
We need to just believe in ourselves and so act on it. How many whites are inventors but they have used those to colonize us. Let these writings be used to liberate us
papa ansah 10 years ago
Thanks you for such a good piece of work. This is exactly what we need as africans. Our minds has been too westernized and if one does not act as such, u deem a village. My problem with your nice article is the words could ha ... read full comment
Thanks you for such a good piece of work. This is exactly what we need as africans. Our minds has been too westernized and if one does not act as such, u deem a village. My problem with your nice article is the words could have been simpler.
NON-ALIGNED 10 years ago
Francis, another good article but, the AFROPEANS will NOT get it or even more,.........accept it.
Our colonialist education system has, and is 'MIS-EDUCATING US' (if there is such a word but,....hey! I'm not English).
- ... read full comment
Francis, another good article but, the AFROPEANS will NOT get it or even more,.........accept it.
Our colonialist education system has, and is 'MIS-EDUCATING US' (if there is such a word but,....hey! I'm not English).
- It has turned us into stooges with enslaved minds.
- It has turned us into stooges acquiring other people's knowledge, without understanding its source or reasoning behind them.
- It has bred people who see no good in themselves and feel inferior to other races.
- It has created people who place no value in their own GOD-GIVEN lives and prefer to mimic others' lifestyles in the hope of being like them one day; without evaluating who they really are, themselves.
- It has bred LAZY minds who can't even think or challenge their own minds.....to be innovative and creative for their own god.
- It has developed stooges who persistently acquire other peoples' knowledge by a robotic process of 'chew', 'pour', 'pass' and 'forget'.
- It has created stooges who see no good or values in their rich heritage, good cultures, good traditions with diverse valuable languages. And above all, their rich natural resources.
- It teaches and takes pride in others' languages; which is accepted as the best standards of achieving so-called good education.
I can list loads of 'garbage in - garbage out' type system of education we have embarked on for years!!!!!!
It has and is still enslaving our minds. Our children are forced to speak other peoples' language both at school and at home...............
They will also end up feeling inferior to any other race they encounter in any future negotiations when in a position of leadership one day. I need not go further with that. The evidence is in all our gold, oil, cocoa and many other deals with foreigners, on behalf of our nation................
I can go on with several examples but, the bottom line is our USELESS education system needs to be reformed to reflect OUR OWN AFRICAN values, heritage with positive historical teachings and achievements in all OUR schools - starting from nursery,
GOD BLESS GHANA!
AFRICAN FOREVER!
dani 10 years ago
1. Marcus Garvey 2. Kwame Nkrumah 3. Sekou Toure 3. Robert Mugabe 4. Nelson Mandela 5. Malcolm X 5. Amilcar Cabral 6. Thomas Sankara 7. Julius Nyerere 8. Kenneth Kaunda. 9. Samora Macheal 10. Gen. Muritala Mohammed.
1. Marcus Garvey 2. Kwame Nkrumah 3. Sekou Toure 3. Robert Mugabe 4. Nelson Mandela 5. Malcolm X 5. Amilcar Cabral 6. Thomas Sankara 7. Julius Nyerere 8. Kenneth Kaunda. 9. Samora Macheal 10. Gen. Muritala Mohammed.
NON-ALIGNED 10 years ago
Dani, thanks a lot for your brilliant contribution. If we introduce and learn about the achievements of our great leader.........instead of Shakepeare, Charles Dickens etc. We will be way ahead of our current situation.
I ... read full comment
Dani, thanks a lot for your brilliant contribution. If we introduce and learn about the achievements of our great leader.........instead of Shakepeare, Charles Dickens etc. We will be way ahead of our current situation.
I have added some information that can be used to EDUCATE the AFROPEANS who always come up with silly excuses about our demise. And fail to recognize where they really originate from................................
AFROPEANS PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELVES WITH THE FOLLOWING:
Great achievements in science and technology in ancient Africa
Share on print Share on facebook Share on twitter.
By Sydella Blatch
Despite suffering through the horrific system of slavery, sharecropping and the Jim Crow era, early African-Americans made countless contributions to science and technology (1).
This lineage and culture of achievement, though, emerged at least 40,000 years ago in Africa. Unfortunately, few of us are aware of these accomplishments, as the history of Africa, beyond ancient Egypt, is seldom publicized.
Sadly, the vast majority of discussions on the origins of science include only the Greeks, Romans and other whites. But in fact most of their discoveries came thousands of years after African developments. While the remarkable black civilization in Egypt remains alluring, there was sophistication and impressive inventions throughout ancient sub-Saharan Africa as well. There are just a handful of scholars in this area. The most prolific is the late Ivan Van Sertima, an associate professor at Rutgers University.
He once poignantly wrote that “the nerve of the world has been deadened for centuries to the vibrations of African genius” (2).
Here, I attempt to send an electrical impulse to this long-deadened nerve. I can only fly by this vast plane of achievements. Despite this, it still should be evident that the ancient people of Africa, like so many other ancients of the world, definitely had their genius.
MATHS
Surely only a few of us know that many modern high-school-level concepts in mathematics first were developed in Africa, as was the first method of counting. More than 35,000 years ago, Egyptians scripted textbooks about math that included division and multiplication of fractions and geometric formulas to calculate the area and volume of shapes (3). Distances and angles were calculated, algebraic equations were solved and mathematically based predictions were made of the size of floods of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians considered a circle to have 360 degrees and estimated ? at 3.16 (3).
Eight thousand years ago, people in present-day Zaire developed their own numeration system, as did Yoruba people in what is now Nigeria.
The Yoruba system was based on units of 20 (instead of 10) and required an impressive amount of subtraction to identify different numbers. Scholars have lauded this system, as it required much abstract reasoning (4).
ASTRONOMY
Several ancient African cultures birthed discoveries in astronomy. Many of these are foundations on which we still rely, and some were so advanced that their mode of discovery still cannot be understood.
Egyptians charted the movement of the sun and constellations and the cycles of the moon. They divided the year into 12 parts and developed a yearlong calendar system containing 365 ¼ days (3). Clocks were made with moving water and sundial-like clocks were used (3).
A structure known as the African Stonehenge in present-day Kenya (constructed around 300 B.C.) was a remarkably accurate calendar (5).
The Dogon people of Mali amassed a wealth of detailed astronomical observations (6). Many of their discoveries were so advanced that some modern scholars credit their discoveries instead to space aliens or unknown European travelers, even though the Dogon culture is steeped in ceremonial tradition centered on several space events. The Dogon knew of Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s moons, the spiral structure of the Milky Way and the orbit of the Sirius star system. Hundreds of years ago, they plotted orbits in this system accurately through the year 1990
(6). They knew this system contained a primary star and a secondary star (now called Sirius B) of immense density and not visible to the naked eye.
METALLURGY and TOOLS
Many advances in metallurgy and tool making were made across the entirety of ancient Africa. These include steam engines, metal chisels and saws, copper and iron tools and weapons, nails, glue, carbon steel and bronze weapons and art (2, 7).
Advances in Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago surpassed those of Europeans then and were astonishing to Europeans when they learned of them. Ancient Tanzanian furnaces could reach 1,800°C — 200 to 400°C warmer than those of the Romans (8).
ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING
Various past African societies created sophisticated built environments. Of course, there are the engineering feats of the Egyptians: the bafflingly raised obelisks and the more than 80 pyramids. The largest of the pyramids covers 13 acres and is made of 2.25 million blocks of stone (3). Later, in the 12th century and much farther south, there were hundreds of great cities in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. There, massive stone complexes were the hubs of cities. One included a 250-meter-long, 15,000-ton curved granite wall (9). The cities featured huge castlelike compounds with numerous rooms for specific tasks, such as iron-smithing. In the 13th century, the empire of Mali boasted impressive cities, including Timbuktu, with grand palaces, mosques and universities (2).
MEDICINE
Many treatments we use today were employed by several ancient peoples throughout Africa. Before the European invasion of Africa, medicine in what is now Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, to name just a few places, was more advanced than medicine in Europe.
Some of these practices were the use of plants with salicylic acid for pain (as in aspirin), kaolin for diarrhea (as in Kaopectate), and extracts that were confirmed in the 20th century to kill Gram positive bacteria (2). Other plants used had anticancer properties, caused abortion and treated malaria — and these have been shown to be as effective as many modern-day Western treatments. Furthermore, Africans discovered ouabain, capsicum, physostigmine and reserpine. Medical procedures performed in ancient Africa before they were performed in Europe include vaccination, autopsy, limb traction and broken bone setting, bullet removal, brain surgery, skin grafting, filling of dental cavities, installation of false teeth, what is now known as Caesarean section, anesthesia and tissue cauterization (3). In addition, African cultures preformed surgeries under antiseptic conditions universally when this concept was only emerging in Europe (2).
NAVIGATION
Most of us learn that Europeans were the first to sail to the Americas. However, several lines of evidence suggest that ancient Africans sailed to South America and Asia hundreds of years before Europeans. Thousands of miles of waterways across Africa were trade routes. Many ancient societies in Africa built a variety of boats, including small reed-based vessels, sailboats and grander structures with many cabins and even cooking facilities. The Mali and Songhai built boats 100 feet long and 13 feet wide that could carry up to 80 tons (2). Currents in the Atlantic Ocean flow from this part of West Africa to South America. Genetic evidence from plants and descriptions and art from societies inhabiting South America at the time suggest small numbers of West Africans sailed to the east coast of South America and remained there (2).
Contemporary scientists have reconstructed these ancient vessels and their fishing gear and have completed the transatlantic voyage successfully. Around the same time as they were sailing to South America, the 13th century, these ancient peoples also sailed to China and back, carrying elephants as cargo (2).
People of African descent come from ancient, rich and elaborate cultures that created a wealth of technologies in many areas. Hopefully, over time, there will be more studies in this area and more people will know of these great achievements.
..............AFROPEANS!!! TAKE TIME OUT TO READ AND RESEARCH AFRICAN HISTORY!!! DON'T WAIT FOR SHAKESPEARE TO BE READ TO YOU IN YOUR SCHOOLS BEFORE YOU LEARN!!!! AND WAKE UP!!!
REFERENCES
1. Kresge, N. “A history of black scientists.” ASBMB Today. February 2011.
2. Van Sertima, I. “The Lost Sciences of Africa: An Overview.” Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 7 – 26 (1983).
3. Woods, G. Science in Ancient Egypt (1988).
4. Zaslavsky, C. “The Yoruba Number System.” Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 110 – 127 (1983).
5. Lynch, B. M. & Robbins, L. H. Science 4343, 766 – 768 (1978).
6. Adams, H. “African Observers of the Universe: The Sirius Question.” Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 27 – 46 (1983).
7. Brooks, L. African Achievements: Leaders, Civilizations and Cultures of Ancient Africa. (1971).
8. Shore, D. “Steel-Making in Ancient Africa.” Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern.157 – 162 (1983).
9. Asante, M. et al. “Great Zimbabwe: An Ancient African City-State.” Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 84 – 91 (1983).
francis kwarteng 10 years ago
NON-ALIGNED,
Brilliant contributions. I have read all your soureces, and if you care to know, I even included some of them in my other articles. These are the histories we must be studying, and not Greek this, Greek that.
... read full comment
NON-ALIGNED,
Brilliant contributions. I have read all your soureces, and if you care to know, I even included some of them in my other articles. These are the histories we must be studying, and not Greek this, Greek that.
Thanks for your contribution. I hope we all earn something.
dennis awah 10 years ago
interesting article kwarteng, but too much big words and too much repetition of claims like he is black, he was black etc. simply listing the various characters or persons and their achievements etc in a simple table or bul ... read full comment
interesting article kwarteng, but too much big words and too much repetition of claims like he is black, he was black etc. simply listing the various characters or persons and their achievements etc in a simple table or bullet form will be better. write simply don't write plaenty.
Asiwome 10 years ago
I wonder what defined Afrocentric(collective experience) four hundred years ago. By the way, I don't like brain work, "the nature of analytic generalizations is such that it sometimes, if not most of the time, makes precise c ... read full comment
I wonder what defined Afrocentric(collective experience) four hundred years ago. By the way, I don't like brain work, "the nature of analytic generalizations is such that it sometimes, if not most of the time, makes precise characterological determination of the thinking contours of an analyst or author an onerous exercise"
ISIS 10 years ago
I think our priority is not to worry about how afrocentric or non-afrocentric we are but rather that we cultivate an interest in reading all literature published or unpublished written by Africans since the 18th century for e ... read full comment
I think our priority is not to worry about how afrocentric or non-afrocentric we are but rather that we cultivate an interest in reading all literature published or unpublished written by Africans since the 18th century for example, there are earlier works so that we can develop a healthier and more mature attitude about ourselves as a race of people and so most of all that we can better understand perceptions of other races of us as a race of people since these perceptions have been long held, are flawed, feudal and extremely primitive and reflect an absence of information and growth. It is offensive to have to constantly find ourselves or see Africans in constant apology or defence of what is a God given, nature endowed gift that sadly we would reject believing the superiority of other races because they are financially in tune with the current trends of political economy than we are. There is nothing wrong and has never been anything wrong with Africa. Never. Read.
There is nothing the continent can do about it. The colonial masters did a good job through indoctrination and brainwashing. We go to their school, speak their language, apply their master-slave economic policy taught to us i ...
read full comment
"Small drops make the mighty ocean , and a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step". Let us start changing the books our kids read at school and make them Afrocentric
The african mind doesn't need so much of decoloniztion as it needs reprogramming,new enculturation and new socialization.The white man doesn't go shitting in the open all over town like Ghanamen do,he doesn't go building unap ...
read full comment
Did we not have toilets and were our homes not swept dutifully before " obroni" came. Let us go back to what our ancestors taught us about hygiene and the rest while we incorporate modern methods. That is the " decolonizatio ...
read full comment
Francis,'glad you're back.I suggested commentarily that you do a re-posting of your earlier piece to sustain it's currency and urgency but obviously you're not going away anytime soon,and just as well.We need this.I guess you ...
read full comment
You could have conveyed the message in a very simple language for for all to understand. The article is too long. Brevity is the soul of wit
KB,
Thanks for the question.
There are two basic idelogical instruments currently at loggerheads, culture war, within the Western academy, mostly the West, Eurocentrism and Afrocentricity.
One, Eurocentrism, claims ...
read full comment
My Main Man,i like your piece tough but YOU MUST first go thru' some transformation or as i'd put it,transforNAMEtion.Your name Francis is not African so check it out.Ghana's Education Minister had said parents shd stop givin ...
read full comment
I AND I,
I am changing my name early next year when my passport comes up for renewal. I have never liked European names myself. My new name shall be Yaw Kwarteng.
Thanks for bringing it up.
and my first wife..bet she took it out of phone book to give to immigration
NUFF RESPECT MY GOOD BRETHREN AND JAH BLESS.
I'm glad you are changing your name to an authentic one! You have taken the right step. Your mind can never be decolonized as long as you bear an Anglo-Saxon name. Your name change should have preceded your article.
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh.... ...
read full comment
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh.... ...
read full comment
jees......decolonize yourself first......what is the use of your topic....big english words.......long sentence that did not jive.....or whatever.......a simple english article would have been easier to understand......eh.... ...
read full comment
would be better if the white man was back in charge of africa...At least the slaves got to eat!
You may have something worthwhile to say. But the art of good writers is to put across
their message in a simple and concise form. Long and obscure words do not impress.
Thanks Joe!!!.It appears as if the writer is presenting a paper to a group of academics for discussion and evaluation.He has forgotten that he is writing to readers most of whom are not well educated enough to grasp anything ...
read full comment
Please,stop showing off and come down to earth.
The first most important step towards the decolonization of African minds is for Africans to realize and accept that they are not inferior human beings and to refuse to be treated as such by other races,especially the Caucasi ...
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A DNA test on the descendants of Abram Petrovich Hannibal has established that he was from Cameron in West Africa. Abram Petrovich Hannibal got to the position of the second in command of the Russian army.
We need to just believe in ourselves and so act on it. How many whites are inventors but they have used those to colonize us. Let these writings be used to liberate us
Thanks you for such a good piece of work. This is exactly what we need as africans. Our minds has been too westernized and if one does not act as such, u deem a village. My problem with your nice article is the words could ha ...
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Francis, another good article but, the AFROPEANS will NOT get it or even more,.........accept it.
Our colonialist education system has, and is 'MIS-EDUCATING US' (if there is such a word but,....hey! I'm not English).
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1. Marcus Garvey 2. Kwame Nkrumah 3. Sekou Toure 3. Robert Mugabe 4. Nelson Mandela 5. Malcolm X 5. Amilcar Cabral 6. Thomas Sankara 7. Julius Nyerere 8. Kenneth Kaunda. 9. Samora Macheal 10. Gen. Muritala Mohammed.
Dani, thanks a lot for your brilliant contribution. If we introduce and learn about the achievements of our great leader.........instead of Shakepeare, Charles Dickens etc. We will be way ahead of our current situation.
I ...
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NON-ALIGNED,
Brilliant contributions. I have read all your soureces, and if you care to know, I even included some of them in my other articles. These are the histories we must be studying, and not Greek this, Greek that.
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interesting article kwarteng, but too much big words and too much repetition of claims like he is black, he was black etc. simply listing the various characters or persons and their achievements etc in a simple table or bul ...
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I wonder what defined Afrocentric(collective experience) four hundred years ago. By the way, I don't like brain work, "the nature of analytic generalizations is such that it sometimes, if not most of the time, makes precise c ...
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I think our priority is not to worry about how afrocentric or non-afrocentric we are but rather that we cultivate an interest in reading all literature published or unpublished written by Africans since the 18th century for e ...
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