Mutations of Eurocentric Domination and Their Implications for African American Resistance

Author(s): Jerome H. Schiele

Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Mar., 2002), pp. 439-463
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3180885
Accessed: 29/10/2010 00:47

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sage.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Sage Publications, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Black
Studies.

http://www.jstor.org
 MUTATIONS OF EUROCENTRIC
DOMINATION AND THEIR
IMPLICATIONS FOR
AFRICAN AMERICAN
RESISTANCE
JEROMEH. SCHIELE
ClarkAtlanta University

An increasing observationby many social scientists is that the method

throughwhich EuropeanAmericansmaintaincontrolover society's politi-
cal, economic, andculturalinstitutionshas mutated.Over the last 30 years
or so, Eurocentricdominationcan be assumedto have mutatedaway from
dominationby repression/terror towarddominationby seduction.This arti-
cle discusses five sociopolitical trends through which this mutationhas
occurredandexamineshow this transformationhas placed AfricanAmeri-
cans at significantrisk of capitulatingto Eurocentricdomination.

Over the past 30 years or so, overtstrategiesto controlandmanip-

ulate African Americans,which generatedunequivocalmessages
of African American marginalizationand inferiority,have been
increasinglyrivaledby subtle, insidious, and diffused schemes of
subjugation (Bobo, Kluegel, & Smith, 1997; Collins, 1998;
Kambon, 1998; Marable,1996). Althoughveiled, these strategies
nonetheless continue the hegemony of EuropeanAmericansover
society's political, economic, and culturalinstitutions(Ani, 1994;
Kambon,1998;Marable,1996). Fundamentalto EuropeanAmeri-
can controlis culturaloppressionor the belief thatEuropeanAmer-
ican norms and mores are universaland supremeto othercultural
prescriptionsandinterpretations(Akbar,1998; Ani, 1994; Asante,
1988, 1998, 1999; Baldwin, 1985; Blauner, 1972; Hacker, 1992;
Kambon, 1998; Leonard, 1995; Schiele, 2000; Turner,Singleton,

JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 32 No. 4, March2002 439-463

C 2002 Sage Publications

439
440 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ MARCH 2002

& Musick, 1984). This ideology representswhat some refer to as

Whitesupremacy(Rashad,1991;Welsing, 1991;West, 1991;A. N.
Wilson, 1990, 1993; Wright,1984), andthroughoutAmericanhis-
tory, this doctrine generally has taken on more overt and explicit
manifestations.Whatis differentaboutthe past 30 yearsor so is the
subtle, diffused, and almost benign ways in which this hegemony
has been revealed and may indicate a mutationaway from what
may be called dominationby repression/terrorto dominationby
seduction.'
In dominationby seduction,underlyingintentionsof exploita-
tion and oppression are concealed (Ani, 1994; Bauman, 1992;
Bourdieu, 1990; Collins, 1998; Horkheimer & Adorno, 1944/
1994; Marable, 1996; Marcuse, 1964; Schiele, 1998). Instead of
relyingexclusively on violence, terror,intimidation,andovertlegal
discrimination,dominationby seduction draws on tactics of cul-
turalabsorption(i.e., incorporationof alternatives),inordinatecon-
sumerism, political and economic co-optation, symbolic racism,
andsymbolicviolence (Ani, 1994;Bauman,1992;Bourdieu,1990;
Collins, 1998; Horkheimer& Adorno, 1944/1994; Marable,1996;
Marcuse,1964;Rothenberg,1990). Althoughdominationby terror
invariablyplays a role in oppression,it is often too costly because
its overtactionsof aggressiononly fostergreaterdisdaintowardthe
"system"among the oppressed (Baldwin, 1980; Bauman, 1992;
Bourdieu, 1990). The sense of explicit unfairnessengenderedby
dominationby terrorcan enhancecriticalconsciousness amongthe
oppressed and can encourage civil and political insurgency
(Baldwin, 1980; Bourdieu, 1990; Marcuse, 1964). In this regard,
dominationby terrorcan be seen as anenablerof criticalconscious-
ness among the oppressed.Oppressionby terroralso appearsto be
antiquatedwhen one examineshow telecommunicationstechnolo-
gies allow media and entertainmentarmsof dominationto assume
a moreprominentrole in deludingthe oppressedinto willing partic-
ipation in, and defense of, the social system that continues to
exploit them (Adorno, 1957; Bourdieu, 1996; Horkheimer &
Adorno, 1944/1994; Kellner, 1990). As Staples (1991) admon-
ishes, "entertainmentmay become the opiate of the twenty-first
century"(p. 55).
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 441

This article, althoughmindful that the mutationfrom domina-

tion by terrorto dominationby seductioncan be appliedto many
oppressiverelations in American society, focuses its attentionon
the manner in which this mutation occurs in race relations and
examines its implications for African American resistance.
Increasingly,some have used the concept Eurocentricor Eurocen-
tric Dominationto characterizethe power advantagesthatpeople
of Europeandescentcollectively haveoverpeople of color,butpar-
ticularly over people of African descent (see Akbar, 1984; Ani,
1994; Asante, 1988, 1998, 1999; Dove, 1995; Graham,2001; Hen-
derson,1995;Kambon,1998;Karenga,1993;Oliver,1989;Schiele,
2000; Shujaa,1994; Stewart,1995; A. N. Wilson, 1993). Although
many of these writers acknowledge that this form of domination
has become more subtle and symbolic, little attentionhas been
devotedto how this mutationcanplace AfricanAmericansatriskof
abandoningefforts of sustained and collective resistance against
Eurocentricdomination.This articlecontendsthatthe mutationof
Eurocentric domination toward oppression by seduction has
occurred throughfive importanttrends: (a) the decline in overt,
public pronouncementsand attitudesaffirmingWhite intellectual
superiority;(b) the proliferationof AfricanAmericanpoliticalcon-
servatives;(c) the elevated socioeconomic statusof many African
Americans;(d) the rise in the cultureof consumerism;and (e) the
transformationof media images and messages. The assumptionis
thatthese trendsincreasinglyrenderAfrican Americanssuscepti-
ble to alluringmessages of meritocracy,political equality,andrace
neutrality,which can confine and thwartAfrican Americanresis-
tance againstoppression.

THE MUTATION OF WHITE

INTELLECTUAL SUPERIORITY

In the past, messages of White intellectual superioritywere

salient and poignant (Gould, 1981; Guthrie, 1998; A. Thomas &
Sillen, 1972). These messages were conspicuousin law as well as
the emergingAmericansocial sciences. Social science icons such
442 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ MARCH 2002

as Lewis Terman,William James, William GrahamSumner,and

Lester Warddid not attemptto conceal their conviction to White
intellectualsupremacybutrathergave it a "scientific"basis andjus-
tification. In the discipline of psychology, these messages were
manifestedeven in the color of the animalsthatbehavioralpsychol-
ogists studiedin that, as Guthrie's(1998) title suggests, "eventhe
rat was white."
Although overt examples of White intellectual superiority
remain (see, for example, Herrnstein& Murray,1994), what is
increasinglyfound today areracisteuphemismsrepresentingwhat
some refer to as symbolic racism (Hughes, 1997; Kinder& Sears,
1981;McConahay& Hough, 1976;Rothenberg,1990; Sears,Vann
Laar,Carrillo,& Kosterman,1997). In symbolic racism, hardline
doctrines of racial superiority and segregation are said to be
increasingly supplanted by attitudes that suggest that African
Americansfail to conform to importantAmericanvalues such as
the protestantworkethic, success throughmerit,anddelayedgrati-
fication (Hughes, 1997; Kinder & Sears, 1981; McConahay &
Hough, 1976; Rothenberg, 1990; Sears et al., 1997). These atti-
tudes suggest thatAfricanAmericansare not willing to work hard
to succeed butratherpreferunfairpracticesof racialpreferencesas
expressedin affirmativeactionpolicies. Bobo et al. (1997) contend
thatthis new form of racism,which they preferto call laissez-faire
racism, arises from the abolition of old social structures,such as
Jim Crow segregation,that relied on and reinforcedovert racism.
With the emergenceof new social structuresthatrenderedthe old
justifications of racial subjugationantiquated,new forms of sus-
taining White privilege and supremacy emerged (Bobo et al.,
1997). These new forms rely more on ethical and moraljustifica-
tions thatdisparageAfricanAmericansfor violating what arecon-
sidered universalAmericanvalues. Although remnantsof the old
racialcaste system thatfocused on the natureexplanationof racial
differencesremain,the new form of racial subjugationappearsto
rely increasinglymore on the role nurtureplays in the intellectual
capacity and success of contemporaryAfrican Americans.
This nurtureframeworkhas generateda new lexicon thatopenly
speaksless aboutbiogeneticinferiorityandmoreaboutpoorfamily
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 443

and community values. The emphasis on family and community

values has its recentintellectualorigins in the "cultureof poverty"
perspective of the 1960s. Emerging from a political mood that
sought to addressthe problemof inner-citypoverty,the cultureof
poverty viewpoint suggested that poverty producedan odd set of
values and accepted behavioral patternsthat replicated poverty
across generations(Lewis, 1969; Quadagno,1994). This perspec-
tive contendsthatamongAfricanAmericans,generationsof inimi-
cal socioeconomic conditionshave createda socioculturalmilieu
thatindulgesandnurturesaberrantbehaviorssuch as violent crime,
welfare dependence, out-of-wedlock births, poor school perfor-
mance, and high rates of joblessness (Franklin, 1997; Murray,
1984; Quadagno, 1994; Schiele, 1998;.Teitz & Chapple, 1998;
W. J. Wilson, 1996).
Because this line of argumentde-emphasizesracialgenetic the-
ory and is ostensibly aimed at specific groups of African Ameri-
cans (e.g., inner-citylow income and mother-onlyfamilies), Afri-
can Americans who are not in these categories, or who may
embrace culture of poverty explanations, may be seduced into
believing thatthese diatribesareirrelevantto them. The shift from
overt, hardline beliefs of racial inferiority to culture of poverty
explanationsmay place greaternumbersof African Americansat
risk of believing thattheirhigher socioeconomic statuswill shield
them against moral invectives levied at Black people, generally.
The kinderand gentleranti-Blackideology thatBobo et al. (1997)
examine may influence African Americansto conclude that hard
work and delayed gratificationare much more importantin deter-
mining the success of African Americans than, for example, are
culturallybiased, academicperformanceevaluationsor continued
preference for European Americans in influential positions. In
essence, the subtle expression of White intellectual superiority,
which is assumed to characterizethe era of oppressionby seduc-
tion, may place greaternumbersof AfricanAmericansin jeopardy
of supportingsocial policies that solely blame AfricanAmericans
for theircircumstancesandthatdivertneededresourcesaway from
the entire African Americancommunity.
444 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

THE PROLIFERATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN

POLITICAL CONSERVATIVES

Many who support the ideology of individual blame are the

growing cadreof AfricanAmericanpolitical analysts,journalists,
radiotalk show hosts, and academicswho acquiesce to the credos
of the political rightwing. This groupof political pundits,referred
to by some as Black conservatives(Faryna,Stetson,& Conti, 1997;
Marable,1996; Simpson, 1998;Watson,1998), came of age during
the Reagan-Bushpresidentialyears.Althoughmanyrecognizethat
racism is real and continuesto exist, they repudiateracial oppres-
sion as the primaryor exclusive factorcontributingto the socioeco-
nomic problemsthatconfrontAfricanAmericans(Connerly,2000;
Farynaet al., 1997; Franks,1996; Simpson, 1998; Watson,1998).
Forthem,AfricanAmericansdo themselves aninjusticeby contin-
uing to blame White people and Eurocentricdominationfor prob-
lems that are essentially of their own making (Connerly,2000;
Farynaet al., 1997; Franks,1996; Simpson, 1998; Watson, 1998).
This blame game, they argue,not only attributestoo much respon-
sibility and power to EuropeanAmericans (which they maintain
only reinforces the notion that White people are omnipotent)but
also diminishes the power and potential of African Americansto
pull themselvesup by theirbootstraps.Black conservativesbelieve
that affirmativeaction and governmentalservices, which seek to
providemore economic and educationalopportunitiesto the poor,
generally, and African Americans, specifically, are unnecessary
and only reinforcethe image of the powerless African American
who has no role in shaping her or his destiny (Connerly,2000;
Franks,1996).
The advancementof African Americanpolitical conservatives
perhapsrepresentsthe most conspicuousway in which Eurocentric
dominationhas mutated. Although African American conserva-
tives contendthatthey are only attemptingto expandand emanci-
pate the dialogue on race in this country(Connerly,2000; Franks,
1996; Steele, 1990; C. Thomas, 1997), Karenga (1986) admon-
ishes that their emergence is part of the overall goal to continue
Eurocentricdomination and to prevent a critique of it. Karenga
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 445

(1986) suggests that AfricanAmericanpolitical conservativesare

opportunists who allow themselves to be used by the ruling
race/class in the United States to advance the agenda of White
supremacy.One way the rulingrace/classadvancesits agendais to
continuouslylegitimateitself via moralclaims, says Karenga.This
is achieved,he maintains,by projectingthe oppressedas immoral.
This process is necessary because the oppressed are enduring
remindersof the immoralityof the oppressors.Karengaintimates
thatAfricanAmericanconservativesserve as effective voice boxes
to couch the victims of oppressionas immoraland as culpablefor
the creationandcontinuationof theirwretchedmaterialconditions.
He asserts that in their role as moral diatribersof the oppressed,
AfricanAmericanconservativesseek four objectives:(a) to lessen
the strengthof the chargesthatthe rightpolitical wing is racistand
is unconcernedaboutincludingmoreAfricanAmericansamongits
ranks;(b) to challengethe dominancethe liberalpolitical wing has
had over dialogue pertainingto AfricanAmericans;(c) to contrib-
ute to the justification of negative social policies towardAfrican
Americansandotherpeople of color throughoutthe world;and (d)
to gain greatersocial acceptancefromthe generalEuropeanAmeri-
can community.
The rise of AfricanAmericanconservativesandtheirinfluential
role in social policy debateshas signaled a majorturningpoint in
the mutationof Eurocentricdomination.In its archaicform, Euro-
pean American politicians, like former governor of Alabama
George Wallace, were the springboardsthroughwhich attackson
African Americans were made. Their denunciationsof African
Americanswere vicious, uncouth,and"redneck"like. Today,clean-
cut, well-spokenAfricanAmericanmales, and some females such
as Parker(1997), have replacedthe uncouthrednecksof the past
and have transformedthe old acrimoniousracist slurs into pristine
intellectualcommentary.AfricanAmericanpolitical conservatives
havehelpedpopularizethe scapegoatingof AfricanAmericansand
increasinglyhave mademanyEuropeanAmericansmore comfort-
able with defending their appalling silence on issues of racial
inequality(Karenga,1986; Marable,1996; Sheridan,1996).
446 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

THE ELEVATIONOF AFRICAN AMERICAN

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

Perhapsone of the most significant factors that has led to the

growing scapegoatingof African Americansis the increase, over
the past 30 to 40 years, in educationalandoccupationalopportuni-
ties for AfricanAmericansthathas resultedin higher incomes for
many in this group. This enhanced socioeconomic status has
enabled greaternumbersof African Americansto consume more
expensive productsand to achieve the AmericanDream, creating
what Adair(1984) has called the "illusionof Black progress."The
increase in African Americans' socioeconomic status can be
observedby examiningthree indicators:(a) educationallevel, (b)
family income, and (c) occupationalprestige.
Concerning educationallevel, in 1960, only 3.1% of African
Americans25 years or older had completed 4 years of college or
more, but by 1998, that percentagehad more than quadrupledto
14.7%(U.S. Bureauof the Census,2000). Familyincome dataindi-
cate that 14.4% of African American families in 1970 had an
annual family income of $50,000 or more, but by 1998, 28% of
these families had annualincomes of more than $50,000 (McKin-
non & Humes, 2000; U.S. Bureauof the Census, 2000). The occu-
pational status of African Americans also has increased in that
greaterpercentagesof African Americans are representedin the
census category "managerialand professional specialties." For
example,AfricanAmericansas a percentageof the totalnumberof
persons employed as managerial and professional specialists
increasedfrom 5.6% in 1983 to 7.6% in 1998 (U.S. Bureauof the
Census,2000). In actualnumbers,this percentageincreaseequates
to about 1,638,000 moremanagerialandprofessionalpositions for
AfricanAmericansbetween 1983 and 1998. Last, as a measureof
socioeconomic status, African American-ownedbusinesses also
have increased in recent years. For example, between 1992 and
1997, these businesses grew from 620,900 to 780,770, almost a
26%increase(U.S. Bureauof the Census,2001). Althoughmost of
the businesses are sole proprietorships(U.S. Bureauof the Census,
2001), these data suggest that increasinglymore African Ameri-
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 447

cans have greaterautonomyin how they earntheirmoney. Collec-

tively,whatthe latterdataindicatearethatmoreAfricanAmericans
areexperiencingless economichardshipthanthey did in thepast.
However, a corollaryof the increased socioeconomic status of
AfricanAmericansis the widereconomic gapbetweenBlackhaves
and Black have-nots. Although the percentageof African Ameri-
can families with incomes exceeding $50,000 has doubled since
1970, the percentageof these families with incomes of less than
$10,000 has remainedfairly constantsince thatyear (U.S. Bureau
of the Census, 2000). This disparity,along with the attenuationof
housing discriminationlaws, has influencedthe greaterresidential
separation between lower income and higher income African
American families (Jargowsky,1996; Pattillo-McCoy,2000). In
places like the Washington,DC, and Atlanta, GA, metropolitan
areas,higherincome AfricanAmericanfamilies increasinglyhave
formed predominantlyor all-Black suburbs,the most prominent
being those located in Prince George's County,MD (Dent, 1992;
O'Hare & Frey, 1992).
Some suggest thatthe economic disparityamongAfricanAmer-
icans has engenderedgreaterdivergencein lifestyles and political
interestsalong class lines (Marable,1995; Reed, 1999; W. J. Wil-
son, 1996). Many African Americans with higher incomes and
more material resources have dissociated themselves from the
plight and conditionsof lower income AfricanAmericansand are
insincere in their rhetoricto help the Black poor (Marable,1995;
McCall, 1997; Reed, 1999). Marable(1995) andReed (1999) con-
tendthatit is a farceto associatethe visibility of greaternumbersof
AfricanAmericanpoliticiansandentertainerswith the progressof
African Americans generally.Referringto this farce as symbolic
representation, Marable (1995) maintains that many African
American politicians reinforce and supportpolicies that actually
harmlower-classAfricanAmericans,butbecause these politicians
are Black, this point is rarelyacknowledged.In his discussion of
professional African Americans who reside in Prince George's
County,MD, McCall (1997) states that many of these profession-
als, although not expressing animosities against low-income,
inner-cityAfricanAmericanswho residein Washington,DC, show
448 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

very little commitmentto helping them improvetheir conditions.

McCall (1997), a former Prince George's County resident, inti-
mates that many of the Black Prince George's County inhabitants
enjoy living in their protectivecocoon separatefrom poor Blacks
andWhites,generally,andappearto be committedonly to financial
security, individual career advancement,and personal comfort.
Although anecdotal,what McCall reveals is how class differentia-
tion among African Americans can obviate a sense of collective
racial consciousness that forged greater unity among African
Americansin the past.
This lack of social unity amongAfricanAmericans,broughton
partlyby greatersocial class differentiation,is assumedin this arti-
cle to be an intended-not unintended-outcome of civil rights
legislation of the 1960s. Although many hail the passage of civil
rights legislation as one of the best achievementsfor empowering
AfricanAmericans,Bell (1992) suggests thatthe latentfunctionof
this legislationwas to strengthenandcontinueEuropeanAmerican
domination in the political and economic realms. Applying the
neo-Marxistanalysisof PivenandCloward(1971) to the enactment
of civil rightslaws would indicatethatthis legislationemergedas a
means to quell African American insurgency during the 1960s.
This logic contendsthatby offering some legislative concessions,
Eurocentrichegemony could (a) avoid the loss of White life and
propertydue to African Americanurbanunrest and violence; (b)
circumvent internationalembarrassmentas the self-proclaimed
leaderof the so called "freeworld";(c) co-opt increasingnumbers
of AfricanAmericanmiddle-classprofessionalswho would be one
of the greatestbeneficiariesof civil rightslegislationand,therefore,
whose politicalviewpointscould be moreeffectively shaped,mon-
itored,andcontained;and(d) disunifyandfractionalizethe African
American community as greaternumbersof skilled and profes-
sionally trained African Americans take advantageof the social
and economic changes effectuatedby civil rights legislation.
A possible consequence of these legislative concessions is that
increasing numbersof African Americans have become socially
andeconomically investedin the continuationof Eurocentricdom-
ination and may have engendereda belief that Black progress is
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 449

solely connectedto moral appealsaimed at fair-mindedEuropean

Americans (Akbar, 1996; Carmichael& Hamilton, 1967; Clarke,
1991; Karenga, 1993). Although there is nothing inherently
improperwith these appeals,a few criticalquestionsareas follows:
(a) To what extent are these appealscompletely effective within a
continuedcontext of racial oppression?and (b) Whatimpactdoes
an exclusive focus on changing the mindset of EuropeanAmeri-
cans have on the willingness of African Americans to establish
social, economic, and educational infrastructuresthat are less
dependenton White financialsupportand philanthropy?

THE RISEOF CONSUMERISM

Consistentwith the effects of enhancedsocioeconomic status,a
fourthtrendthroughwhich Eurocentricdominationhas mutatedis
the expansion of the culture of consumerism. The growth of this
culturehas been usheredin by the phenomenonofflexible accumu-
lation. Harvey (1989) states that flexible accumulationemerges
from the new demandsand trendsof a post-Fordist,postindustrial
economy,which is characterizedby morerapid"commercial,tech-
nological, andorganizationinnovation"(p. 147). Flexible accumu-
lation is the capacity to increasethe rate of production,to accom-
modate the rapidity of product innovation, and to segment the
marketby identifying and targeting specialized consumer needs
and demands(Dunn, 1998; Harvey, 1989).
Dunn(1998) examinesseveralconsequencesof this new formof
productionand marketingon the characterof consumer culture.
First,greaternumbersof people have access to productsthat were
once only reservedfor the upperclass. The expansionof consumer
credit and the practice of "marketingdown" (i.e., making higher
qualityproductsaffordablefor lowerincome individuals)havepro-
vided greateropportunitiesfor ordinaryconsumersto accumulate
more luxuriousproducts.Second, styles andfashionshave become
morediverseandfragmented,andthese fashionshave increasingly
become independentof traditionalsocial categoriesandideologies.
An example of the latter would be the declining association of
450 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

wearing "dreadlocks"with the ideology and religion of Rastafari.

Diverse individuals and groups now wear dreadlocks.Third, the
rapidityanddiversityof styles andproduction,andtheirincreasing
association with socioemotional meanings, have enhanced the
desire for more immediategratification.Consumerismis increas-
ingly identified with instantaneouspleasure, security,and power
and can threatenthe relianceon social relationshipsas the primary
sourceof personalmeaningandlife satisfaction.Last,the growthof
consumeristculturehas resultedin traditionalcategories of social
distinction,such as race andgender,being increasinglyeclipsed by
lifestyle affiliations.Lifestyle affiliationsrepresentpeoples' spend-
ing preferencesand the emotional bonds that connect those who
prefer similar products. Social identity, therefore,is centered on
productpreference.
Although the consumerist worldview can affect all who are
exposed to it and who internalizeits messages, it may have special
implicationsfor the abilityof AfricanAmericansto resistEurocen-
tric domination.First, greateraccessibility to unlimitedconsumer
outletsandto higherqualityproductscan createillusions of infinite
personalfreedomandembellishedperceptionsof personalwealth.
African Americanscan now shop anywherethey desire, and this
consumermobilitymay cause manyto assumethattheircivil rights
are intact forever.Likewise, easy access to high-qualityproducts,
such as pre-ownedLexuses or new leased ones, can place African
Americansat risk of believing thatthey have arrivedeconomically
and that there is little reason to worry about financial insecurity.
Second, by focusing on consumer items, and capitulatingto the
emotional attachmentsthey generatefor people across traditional
lines of socioculturaldistinction,AfricanAmericansmay become
less concernedwith race as a source of personalidentificationand
social connection.Rather,gratificationsandotheremotionsassoci-
ated with productconsumptionand maintainingconsumptivelife-
style identities may become more of a priority.
Third,the increaseddissociationof specific styles with particu-
lar perspectivesand ideologies depoliticizes the meaning of fash-
ion. Fashion often has played a critical role in representingand
advancinga group'sinterestsand ethos (Karenga,1993; Tharps&
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 451

Byrd, 2001). Increasingly,however,the political meaning associ-

ated with these fashions has been attenuatedand usurpedby the
profitmotive andthe need to expandthe potentialpool of consum-
ers (Davis, 1994). This observation,for example, may be applica-
ble to the wearingof Africanattirethat,because of its currentmar-
keting by major commercial entities, may not have the immense
political significance it once had. The same also might be said of
Black-inspiredmusical forms such as jazz, reggae, and rap. The
culmination of these observations suggests that the ubiquitous
commodificationof social life may be thwartingthe willingness of
African Americans to acknowledge and resist Eurocentric
domination.

THE MUTATION OF MEDIA IMAGES

The mutationof mediacontentto include morepositive African

American images that underminetraditionalstereotypes may be
the most importantfactorthathas placed greaternumbersof Afri-
can Americans at riskof acquiescingto Eurocentricdomination.A
fundamentalfunction of the media, some suggest, is to obscure
social, racial, gender, and social class antagonismsso that social
harmonyandcontrolcan be maintained(Adorno, 1957; Bourdieu,
1996; Horkheimer& Adorno, 1944/1994; Kellner, 1990). If the
media are viewed increasinglyas a means to preservesocial order,
therebyprotectingthe interestsof the rulinggroup,thenthe change
in AfricanAmericanmediaimages can be interpretedas an avenue
throughwhich the hostilities and antagonismsthatAfricanAmeri-
cans may harboraboutAmericacan be obfuscatedandsquandered.
This strategyof using the media,particularlythe visual media, can
be extremelyeffective becausemorethanhalf (57%)of Americans
watch 3 or more hours of television daily (Gillespie, 2000).
Because AfricanAmericanstend to watch more television thando
EuropeanAmericans(see Bush, Smith,& Martin,1999;Robinson,
Landry,& Rooks, 1998), it may be concludedthatAfricanAmeri-
cans are at greaterrisk of internalizingand validatingculturalval-
ues and perspectivesof the EuropeanAmericanmass media elite.
452 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

The changing images of African Americansin the media have

been manifestedthroughfour occurrences:(a) the increasednum-
bers of television shows that featureAfrican American actors in
majorroles; (b) the proliferationof television programsthatdepict
AfricanAmericansas havingmiddle-to upper-classeconomic sta-
tus;(c) the trendof integratingwhatareperceivedas AfricanAmer-
ican culturallanguageandgreetingstyles andmusic into television
programming;and(d) the increasingprojectionof harmoniousand
intimateinterracialrelations.All four trendscan be interpretedas
subtleways in which Eurocentricdominationhas mutatedto influ-
ence greaternumbersof African Americansto accept and defend
its tenets.

THE IMAGE OF MORE BLACK ACTORS

In the past, television and motion picture actors were almost

exclusively White (MacDonald,1983). Television situationcome-
dies (sitcoms) of the 1950s and 1960s such as "I Love Lucy" and
"Leaveit to Beaver"featuredWhite casts only, with the possible
exception of special Black guests of whom White Hollywood
approved,such as Sammy Davis, Jr.Likewise, majormotion pic-
turesrarelyincludedAfricanAmericanactors,and when they did,
theirroles includedmaidsandservantswho contributedmarginally
at best to the thrustof the movie (MacDonald,1983). In those days,
it appearedto be clearthatHollywood andthe entiremediaindustry
soughtto exclude AfricanAmericans,presentthem in unfavorable
roles, and suppressissues relatedto racial injustice.
In the late 1960s andearly 1970s, this "blackout"of the motion
picturescreen andtelevision beganto change (MacDonald,1983).
Owing to the political protestsand social critiqueof the civil rights
and Black power movements of the 1960s, African American
actorsbeganto make new inroadsinto the motion pictureandtele-
vision industries(MacDonald, 1983). New television shows such
as "Julia,""SanfordandSon,""TheFlip Wilson Show,"and"Good
Times" providednew opportunitiesfor African American actors,
providedAfricanAmericanaudienceswith greateropportunitiesto
visually identify with television characters, and offered White
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 453

audiences a chance not only to experience the talents of African

Americanactorsbut also to acquirea glimpse into aspects of Afri-
can Americanlife. In addition,duringthis same period,the motion
picture industry released a slue of films that premiered mostly
Black casts that,becauseof theirfocus on Black criminalandstreet
characters and lifestyles, were dubbed "Black exploitation
(blaxploitation)films" (Baxter, 1995; MacDonald, 1983). These
films, such as "Superfly"and"Shaft,"not only helpedBlack actors
secure work but also enhancedthe exposure of African American
songwritersandmusicians,such as CurtisMayfield,who produced
movie soundtracks.
Althoughthe 1970s trendof promotingmoreAfricanAmerican
actorsandtelevision shows with an all or mostly Black cast was an
improvement,many African Americans and other media pundits
critiquedthe shows for not depictinga more diverseanddifferenti-
ated range of African American characters(MacDonald, 1983).
However,for many AfricanAmericans,this new media trendwas
interpretedas a politicalvictoryand,for some, was viewed as a pre-
cursorand facilitatorof betterandmore harmoniousrace relations
(MacDonald,1983). But maybe more importantthanthat,African
Americansfor the first time were betterable to form an emotional
and psychological nexus with the world of television and motion
pictures.Seeing people who resembledthem on television and on
the screencould have eased some of theirdaily frustrationsrelated
to racism and could have plantedthe seed for a more benign, or at
least less critical,outlookon the Americansocial structure.Indeed,
if one political function of the media is to divert attentionaway
from the frustrationsof the daily workplaceand family problems,
the inclusion of more AfricanAmericanactorsandprogramswith
primaryBlack casts can be construedas a political ploy to reduce
and diffuse African American discontent against the system of
White supremacy.

THE AFFLUENT DEPICTION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS

Although the media breakthroughsfor African Americansdur-

ing the late 1960s anddecadeof the 1970s were significant,African
454 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

Americanswere still depictedas primarilylower class in theireco-

nomic status (MacDonald, 1983). With the possible exception of
the television program"TheJeffersons,"most of the 1970s sitcoms
aboutAfricanAmericanlife portrayedAfricanAmericansas poor
urbandwellers who lacked formaleducationandtraining.In 1984,
thistrendchangedas a new sitcom, "TheCosby Show,"wouldchal-
lenge and attemptto undermineall of the traditionalstereotypes
aboutAfrican Americansocial and economic life.
In their book, "EnlightenedRacism: The Cosby Show, Audi-
ences, and the Myth of the American Dream,"Jhally and Lewis
(1992) providean analysisof a surveythey conductedto determine
the impact of "The Cosby Show" on Black and White audiences.
The authorscontendthatalthoughthe show shouldbe laudedfor its
divergent portrayalof an African American family, they found
some disturbingeffects of the show on both AfricanandEuropean
Americans.Many EuropeanAmericansthey interviewedfelt that
the show was an indicatorof the socioeconomic and educational
advancements African Americans had made since the 1960s.
Because the show's fictional family, the Huxtables, included a
father played by renowned African American comedian, Bill
Cosby, who was a gynecologist, and a mother played by Felicia
Rashad,who was an attorney,many Whites surveyedfelt that the
show confirmed the notion that the American dream could be
attainedby anyone, regardlessof race. This perspectivealso had
implicationsfor the views many Whites had about social policies
such as affirmativeaction.ManyWhites surveyedreportedthatthe
Huxtables symbolized a new, more equalitarianAmerican era in
which policies like affirmativeactionwere increasinglyirrelevant.
Because "The Cosby Show" received wide acclaim from White
audiences,it can be concludedthattheirviews on African Ameri-
can family life were shaped significantlyby the show.
The responses from EuropeanAmericans with regard to the
attainmentof the Americandreamwere also echoed by manyof the
AfricanAmericansin the JhallyandLewis (1992) study.In the sur-
vey, many African American respondents believed that the
Huxtableswere not exceptionalin real life but were typical. Mid-
dle- andupper-classAfricanAmericanrespondentsespecially held
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 455

this belief, and Jhally and Lewis view this belief as a substantive
point of concern.Whereasthey acknowledgethattherehas been a
growing number of middle- and upper-class African American
families overthe pasttwo to threedecades,they arguethatthe ubiq-
uity of these families denies the currentsocioeconomic realitiesof
most African Americanfamilies and reinforcesthe value of open
meritocracyand,by extension,a disavowalof racismandclassism.
The subsequentcomment from an African Americanrespondent
typifies this sentiment(Jhally & Lewis, 1992):

I [get] so tired of hearing "the white man got us down" see, I

don't believe that.I thinkblacks are theirown worst enemies. And
other minoritiescome to this countryand they make it ... I think
blacks havejust as much opportunityas the whites. (p. 128)

Although Jhally and Lewis indicate that some of this sentiment

reflects African Americans'discontentwith the media for stereo-
typing AfricanAmericansas poor,uneducatedurbandwellers and
criminals,they also statethatit is deleteriousbecausethe belief val-
idates and encourages the "blame the Black victim" mentality
among African Americans, providing greater legitimacy to the
pontificationsof African American political conservatives.With
the increasein television programssuch as "TheJamieFox Show,"
"Moesha,"and"TheParenthood"thatdepictAfricanAmericansas
economically secure and emancipatedfrom the hardshipsof insti-
tutionalracism,moreAfricanAmericansmay concludethatAmer-
ica is finally free of Eurocentricdominationand bias.

INTEGRATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN GESTURES,

LANGUAGE STYLES, AND MUSIC

A third mannerin which African American television images

have changed and have placed AfricanAmericansat greaterjeop-
ardy of capitulatingto Eurocentricdominationis the increasing
integrationof African Americanculturalattributesinto television
programming,particularlygreeting gestures,language styles, and
music. In the past,becausedominationby terrorwas the prominent
means of oppressingAfricanAmericans,one rarelysaw the posi-
456 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

tive integrationof AfricanAmericanculturalcharacteristics.What

usually occurred was the vilification of attributesthought to be
exclusively associated with African American culture, such as
indolence and submissiveness(MacDonald, 1983). Perhapswhat
the media were really doing was projectingpejorativepersonality
attributesonto AfricanAmericans,a trendreinforcedby social sci-
ence writers of that time (see Gould, 1981; Guthrie, 1998; A.
Thomas & Sillen, 1972). With dominationby seduction increas-
ingly supplantingdominationby terror,exclusive media associa-
tion of undesirablepersonalityattributesto AfricanAmericanswas
neededless. Instead,andconsistentwith controlby seduction,new
mediatacticsthatseek to (a) superficiallylegitimize some formsof
what are perceived as African American greeting and language
styles and (b) renderthose gestures and styles universalthrough
their greater integration in the media are being applied. Some
examples of these greetingand language styles are (a) the integra-
tion of "highfive" and older 1960s Black power-typehandshakes;
(b) the infusion of terms such as "cool," "what's happnin,"or
"what'sup"; and (c) the synthesis of ebonic-like phrases such as
"youknowwhatI'm sayin, "youda man,' and"havea good one."
Coupled with the infusion and greatervalidationof these per-
ceived AfricanAmericanculturalgreetingsandlanguagemotifs is
the moreexpansiveuse of rapmusic in not only televisionprogram-
ming but also, andperhapsmore significant,in television commer-
cial and backgroundjingles. Large, multibilliondollarcompanies
such as Coca Cola, The Gap, and McDonald's have increasingly
integratedrap musical themes to markettheir products.Although
the motivationto marketto AfricanAmericansmay be the primary
reason why rap is used in these commercials,the motive to politi-
cally controlby seductionalso shouldnot be denied. Severalwrit-
ers have demonstratedthatmusic, particularlyrhythmicmusic, is a
critical aspect of African American culture and that music has
deeper epistemological and ontological meaning for African
Americansas comparedto EuropeanAmericans(see Akbar,1976;
Asante, 1998;Kambon,1998;Nobles, 1980). If this is so, andif one
of the goals of the dominantgroupis to systematicallyexaminethe
culturalethos of the oppressedso as to develop more effective and
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 457

efficient methodsof control,the greaterintegrationof music ema-

natingfromAfricanAmericansinto media soundtracksmight help
AfricanAmericansengendera more favorableattitudetowardthe
Americansocial system.

THE PROJECTION OF HARMONIOUS AND

INTIMATE INTERRACIAL RELATIONS

A final way that the television medium may have placed more
African Americansat risk of being less conscious of Eurocentric
domination is the expansion of images that project harmonious
interracialrelations at the workplaceand in the intimateenviron-
mentsof the family andsocial gatherings.Unlike the 1940s, 1950s,
and 1960s in which African Americans were rarely found in the
media, and contraryto the themes of social unrestand racial dis-
criminationof manymovies andtelevision shows of the 1960s and
1970s, Black andWhite relationsin the visual media today appear
to be amiable, sanguine,and pleasant.On many television shows
today, Blacks and Whites are shown as frequentlyinteractingat
work andin intimatesocial settings such as homes, bars, and other
recreationalplaces. Not only do these images deny the realities of
Black/Whitesocial interactions,generally,but they rarelyinterject
themes of racial conflict, racial injustice, and socioculturalawk-
wardness that characterize interracial relations in America
(Hacker,1992; Marger,2000; Steinhorn& Diggs-Brown, 2000).
As with the overwhelmingcharacterizationof African Ameri-
cans as economically secure,the portrayalof harmoniousracerela-
tions is grossly disparatefromwhatsocial scientistswho studyrace
relations in America report.For example, Hacker (1992) asserts
thatas a social andhumandivision, race surpassesall otherhuman
attributesin Americain degree and intensity.Furthermore,a Joint
Centerfor Political and Economic Studies (1997) nationalsurvey
of more than 1,700 adults revealed that only 10.4% of Blacks,
17.9%of Hispanics, and 19.0%of Whites reportedthatrace rela-
tions in Americawere excellent or good. In the same survey,43.9%
of Blacks, 42.9% of Hispanics,and28.1 %of Whites depictedrace
relationsin America as poor.
458 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ MARCH 2002

Perhapsthe powerelite in the mediarecognizes this disparityas

a significant impediment to the further resignation of African
Americansto Eurocentricdomination.By projectingall European
Americansas pleasantin theirpersonaldemeanortowardAfrican
Americansand spendinglittle time on infusing themes of institu-
tional racism into television programming,the media elite may
succeedin reducingthe meaningof racismto individualacts of vio-
lence andin nurturingthe notion thatsocial civility is synonymous
with political support.This notion may be especially perniciousto
African American youths. Because they have not experienced
dominationby terroras havemanyof theirparents,andparticularly
theirgrandparentsandgreatgrandparents,these new mediaimages
may cause manyyoung AfricanAmericansto abandonthe tradition
of resistance and struggle, even if they contradicttheir interper-
sonal experiences.

CONCLUSION

Eurocentricdominationhas created myriad social, economic,

and psychological stressors for African Americans. In its more
repressiveform,manyAfricanAmericanshadno doubtthatAmer-
ica was exclusively aboutthe business of advancingthe collective
interests of EuropeanAmericans. With the mutation away from
oppression by terror toward oppression by seduction, African
Americansareat a greaterriskthaneverbefore of internalizingand
defendingthe values andpracticesundergirdingEurocentricdomi-
nation.This new formof seductiveoppression,whichhasbeen ush-
eredin by the diminutionof publicpronouncementsof Whiteintel-
lectual superiority,the proliferationof AfricanAmericanpolitical
conservatives, the increase in African American socioeconomic
status, the rise of consumerism,and the transformationof media
images, increasesthe probabilityof more AfricanAmericansfeel-
ing optimistic about their status in America and believing that
racial oppressionis declining. The developmentand preservation
of an AfricanAmericancriticalconsciousness,essentialin promot-
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 459

ing resistance against Eurocentricdomination,appearsto be fur-

therfrom fruition.
With the advancementof computerand other telecommunica-
tion technologies, African Americans will have a more arduous
time of identifying, unearthing, and interpretingpractices that
cloak Eurocentricdomination.Resisting the lure of personalplea-
suresprovidedby greatertechnologicalcomfortperhapswill be the
greatestchallengefaced by AfricanAmericansin this new century.
The greaterefficiency and innovationthroughwhich these gratifi-
cations are achievedmay be the final strawthatbreaksthe back of
the strugglenot only againstEurocentricdominationbutagainstall
forms of humanoppressionand injustice.

NOTE

1. Bauman(1992, p.51) cites PierreBourdieu,the Frenchsociologist, as suggestingthat

seduction has supplantedrepressionas the major instrumentof social control and social
integration.

REFERENCES

Adair,A. V. (1984). Desegregation:TheillusionofBlackprogress.Lanham,MD:University

Press of America.
Adorno,T. W. (1957). Television andthe patternsof mass culture.In B. Rosenberg& D. M.
White (Ed.), Mass culture:Thepopular arts in America(pp.474-488). Glencoe, IL:The
Free Press.
Akbar,N. (1976). Rhythmicpatternsin African personality.In L. King, V. Dixon, & W.
Nobles (Ed.), Africanphilosophy: Assumptionsand paradigmsfor researchon Black
people (pp. 175-189). Los Angeles: FanonCenterPublications.
Akbar,N. (1984). Africentricsocial sciences for humanliberation.Journalof BlackStudies,
14(4), 395-414.
Akbar,N. (1996). Breakingthe chains ofpsychological slavery.Tallahassee,FL:Mind Pro-
ductions & Associates.
Akbar,N. (1998). Know thy self. Tallahassee,FL: Mind Productions& Associates.
Ani, M. (1994). Yurugu:An African-centeredcritique of Europeancultural thought and
behavior.Trenton,NJ: Africa WorldPress.
Asante, M. K. (1988). Afrocentricity.Trenton,NJ: Africa WorldPress.
460 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH2002

Asante, M. K. (1998). The Afrocentricidea (Rev. ed.). Philadelphia:Temple University

Press.
Asante, M. K. (1999). Thepainful demise of Eurocentrism:AnAfrocentricresponseto crit-
ics. Trenton,NJ: Africa WorldPress.
Baldwin,J. (1980). The psychology of oppression.In M. K. Asante& A. Vandi(Eds.), Con-
temporaryBlack thought:Alternativeanalyses in social and behavioral science (pp.
95-110). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Baldwin,J. (1985). Psychologicalaspectsof Europeancosmology in Americansociety. The
WesternJournal of Black Studies, 9(4), 216-223.
Bauman.Z. (1992). Intimationsof postmodernity.New York:Routledge.
Baxter,N. (1995). Sweet's backagain: In the early '70s, blaxploitationupendedHollywood
stereotypesRetrievedfrom: www.metroactive.com/papers/metro//1 1.09.95/blax-9545.
html
Bell, D. (1992). Faces at the bottomof the well: Thepermanenceof racism.New York:Basic
Books.
Blauner,R. (1972). Racial oppressionin America. New York:Harper& Row.
Bobo, L., Kluegel,J. R., & Smith,R. A. (1997). Laissez-faireracism:The crystallizationof a
kinder,gentler,antiblackideology. In S. A. Tuch& J, K. Martin(Ed.),Racial attitudesin
the 1990s: Continuityand change (pp. 15-41). Westport,CT: Praeger.
Bourdieu,P. (1990). The logic of practice (RichardNice, Trans.).Stanford,CA: Stanford
UniversityPress.
Bourdieu,P.(1996). Ontelevision(PriscillaFerguson,Trans.).New York:The New Press.
Bush, A. J., Smith, R., & Martin,C. (1999). The influence of consumersocializationvari-
ables on attitudetowardadvertising:A comparisonof African-Americansand Cauca-
sians. Journalof Advertising,28(3), 13-24.
Carmichael,S., & Hamilton,C. V. (1967). Blackpower: Thepolitics of liberationin Amer-
ica. New York:Vintage Books.
Clarke,J. H. (1991). Africansat the crossroads:Notesforan Africanworldrevolution.Tren-
ton, NJ: Africa WorldPress.
Collins, P. H. (1998). Fightingwords:Black womenand the searchforjustice. Minneapolis:
Universityof MinnesotaPress.
Connerly,W. (2000). Creating equal: Myfight against race preferences. San Francisco:
EncounterBooks.
Davis, A. (1994). Afro images: Politics, fashion, and nostalgia. Critical Inquiry,21(1),
37-45.
Dent, D. J. (I1992,June 14).The new Black suburbs.New YorkTimesMagazine,pp.618-621.
Dove, N. (1995). An African-centeredcritique of Marx's logic. The WesternJournal of
Black Studies, 19(4), 260-27 1.
Dunn,R. G. (1998). Identitycrises: A social critiqueofpostmodernity.Minneapolis:Univer-
sity of MinnesotaPress.
Faryna,S., Stetson,B., & Conti, J. G. (Eds.). (1997). Blackand right: Thebold new voice of
Black conservativesin America.Wesport,CT: Praeger.
Franklin, D. (1997). Ensuring inequality: The structural transformationof the African
Americanfamily. New York:OxfordUniversityPress.
Franks,G. (1996). Searchingforthepromisedland:AnAfricanAmerican'soptimisticodys-
sey. New York:HarperCollins.
Gillespie, M. (2000). Trends show bathing and exercise up, TV watching down. Gallup
News Service. Availablefrom www.gallup.com
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 461

Graham,M. (2001). Social workandAfrican-centredworldviews.London:VenturesPress.

Gould, S. J. (1981). The mismeasureof man. New York:W.W.Norton & Company.
Guthrie,R. V. (1998). Even the rat was White:A historical view of psychology (2nd ed.).
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Hacker,A. (1992). Twonations: Black and White,separate, hostile, unequal. New York:
CharlesScribner'sSons.
Harvey,D. (1989). The conditionof postmodernity:An enquiryinto the origins of cultural
change. Oxford,UK: Basil Blackwell.
Henderson, E. A. (1995). Afrocentrismand world politics: Towardsa new paradigm.
Westport,CT: Praeger.
Herrnstein,R. J., & Murray,C. (1994). The bell curve: Intelligence and class structurein
Americanlife. New York:The Free Press.
Horkheimer,M., & Adorno, M. (1994). Dialectic of enlightenment(J. Cumming,Trans.).
New York:Continuum.(Originalwork published 1944)
Hughes,M. (1997). Symbolic racism,old fashionedracism,andWhites'oppositionto affir-
mativeaction. In S. A. Tuch& J. K. Martin(Eds.), Racial attitudesin the 1990s: Conti-
nuity and change. Westport,CT: Praeger.
Jargowsky,P. A. (1996). Takethe money andrun:Economic segregationin U.S. metropoli-
tan areas.AmericanSociological Review,61(6), 984-998.
Jhally,S., & Lewis, J. (1992). Enlightenedracism:TheCosbyShow,audiences,and the myth
of the Americandream.Boulder,CO: Westview.
JointCenterfor Political and Economic Studies. (1997). National opinionpoll-Race rela-
tions. Washington,DC: JointCenterfor Political and Economic Studies.
Kambon,K. K. (1998). African/Blackpsychology in theAmericancontext:An African-cen-
teredapproach.Tallahassee,FL: NubianNation Publications.
Karenga,M. (1986). Social ethics and the Black family: An alternativeanalysis. TheBlack
Scholar,17(5), 41-54.
Karenga,M. (1993). Introductionto Blackstudies(2nd ed.). Los Angeles: The Universityof
SankorePress.
Kellner,D. (1990). Televisionand the crisis of democracy.Boulder,CO: Westview.
Kinder,D. R., & Sears,D. 0. (1981). Prejudiceandpolitics: Symbolic racismversusracial
threatsto the good life. Journalof Personalityand Social Psychology,40(3), 414-43 1.
Leonard,P. (1995). Postmodernism,socialism, and social welfare. Journal of Progressive
HumanServices, 6(2), 3-19.
Lewis, 0. (1969). The cultureof poverty.In D. P. Moynihan(Ed.), On understandingpov-
erty: Perspectivesfrom the social sciences (pp. 187-200). New York:Basic Books.
MacDonald, J. F. (1983). Blacks and WhiteTV.Afro-Americansin television since 1948.
Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
Marable,M. (1995). Beyond Black and White: TransformingAfrican-Americanpolitics.
New York:Verso.
Marable,M. (1996). Speakingtruthto power: Essays on race, resistance,and radicalism.
Boulder,CO: Westview.
Marcuse,H. (1964). One-dimensionalman: Studies in the ideology of advanced industrial
society. Boston: Beacon.
Marger,M. N. (2000). Race and ethnic relations:American and global perspectives (5th
ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
McCall, N. (1997). What'sgoing on: Personal essays. New York:RandomHouse.
462 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 2002

McConahay,J. B., & Hough,J. C. (1976). Symbolic racism.Journalof Social Issues, 32(2),
23-45.
McKinnon,J., & Humes,K. (2000). TheBlackpopulationin the UnitedStates,March1999.
Washington,DC: GovernmentPrintingOffice.
Murray,C. (1984). Losing ground:Americansocial policy, 1950-1980. New York:Basic
Books.
Nobles, W. W. (1980). Africanphilosophy:Foundationsfor Black psychology. In R. Jones
(Ed.), Blackpsychology (3rd ed., pp. 23-35). New York:Harper& Row.
O'Hare,W. P.,& Frey,W. H. (1992). Booming, suburban,andBlack.AmericanDemograph-
ics, 14(9), 30-35.
Oliver,W. (1989). Black males and social problems:PreventionthroughAfrocentricsocial-
ization. Journal of Black Studies,20(1), 15-39.
Parker,S. (1997). Pimps, whores, and welfare brats. New York:Pocket Books.
Pattillo-McCoy,M. (2000). The limits of out-migrationfor the Black middle class. Journal
of UrbanAffairs,22(3), 225-241.
Piven, F. F., & Cloward,R. A. (1971). Regulatingthepoor: Thefunctionsof public welfare.
New York:RandomHouse.
Quadagno,J. (1994). Thecolorof welfare:How racismunderminedthe waron poverty.New
York:OxfordUniversityPress.
Rashad, A. (1991). Aspects of Euro-centric thought: Racism, sexism, and imperialism.
Hampton,VA: United Brothersand Sisters CommunicationsSystems.
Reed, A., Jr.(1999). Stirringsin thejug: Blackpolitics in thepost-segregationera. Minneap-
olis: Universityof MinnesotaPress.
Robinson, J., Landry,B., & Rooks, K. (1998, June). Time and the melting pot. American
Demographics,20, 18-24.
Rothenberg,P. (1990). The construction,deconstruction,and reconstructionof difference.
Hypatia, 5(1), 42-57.
Schiele, J. H. (1998). Culturalalignment,AfricanAmericanmale youths,andviolent crime.
Journal of HumanBehavior in the Social Environment,1(2/3), 165-181.
Schiele, J. H. (2000). Humanservices and theAfrocentricparadigm.Binghamton,NY: The
HaworthPress.
Sears, D. O., VannLaar,C., Carrillo,M., & Kosterman,R. (1997). Is it really racism?The
origins of White Americans'oppositionto race-targetedpolicies. Public OpinionQuar-
terly,61(1), 16-53.
Sheridan,E. (1996). The new accommodationists.Journalof BlackStudies,27(2),152-17 1.
Shujaa, M. (Ed.). (1994). Too much schooling, too little education. Lawrenceville, NJ:
Africa WorldPress.
Simpson, A. Y. (1998). The tie that binds: Identityand political attitudesin the post-civil
rights generation.New York:New YorkUniversityPress.
Staples,R. (1991). Black male genocide:A final solutionto the raceproblemin America.In
B. P.Bowser (Ed.),Blackmale adolescents:Parentingand educationin communitycon-
text (pp. 39-57). Lanham,MD: UniversityPress of America.
Steele, S. (1990). Thecontentof our character:A vision of race and reasonin America.New
York:St. Martin'sPress.
Steinhorn,L., & Diggs-Brown,B. (2000). By the colorof our skin: Theillusionof integration
and the realityof race. New York:Dutton.
Stewart,R. (1995). Afrocentricstrategiesand their promisefor solving problemsaffecting
African American males in urbanareas. In Koritz et al. (Eds.), Crossing boundaries:
 Schiele / MUTATIONSOF EUROCENTRICDOMINATION 463

Collaborativesolutions to urbanproblems (pp. 239-252). Buffalo: State Universityof

New YorkCollege at Buffalo Press.
Teitz, M. B., & Chapple,K. (1998). The causes of inner-citypoverty:Eight hypotheses in
searchof reality.Cityscape:A JournalofPolicy Development&Research,3(3), 33-70.
Tharps,L. L., & Byrd,A. D. (2001). Hair story: Untanglingthe rootsof Black hair inAmer-
ica. New York:St. Martin'sPress.
Thomas, A., & Sillen, D. (1972). Racism and psychiatry.Secaucus, NY: Citadel Press.
Thomas, C. (1997). No room at the inn: The loneliness of the Black conservative.In S.
Faryna,B. Stetson, & J. G. Conti (Eds.), Black and right: The bold new voice of Black
conservativesin America (pp. 3-14). Westport,CT: Praeger.
Turner, J. H., Singleton, R., & Musick, D. (1984). Oppression: A socio-history of
Black-Whiterelations in America. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
United States Bureauof the Census. (2000). Statisticalabstractof the UnitedStates: 1999.
Washington,DC: GovernmentPrintingOffice.
UnitedStatesBureauof the Census. (2001). Surveyof minority-ownedbusinessenterprises,
1997. Washington,DC: GovernmentPrintingOffice.
Watson,E. (1998). Guess what came to Americanpolitics?-Contemporary Black conser-
vatism.Journal of Black Studies,29(1), 73-92.
Welsing,F.C. (1991). TheIsispapers: Thekeysto the colors. Chicago:ThirdWorldPress.
West, C. (1991, Spring).Towarda socialist theoryof racism. DemocraticLeft, pp. 1-5.
Wilson, A. N. (1990). Black-on-Blackviolence: ThepsychodynamicsofBlack self-annihila-
tion in the service of Whitedomination.New York:AfrikanWorldInfosystems.
Wilson, A. N. (1993). Thefalsification of Afrikanconsciousness: Eurocentrichistory,psy-
chiatryand the politics of Whitesupremacy.New York:AfrikanWorldInfosystems.
Wilson, W. J. (1996). Whenworkdisappears: Theworld of the new urbanpoor. New York:
Knopf.
Wright,B. E. (1984). Thepsychopathicracial personality.Chicago:ThirdWorldPress.

JeromeH. Schiele is an associate professor at the WhitneyM. Young,Jr School of

Social Workat ClarkAtlanta Universityin Atlanta, Georgia. His scholarly work
focuses on culture,race, and gender studies, with special emphasison culturaland
racial oppression. He also is the author of the book Human Services and the
AfrocentricParadigm.