The Debate between Kwame Ture and Molefi Asante

The debate between Molefi Asante and Kwame Ture is, in my view, one of the most important debates on the topic of Pan-African liberation because the debate lays out two similar, but opposing approaches to liberation which each have their strengths and their weaknesses. In this short article I will attempt to outline what I believe were the strengths and weaknesses in the arguments laid out by both men.

I will begin with Molefi Asante’s position. Asante’s position is based on Afrocentricity, which is a concept that Asante developed. This means that Asante believes that the solution for African people is based on African people centering ourselves and viewing ourselves as actors in history. This is very important for challenging the Eurocentric indoctrination which has instilled a sense of self-hatred and inferiority among African people around the world. The aim of Afrocentricity is to challenge racist propaganda which depicts Africans as a people without any significant historical achievements.

The problem with Asante’s approach is that it’s ultimately too vague and too academic. He argues that the answer for African people is to create governments which are based on African ideas and political systems, but it is not clear precisely what type of political systems he is advocating for. Asante implies at the 36 minute mark that a traditional government in Africa could never fail victim to a political coup. Why would this be the case? Asante does not elaborate.

At the 37 minute mark, Asante mentions how the Ghana Empire lasted for more than 1000 years. He cites that as an example of the enduring nature of traditional African states. Asante rhetorically asks how it is that they did so, but at no point in the debate does Asante himself elaborate on how they did so. Is Asante advocating for a return to monarchy like in the Asante or Ghana Empires which he mentions? Or is Asante’s vision one rooted in the political structure of smaller, more decentralized African states such as the Kikuyu people of Kenya? One cannot be sure because in…

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