Afrocentrism is the cultural movement in which African-Americans embrace the African culture. It has inspired strong opinions and scholastic debate throughout its history. Afro-centrists misinterpret both African culture and their personal histories. They reject negative aspects of their history and the Afrocentric movement as a collective has a selfish attitude, especially in relation to other cultures. In Everyday Use, Alice Walker uses Dee to represent the major aspects of the Afrocentric movement. These include its selfish and one-sided nature, misplaced historical significance and misconceptions of African culture. The thoughts and actions of Dee will be compared to these aspects of Afrocentrism in order to show how Dee represents them.
An Afrocentrist believes that their culture and their heritage is more significant that of someone of a different identity. Moreover, they believe that their culture and heritage are the only ones with relevance to them. In her article Errors of the Afrocentrists, Anne Wortham examines Afrocentrism and its tendencies to prioritize their heritage over those of other cultures. They don't see their culture as a part of a bigger picture and believe that their history and contributions to society should be more prominently featured. “Afrocentrists claim that the way to improve the educational achievement of black children is to improve their self-image by requiring teachers to include or emphasize the contribution of blacks in the curriculum” (Wortham, 41). Emphasizing the achievements of one group suggests that it is superior or different to another. Wortham goes on to explain that such an educational policy could in fact, lead to lower self esteem levels in white and black child...
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...s that Afrocentrists are purely detrimental to the African-American zeitgeist. Walker makes Dee such a negative character to reflect her opinion about the merits of Afrocentrism. She uses Everyday Use as a vehicle to propel the idea that any form of centrism is wrong. Furthermore, rather then focusing on our own cultural backgrounds we should all embrace the diversity of our collective society.
Works Cited
Reed, W. Edward, Erma J. Lawson, and Tyson Gibbs. "Afrocentrism in the 21st Century."Western Journal of Black Studies 21.3 (1997): 173-79. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2011.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” The Norton Book of American Short Stories. Peter S. Prescott,
ed. New York: Norton, 1988. 714-21. Print.
Wortham, Anne. "Errors of the Afrocentrists." Academic Questions 5.4 (1992): 36-47.Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2011.
The most important aspect for a teacher to understand is that every student that comes through their door has their own experiences, history, and point of view. Mis-Education of the Negro is about how the euro-centrism-based learning has, in one way or another, crippled the African-American community and their pursuit for an equal opportunity in our society. Written by Carter Godwin Woodson in 1933, this African-American studies book is written so that everyone can understand what society has done and what they can do to correct their wrongs.
Walker delves into the subconscious and ever-present spirituality that is found in African-American women and she believes that it is important to identify with this.
Some African Americans view their race as inferior to the white race. Even though the author may not hold this same opinion, it is still important that he or she understands that part of his or her audience does, especially when writing about racial identity. Zora Neale Hurston understood
The empowerment of African Americans came with the courage of the Civil Rights Era. The feeling of freedom was overwhelming and the people of African descent were thriving for civil liberties. The courage of the People was expressed through Dee in "Everyday Use" . As soon as Dee arrived Mama saw the changes in her daughter simply by the way she was dressed. Mama states, "A dress so loud it hurts my eyes." (Walker 6) The dress makes and Mama 's description of Dee illustrates a vibrant, brilliant person. The change during this era was a beautiful time where people were full of energy and enthusiasm for a change in American history. Mama also stated, "The dress is loose and flows, and as she walks closer,I like it." (Walker 6) With Dee representing change her clothing was different, she seemed to be a different person now , Mama was pleased with what she saw. African Americans were welcoming to the change, but the change was not all high and mighty like it had seemed to
Brown, Ernest Douglas. "Africanisms in American Culture." JSTOR. University of Illinois Press, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
Rosenfeld counters this “geography of blame” by sharing his personal experiences within the Harlem community. After spending time with students outside of school, he discovers firsthand that the children are neither without culture nor disadvantaged. Teachers’ common “credos” regarding students (i.e., uncaring or uninvolved parents, lack of interest in learning, lazy and unclean, etc.) are based on unfounded myths used “to reduce them all to a common definition” of what it means to be a black marginalized member of society (Rosenfeld, 1971, p. 50). Therefore, if schools were agents of cultural transmission functioning to produce the larger societal expectations, a deficit, reductionist approach would likely succeed in keeping people academically and (eventually) economically disadvantaged.
As an African American male, I experienced inequality, and judgment from individuals that have no idea what kind of person I truly am. As a youth, I received a lackluster education, which has resulted in me underachieving in a number of my college classes. It has come to my attention that other colored students are currently experiencing and receiving the same inadequate learning environment and educatio...
Afrocentricity, as defined by Asante, is a “consciousness, quality of thought, mode of analysis, and actionable perspective where Africans seek, from agency, to assert subject place within the context of African history” (Asante 16). In essence, all roads converge and diverge with the African continent, with its rich history of pioneering triumphs and profound tribulations; Africa and all of her descendants are the end all, be all of one’s focus. There are five criteria to Afrocentricity: “(1) An interest in psychological location; (2) a commitment to finding the African subject place; (3) the defense of African cultural elements; (4) a commitment to lexical refinement; (5) a commitment to correct the dislocations in the ...
As the years go by we can see the aftermath of what slavery, segregation and racism toward African Americans have done to Blacks. African Americans have suffered many brutal treatment that has affected us physically and mentally and we are still dealing with the repercussion of the many years of oppression. The Declaration of Independence was written hundreds of years ago stating all men are equal but African Americans are still socially and racially unequal to White America. Until now Blacks have been given insufficient credit of the basis of where humanity and civilization started. Throughout our educational history we’ve learned that the Egyptians created Egypt not including the Egyptians were African Americans and we’ve also learned from textbooks the European’s created many inventions, founded many countries and established these intelligent philosopher’s and writers we study from today basically making Europeans the superior race for many Countries but not even mentioning the contributions of African Americans and what they have done and how much they have accomplished for civilization. When we look at film and literature we can dissect and repair the image of African Americans by looking at written evidence, documentaries and movies to see the hidden truth.
Without details, the words on a page would just simply be words, instead of gateways to a different time or place. Details help promote these obstacles, but the use of tone helps pull in personal feelings to the text, further helping develop the point of view. Point of view is developed through the story through descriptive details and tone, giving the reader insight to the lives of each author and personal experiences they work through and overcome. Issa Rae’s “The Struggle” fully emplefies the theme of misplaced expectations placed on African Americans, but includes a far more contemporary analysis than Staples. Rae grapples as a young African-American woman that also struggles to prove her “blackness” and herself to society’s standards, “I feel obligated to write about race...I slip in and out of my black consciousness...sometimes I’m so deep in my anger….I can’t see anything outside of my lens of race” (Rae, 174). The delicate balance between conformity and non-conformity in society is a battle fought daily, yet Rae maintains an upbeat, empowering solution, to find the strength to accept yourself before looking for society’s approval and to be happy in your own skin. With a conversational, authoritative, humorous, confident and self-deprecating tone, Rae explains “For the majority of my life, I cared too much about my blackness was perceived, but now?... I couldn’t care less. Call it maturation or denial or self-hatred- I give no f%^&s.” (Rae 176), and taking the point of view that you need to stand up to racism, and be who you want to be not who others want you to be by accepting yourself for who you are. Rae discusses strength and empowerment in her point of view so the tone is centered around that. Her details all contribute to the perspectives as well as describing specific examples of racism she has encountered and how she has learned from those
In “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker is exploring the concept of heritage as it applies to African-Americans. It appears to be set in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s. This was the time when African-Americans were struggling to define their personal identities. Many blacks who had stories of pain and injustice wanted to rediscover their African roots, and they were denying their American heritage to do so. In “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker argues that an African-American is both African and American.
The people of the black culture need a motivating force behind their community. They need a black aesthetic to motivate them and incline them to support the revolution. The black aesthetic itself will not be enough to motivate the people; they will need black art to help them understand what they are supporting. The art in the black culture needs an aesthetic to get the message across to its viewers and allow them to understand the meaning behind pieces of artwork. One of Ron Karenga’s points is how people need to respond positively to the artwork because it then shows that the artist got the main idea to the audience and helps to motivate them to support the revolution. In “Black Cultural Nationalism”, the author, Ron Karenga, argues that
The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to improve the state of being for African-Americans.
Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a culture that was not inherited, thus putting behind the unique and significant characteristics of their own inherited culture. Therefore, in an African American society, a search for self identity is a pervasive theme.
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