Molefi Kete Asante

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Molefi Kete Asante (born 1942) is an African-American scholar who has written more than 60 books and 300 scholarly articles. His book Afrocentricity generated the term Afrocentrism. He is currently Professor of African-American Studies at Temple University, where he created the world's first doctoral program in African American Studies in 1987.

He is the father of author/filmmaker M.K. Asante, Jr.

Education

Born in Valdosta, Georgia, one of sixteen children, he was originally named Arthur Lee Smith. He changed his name to reflect his claim to be descended in part from the Asante people of West Africa. He received his B.A. from Oklahoma Christian College in 1964, his M.A. from Pepperdine University in 1965, and his Ph.D. from University of California, Los Angeles in 1968, all in communication studies.

Career

He was appointed a full professor at the age of 30 at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In the distinguished academic career that followed, Asante has published sixty-one scholarly books, more than 300 papers and articles, and directed more than 125 Ph.D. dissertations. He has published more scholarly books than any contemporary African author and has recently been recognized as one of the ten most widely cited African Americans. In addition, Black Issues in Higher Education recognized him as one of the most influential leaders in the last 15 years.

Asante's greatest contribution is generally considered to be his theory of Afrocentricity, a re-examination of traditional scholarship from the perspective of African and African diasporal peoples. In 1969, Asante became the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies, a central publication for Afrocentric theory.

Dr. Asante's early contributions to the theory of cultural diversity in the 70s and 80s is not as widely known.

Asante's work has won both accolades and criticism from around the world. He has been enstooled as a traditional king, Nana Okru Asante Peasah, Kyldomhene,in Tafo, Akyem, Ghana (1995) and was invited to address an African Union Conference of Intellectuals of Africa and the Diaspora at Dakar (2004).

Asante starred in the multi-award winning documentary "500 Years Later" staring Maulana Karenga , Muhammed Shareef , Francis Cress Welsin , Kimani Nehusi , Paul Robeson,Jr , Nelson George, and many more. The film was writen by his son M.K. Asante, Jr.

External links

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