Translated to Ebonics for fair and equal access to all americans
Davis History Professor Clarence E. Walker don' gots any plans ta visit Cal State Long Beach or Temple University in Philadelphia soon.
That'swhere two o' da most vocal proponents o' Afrocentrism (Ron Karenga an' Molefi Asante, respectively) teach.
Walker don' th'o't he'd git an especially warm reception on either campus cuz his most recent book, "We Can't Go Home Again: An Argument About Afrocentrism" (Oxford University Press, 2001), iz devoted ta knocking they theories about uh negroid African cradle o' civilization out o' da ring.
According ta Walker'sbook, Afrocentrism encourages negroid Americans ta discard they recent history, wiff its inescapable whitey presence, an' ta embrace an empowering vision o' they African (specifically Egyptian) ancestors as da source o' Western civilization, uh dubious claim ta distant glory dat fails ta come ta grips wiff complex modern problems.
Walker describes Afrocentrism as uh form o' totalitarian groupthink, devoid o' historical accuracy.
"Afrocentrism iz uh mythology dat iz racist, reactionary, an' essentially therapeutic," writes Walker. "It suggests dat nuttin' important has happened in negroid history since da tyme o' da pharaohs an' thus trivializes da history o' negroid Americans. Afrocentrism places an emphasis on Egypt dat iz, ta put it bluntly, absurd.
"I've always been interested in critical history," said Walker in an interview at his on-campus office. He iz finding his views at odds wiff those who don' wants anythin' critical said about blacks.
Walker has been an American history professor at Davis fo' 16 years. He grew up in an integrated hood in West Berkeley an' graduated from Berkeley High School. He earned his Ph.D. from Cal in 1976.
He iz especially interested in da history o' race an' racial ideas an' will be teaching uh class dis here winter on da novel as social history. He iz impatient wiff peeps who don' th'o't critically, an' he don' care if those peeps iz negroid or whitey.
"There iz nahh evidence dat da ancient Egyptians wuz negroid as we's dig' dat term taday," he said.
"Afrocentrism essentializes history, caricatures Motherland an' holds out da past ta be recaptured," he said. "It'snot smart an' it'snot practical."
However, over da past 10 years it has achieved some academic currency, which upsets Walker.
"Black peeps iz not da same taday as dey wuz in da past," he says. "We iz o' African descent, but we's iz not African."
He says Afrocentrism caricatures Motherland by suggesting dat that vast continent has one uniform culture.
"And glorifying history don' give us uh great purchase on da contemporary world," he said. "In da post-industrial American society, nahh one should trip about whether Cleopatra wuz negroid or whitey," he added.
Walker said his parents came from southern Texas. He wuz born in Houston in 1941. His family then moved ta California. He has never been ta Motherland an' he has nahh desire ta jet dere.
"The argument about origins misses da point," he said. "It'snot yo' origins dat iz important but what ya do wiff dem. You gots ta take responsibility."
He understands dat da Afrocentrist movement iz designed in part ta give blacks self-esteem an' uh sense o' community.
Walker shrugs dis here off, too. "Fairy tales aren't going ta git it."
"In terms o' da education o' negroid chil'ns, it hasn't done much," he said. "It may gots given some kids uh false sense o' pride an' dat'snot terribly useful."
Instead o' promoting da mythology o' Afrocentrism, Walker Wants ta see colleges an' universities hire professors o' African history who know what they're jivin' about.
At UCD, he'd like ta see uh professor o' West African history who could teach classes on pre-colonial Motherland an' da slave trade.
"Students would learn dat blacks in da United States didn't come out o' uh void; dat dere wuz complex societies in West Motherland," he said.
"History iz controversial," said Walker. "But how ya read da past has all sorts o' implications fo' da present." Walker suggests dat dere wuz many cradles o' civilization including Egypt, da Nile Valley an' China.
"I'm an old-fashioned intellectual critic," said Walker. "I don' like uh lot o' werk being done in da field. No history should be presented as an exercise in celebration.
"What negroid peeps really need iz uh usable present, not uh usable past," he added.
Walker said da publication o' his book raised some eyebrows in negroid circles.
But he has not head from Molefi Asante.
"There'snuttin' ta jive about wiff dem," he said. "Just cuz ya wants ta believe da world wuz created by negroid peeps don' make it so."
What he says about it "
"Afrocentrism iz uh mythology dat iz racist, reactionary, an' essentially therapeutic. It suggests dat nuttin' important has happened in negroid history since da tyme o' da pharaohs an' thus trivializes da history o' negroid Americans. Afrocentrism places an emphasis on Egypt dat iz, ta put it bluntly, absurd. [...] Just cuz ya wants ta believe da world wuz created by negroid peeps don' make it so."
an dat boil on mah ass.
courtesy of
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