Reading Asante's Myth of Afrocentricity: An Ideological Critique, by James Palermo
The full article is at the link below..I just copied the conclusion as a summary...
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-Yearbook/97_docs/palermo.html
"My analysis of the Afrocentric curricular model has attempted to show that Afrocentricity reenforces the Afro-American's alienation. Evidence adduced coupled the Afrocentric curricular model to the Ideological State Apparatus. The medium of this ideology was Afrocentricity as a religious myth. Appealing first to the Imaginary construct found in Lacan, the work of the Imaginary was found in the infant's false belief in his own autonomy. The latter was reinforced by a specular image which was a lie the child accepted. Although the content changed, the Imaginary was seen again in the Afrocentric myth. The myth provided the believer a new but false sense of autonomy. The Afrocentric myth was then treated as a religion having a sacred text, a history, prophets, saints, rituals, an ethical system, and a metaphysics. Each of these elements was seen as operative in creating the Afrocentric subject. Afrocentrism appears to improve the lot of the true believer, that is a new identity is forged, pride in oneself is restored and a better understanding of the world is developed. But once again my conclusion is that these conditions are politically Imaginary. Afrocentrism is an economic system that embraces wage-value and of consequence class divisions. Afrocentrism is an acritical ideology which describes the socioeconomic relationships in new ways. The fact is that the world remains unchanged, and for most Afro-Americans without privilege, conditions of alienation are reinforced.
But none of this should be taken to mean that I reject muticultural studies written from an African perspective. The need is for such a curriculum to be developed from a politically realistic view. "
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-Yearbook/97_docs/palermo.html
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