This week in North Philly Notes, Adebayo Oluwayomi, author of Foundations of Black Epistemology, writes about the historical legacies of Black knowledge.
For many years, I wanted to read a book that primarily documented the incredible accomplishments of Black people within the discourse of knowledge, but it was difficult to find such a text. Although there were many historic books that highlighted the bravery, resilience, and tenacity of Black people in Africa and the African diaspora, they did not specifically focus on their intellectual/knowledge creation as a genealogy, especially as something that deserves serious consideration under a disciplinary specialization.
Foundations of Black Epistemology is the first book to delineate Black epistemology as an area of specialization within Africana Philosophy. The ideas explored are novel, uncovering a rich treasure of Black knowledge within intellectual history and making a case for a specialized engagement of ideas produced by Black thinkers under the disciplinary focus of Black epistemology. As I wrote, I discovered symbiosis in the thoughts and ideas of the Black thinkers across generations. I show the historical legacies of Black knowledge, its impact on the trajectories of Black lives in the past, and its deep significance for the future.
This work is much needed in this present historic moment, when books and ideas focusing on race are being banned and outlawed by those in power in the United States. It also speaks to the present debates and questions around the lack of respect for constitutional rights, the violation of human rights, and freedom of expression. By examining the ideas of Black men and women, who experienced some of the worst forms of infringement on their constitutional rights and the basic components of freedom, this book provides a framework for escaping deliberately imposed systems of injustice.
Foundations of Black Epistemology is an essential read for general readers, academics, activist scholars, and students, as well as those who may identify as sympathetic allies, those who are seeking to understand the truth of history and its intersection with the archeology of knowledge, and those who regard themselves as free thinkers. It provides unique insights, drawn from both the writings of former Black slaves and some of the most accomplished Black scholars, on how to fight against oppressive systems of power using the power of knowledge and the knowledge of power to achieve freedom. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” I truly believe Foundations of Black Epistemology has the capacity to make the reader free—free from the prejudices of common sense and the assumptive trappings of society.
Filed under: african american studies, american studies, civil rights, cultural studies, Education, ethics, History, literature, philosophy, race and ethnicity, racism, sociology | Tagged: activism, Africana Studies, banned books, Black Epistemology, Black thinkers, Christianity, constitutonal rights, Education, freedom, history, human rights, injustice, knowledge, oppression, philosophy, politics, prejudice, race, religion, scholarship, slavery, social justice, sociology | Leave a comment »
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