Afrocentricity and the Argument for Civic Commitment: Ideology and Citizenship in a United States of Africa

by Molefi Kete Asante
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2010, Vol.632 (1), p.121-131


This article discusses an ideological framework, that is, a superstructure for continental civic commitment to African nationalism based on the perceived and practical relationships of Africans with each other. In an attempt to minimize the threats of regional, religious, or ethnic obstacles to continental integration and civic commitment to the continent, the author proposes both intellectual and pragmatic steps for continental integration. Using concrete examples, as well as generative source philosophies, myths, and traditional proverbs as fundamentals for the creation of a new ethic of politics, this article seeks to advance a deeper perspective on continental citizenship.

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  • Asante is “one of America’s top 100 leading thinkers.

    —Utne Reader

  • Asante, a sixth-generation American descended from enslaved Africans, has been a guiding light in African American studies.

    —Booklist

  • Molefi Kete Asante is a seminal thinker.

    —Cornel West, Princeton University