Molefi Kete Asante

Conceptually, the formation of Molefi Kete Asante: A Critical Afrocentric Reader is a reflexive analysis of my space in the academy of higher education, over the past three decades. In an historical assessment this reader is an epic, which offers a constructive perspective of the subject. Truly, the sheer mentioning of the word Afrocentricity draws reaction, fear, and response from either uniformed or conventional personnel. Nonetheless, this reader endeavors to organize Asante's writings in four categories: (1) History; (2) Mythology; (3) Ethos; and (4) Motif. Arranged theoretically, these are the four stations which describe and evaluate culture from an Afrocentric perspective. To some, this study offers an assessment of the body of literature Asante has produced and continues to position the philosophy and ideals of the Afrocentric movement internationally. In the context of being a public intellectual, the core of Asante's analysis draws inference of locating Africana occurrences in place, space, and time. Advancing this idea onward, the purpose of this presage assigns scholars in the field and function of Africana Studies, to contribute to the intellectual history of W. E. B. DuBois, Maria Stewart, Carter G. Woodson, Jon Henrik Clarke, and the countless others to advance research and writing. For many cynics and associates, we have not vetted in probing the scholarship of Asante. Directly or indirectly, Asante offers a foundation of an optimist in formatting the outliers of breakdown and breakthroughs for victorious thought of an Afrocentric perspective.