Whatever happened to Afrocentric Scholarship?

It seems that the push for Afrocentric scholarship, curriculum, etc. has subsided. In the 90's and through the early 2000's there seemed to be far ranging interest across disciplines in Afrocentrism. Led primarily by Molefi Kete Asante (I know everyone probably has their favorite Afrocentrism author, but I'm most familair with Asante.), the movement emphasizes the importance of African people (collectively) and is often seen as a reaction to White and/or Western privledged notions of scientificity and scholarship. But, I have seen little work on Afrocentrism and the law. Brown describes her conception of Afrocentrism as a teaching tool:

Given the controversy surrounding Afrocentric education, it is important to clarify my precise position. I view Afrocentric education as an instrumental means to displace "gangsta" norms, rather than as an effort to utilize state funds to perpetuate a particular cultural heritage for its own sake. Thus I advocate for the Afrocentric academy, not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end - namely, the reformulation of cultural norms among urban black youth. In this light, Afrocentric education offers the black community a way to "turn inward" to address pervasive social and cultural problems....

Eleanor Brown, Black Like Me? "Gangsta" Culture, Clarence Thomas, and Afrocentric Academies, 75 N.Y.U. L. R. 308, at 322-3 (2000).

Of course, humyn life began in Africa, and philosophy, religion, and art all had their start on the African continent. This scholarship has had little impact on the law however. A quick Lexis or Westlaw search only yields a few results for "Afrocentrism" or "Afrocentric." Why? Why do we see this scholarship in other disciplines, but barely eking its way into legal scholarship?

Critical race theory, with it's reliance on historical and genealogical inquiry, would be a suitable cognate for Afrocentric legal theory. Clearly we see more international law students in the United States, some form Africa and others from across the continents. International law classes are also becoming more prevalent and there is quite a bit of theoretical work being completed in classes like Legal History, Jurisprudence, and the like. It seems however that the legal academy has failed to fully understand or adapt Afrocentrism to legal scholarship. The reasons for this evade me. Why is there little work being done on African philosophy and the the law and why is Afrocentrism not more commonly referenced in legal theory classes?

Hip-hop may be a place where Afrocentrism can take hold. With Nas and Damian Marley's Distant Relatives and an increasing number of artists from Africa, it seems like there may be an opportunity to engage in substantive hip-hop Afrocentric legal theory. Rappers like Akon, MC Solaar, and K'naan are popular hip-hop voices from Africa. Critical race theory must seek to include all Africans, not simply those in the United States. Hip-hop scholarship must do the same. I know, I know, that notion might offend some people, but an honest look at much of critical race theory work in the legal academy indicates that there is a bias toward focusing this critical lens on U.S. citizens and U.S. legal issues. Stopping critical race theory at the Middle Passage ignores a much more complex history of Africa and African people. Not much legal scholarship seems to be going beyond the beginnings of trans-Atlantic slavery however.

What space should exist for Afrocentrism and hip-hop research in the legal academy? Where or on what legal issue has there been considerable Afrocentrism work? Might there be drawbacks to Afrocentrism? Are there Afrocentric hip-hop artists (for the wiki entry about African hip-hop click here)? These are some of the questions that should be answered.

Let the discussion begin...

-- Nick J. Sciullo

The Bar Exam

Artist: Damian Marley

Track: Patience - Nas and Damian Marley

Album: Distant Relatives

Some of the smartest dummies

Can’t read the language of Egyptian mummies

An’ a fly go a moon

And can’t find food for the starving tummies

Pay no mind to the youths

Cause it’s not like the future depends on it

But save the animals in the zoo

Cause the chimpanzee dem a make big money

This is how the media pillages

On TV the picture is

Savages in villages

And the scientist still can’t explain the pyramids, huh

Evangelists making a livin' on the videos of ribs of the little kids

Stereotyping the image of the images

And this is what the image is

You buy a khaki pants

And all of a sudden you a say a Indiana Jones

An’ a thief all da gold and thief all da scrolls and even the buried bones

Some of the worst paparazzis I’ve ever seen and I ever known

Put the worst on display so the world can see

And that’s all they will ever show

So the ones in the West

Will never move East

And feel like they could be at home

Dem get tricked by da beast

But a where dem a go flee when the monster is fully grown?

Solomonic linage whe dem still can’t defeat and them coulda never clone

My spiritual DNA that print in my soul and I will forever own, Lord

The first hip-hop president... so now what?

Much has been made of President Barack Obama being the first hip-hop president. Over a year after his election, it is probably time to ask, "What does that mean?" To be sure, many hip-hop artists have flocked to the President. Artists from Common to Nas and Young Jeezy, will.i.am to Joel Ortiz have produced songs in support of Obama.

And many critics have questioned what hip-hop means or even has to do with being President. See Sasha Frere-Jones, in The New Yorker, who takes a less than enthusiastic view. Slightly more positive is the Harvard Political Review, Harvard's undergraduate political science magazine. Opposed to the notion is Rosa Clemente who wrote an article commissioned by the Green Institute. Then there's Matthew Cooper's piece at the Huffington Post that seems to blur the line between honest reflection and mocking hyperbole. Also look at an NPR story on hip-hop flocking to Obama.

What are hip-hop fans, community members, and casual listeners to make of this? There's a danger in assuming that because President Obama claims to listen to Jay-Z, is relatively young, hails from a city with a strong hip-hop scene, etc., that he is able to or even wants to represent hip-hop. Let's not let our excitement from the historical nature of this election blind us to the realities of presidential politics. It's a big task to shoulder the entire hip-hop community and hip-hop isn't monolithic. We might see this as a stepping stone, but Obama can't do it all. Obama will not solve the world's problems and he won't solve hip-hop's. Health care and climate change are pressing issues. Police violence continues to be endemic in many communities. There's a struggling economy that needs desperate help. Even if we expect Obama to lead the hip-hop nation, it's not going to happen soon. It is not a priority item on his policy agenda.

Has Obama done a good job representing hip-hop? What does it mean to represent hip-hop? Do we often think of President's as representing musical genres or communities? Did anybody call Bush II the Texas president or the country music president? And if they did, what did that mean? Often times elected officials will make claims that they best speak for a segment of the population, but that is not always true. It seems that the hip-hop community seized upon Obama and not that Obama seized upon the hip-hop community. Sure, he worked hard to mobilize minorities and young people, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was targeting hip-hop.


-- Nick J. Sciullo


(Obama poster courtesy of eshark design.)

The Bar Exam

Artist: Nas featuring Lauryn Hill
Track: If I Rule the World
Album: It Was Written

Yo, it'll be paradise life relaxin' Black, Latino and Anglo-Saxon
Armani Exchange to Range
Cash, Lost Tribe of Shabazz, free at last
Brand new whips to crash then we laugh in the iller path
The Villa house is for the crew, how we do
Trees for breakfast, dime sexes and Benz stretches
So many years of depression make me vision
The better livin', type of place to raise kids in
Open they eyes to the lies history's told foul
But I'm as wise as the old owl, plus the Gold Child
Seeing things like I was controlling, click rollin'
Trickin' six digits on kicks and still holdin'
Trips to Paris, I civilized every savage
Gimme one shot I turn trife life to lavish
Political prisoner set free, stress free
No work release purple M3's and jet skis
Feel the wind breeze in West Indies
I make Coretta Scott-King mayor the cities and reverse fiends to Willies
It sounds foul but every girl I meet to go downtown
I'd open every cell in Attica send 'em to Africa

Hip Hop and Fathers

We all know that urban youth have often had difficult relationships with their fathers many whom have been absent, if not abusive. There are important public policy concerns that must be dealt with regarding fatherhood and urban communities. No matter how much the issue is researched or what disciplines are utilized as ways to engage fatherhood, we'll never have an answer or a set of policies that appeases everyone. But, discussions have not been confined to academic journals. Hip-hop has made countless references to fathers--some good and some bad. Here are several hip-hop quotables that seem particularly relevant on Father's Day:

"Favorite father?
How you gonna ask me that knowin' most of my click grew up without one?"
-- Saigon, Favorite Things

"I hope you grow up to become that everything you can be
That's all I wanted for you young'n, like Father, like Son
But in the end I hope you only turn out better than me
I hope you know I love you young'n, like Father, like Son"
-- Busta Rymes, on The Game, Like Father Like Son

"You see I deal with the premise that all children are ours
And that we all travel the same path
It's just that we don't get there at the same time"
-- Pops, on Common, Pops' Rap

"I mighta ended up on the wrong side of the tracks
If Pops wouldn't've pulled me back an said yo"
-- Nas, Bridging the Gap (featuring Olu Dara)

"Now dad this is a very sensitive subject
From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms
I knew I'd meet death before I'd let you meet harm"
-- Will Smith, Just the Two of Us


-- Nick J. Sciullo

The Bar Exam

Artist: Jadakiss
Track: What If (feat. Nas)
Album: The Last Kiss

Take a second, what if we could rewind the hood?
Better yet, what if the L.O.X. woulda signed with Suge?
What if Puffy never signed us?
What if Oprah made them comments
Like Imus?
What if you designed this
Thought like I did?
Said it like this:
What if Peyton was fighting dogs instead of Mike Vick?
What if Arnold would just let Tookie get life?
What if B.I.G. missed the party,
What if 'Pac missed the fight?

What if you was caged in?
What would you change then?
What if there was no Rocafella law for "Made Men?"
What if hate ran through me?
And what if Portland
Would've drafted Jordan
Instead of Sam Bowie?
What if you really have to be nice to get a deal?
What if all of these rappers' ice was really real?
What if I hit you with the razor from cheek to chin?
What if Mike Jackson never would have bleached his skin?