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Honoring Dr. Molefi Kete Asante for his distinguished academic career as the founder of the theory of Afrocentricity on the occasion of WURD Radio’s feature on his local and global legacy through the Freedom Journeys initiative.
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WHEREAS, Dr. Asante received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) at the age of 26, and was selected as the first director of UCLA’s Center for Afro-American Studies where he established the interdisciplinary master’s program and set up the UCLA Center’s African American Library; and
WHEREAS, At Temple University Dr. Asante created the first Ph.D. Program in African American Studies in 1988, in 2021 he initiated and conceptualized Temple’s Center for Antiracism Research, and currently he serves as a Professor in the Department of Africology at Temple University; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Asante is the founder and President of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies in Philadelphia and wrote the mandatory African American History course for the Philadelphia School District; and
WHEREAS, He is the most prolific African American scholar with over 100 published books and over 500 published articles, is one of the 10 most widely cited African scholars, is the top producer of doctorates among African American scholars having directed more than 140 Ph.D. dissertations, and was the founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies and the author of the first comprehensive history of Africa by a Black person; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Asante is the founder of the theory of Afrocentricity, centering African perspectives in history, culture, and communication to reclaim Black agency by shifting away from Eurocentric worldviews to honor and prioritize the achievements and values of Africans and the African diaspora; and
WHEREAS, Despite national efforts to whitewash the truth, WURD Radio has launched Freedom Journeys to honor 250 extraordinary African-American Philadelphians who have shaped this city ...
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