Kemetic Principles in African American Public Address: An Interrogation of the Rhetoric of Joseph C. Price and the Kemetic Tradition

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to promote the utilization of Kemetic principles in approaching African American public address. Although there have been recent studies on African American public address, the employment of the Kemetic philosophy is limited. Using the four overarching ethical principles of Kemetic rhetorical tradition as outlined by Karenga, this essay interrogates Joseph C. Price’s 1890 speech at the National Education Association national convention. A Kemetic analysis of Price’s speech reveals that African American public address endorses the dignity and rights of the human person, the well-being of family and community, the integrity and value of the environment, and the reciprocal solidarity and cooperation for the mutual benefit of humanity. This suggests that a Kemetic understanding of African American public address can (a) civically benefit the broader community because of its ethical foundation, (b) facilitate the recognition of contemporary ethical appeals in any given discourse, and (c) serve as an impetus for collective advancement toward a social justice–oriented world.

Hussle and Motivate: An Afrocentric Understanding of Constitutive Rhetoric Toward Economic Empowerment in Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap Album

“…For Afrocentric scholars, identity is rooted mainly in culture and commonality among an ethnic group (Asante, 1998;McDougal, 2020). From the Afrocentric view, Africans across the diaspora share a common bond regarding their cultural history, sensibilities, beliefs, and spirituality, among other areas (Asante, 1998;Karenga, 2003;Mazama, 2002;Smith, 2020). However, because of colonization, racism, and systemic oppression, Afrocentric scholars contend that many Africans across the diaspora have been culturally, psychologically, and intellectually dislocated (Archie, 2009;Asante, 1998Asante, , 2002Mazama, 2001).…”

“…The Afrocentric idea must not be reduced to (individual) familial dimensions as that would be antithetical to the collectivist objective of Asante and other Afrocentric scholars. Afrocentric scholarship rests on philosophical assumptions that a cultural continuity exists among Africans across the diaspora and must be recovered to achieve true freedom and liberation (Ladson-Billings, 1992; Mazama, 2002; Smith, 2020). Although Master P and Jay-Z are not family members of Nipsey’s listeners, their cultural practices in economics and financial literacy are still prescriptive.…”