What do you think of Afrocentric education? When I was in grad school it seemed to be a growing trend. I have been out of the education business for a while now, and I wondered how influential it was at this point. It seemed to me that it had quite a bit of pseudoscience in its content (the wonderful “Sun People” vs. the demonic “Ice People” ; The Greeks stealing so many ideas from Egypt, which was the epitome of Black civilization, etc.)— has it matured any in the the last ten years or so?
It’s a non-issue in the real world. Not even a blip on the RADAR except in some few school districts that are intensely dedicated to turning out nothing but burger-flippers.
Please define Afrocentric education.
Best thing I found on the web:
-snip-
Wade W. Nobles
“Afrocentric, Africentric, or Afirican Centered” are interchangeable terms representing the concept which categorizes a quality of thought and practice which is rooted in the cultural image and interest of African people and which represents and reflects the life experiences, history and traditions of African people as the center of analyses. It is therein, the intellectual and philosophical foundation which African people should create their own scientific criterion for authenticating human reality."
http://www.uakron.edu/administration/MultCulDev/key_terms.html
I rather prefer this definition:
"Afrocentrism is a pseudohistorical political movement that erroneously claims that African-Americans should trace their roots back to ancient Egypt because it was dominated by a race of black Africans. Some of Afrocentrism’s other claims are: the ancient Greeks stole their main cultural achievements from black Egyptians; Jesus, Socrates and Cleopatra, among others, were black; and 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. "