La Shawn Barber links to an article by conservative Juan Williams telling the Democratic Party not to take the black vote for granted. As Kerry really hasn't given us a taste of what his domestic policies would be like it might be a bit early to make this critique. But on the other hand, given the DNC's history of igging the black vote it is never too early.
(as an aside, just because the dems shouldn't take the black vote for granted, doesn't mean the republicans have a shot in hell. unless they listen to my advice they can give that idea up!)
....
While checking out Barber's site I run into this article on Afrocentrism.
First things first. Mary Lefkowitz and D'Nesh D'Souza wouldn't know an argument from a hole in the wall. As far as I can tell D'Souza barely has a bachelor's degree, and I've never seen Lefkowtiz' name in any peer-reviewed journal. In comparison Asante (who has his own issues to be sure) has published more peer-reviewed articles than a little bit, and Martin Bernal's tomes were also peer-reviewed. Granted, this is an elitist stance, but I've defended it before.
Secondly, let's get rid of the red herrings. Here is the central Afrocentric argument, taken from Asante's own words:
On these facts we stand:*Ancient Egyptians were black people.
*Egyptian civilization precedes Greece by several thousand years
*The pyramids are completed (2500 BC) long before Homer appears (800 BC)
*Philosophy originates in Africa and the first Greek philosophers (Thales, Isocrates) studied in Egypt
* A discussion of the wise, wisdom, (sb) appears on tomb of Antef in 2052 BC
*Thales of Miletus is not a philosopher until 600 BC
Among Greek historians and others who wrote about what the Greeks learned from Egypt are Homer, Herodotus, Iamblicus, Aetius, Diodorous Siculus, Diogenes Laertius, Plutarch, and Plato. Who were some of the Greek students of Africans, according to the ancient records? They were Plato, Solon, Lycurgus, Democritus, Anaxamander, Anaxagoras, Herodotus, Homer, Thales, Pythagoras, Eudoxus, and Isocrates and many others. Some of these students even wrote of their studies in Egypt as well.
Barber is right to question whether an Afrocentric curriculum works. Social science will tell the tale, and I'm not familiar with the literature enough to even give anecdotes. I'm thinking we're better off going this route though than either the Creationist route, or the voucher route.
Clearer thinking is needed.
And again, while I'm not all that smart, it looks like Professor Kim came to the same conclusion. Maybe a Clear Thinker's Society would be in order.