INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN RHETORICAL THEORY

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont

Investigating concepts from Karenga, Alkebulan and Garner

Western rhetoric has been recently dominated by:

Consumerist approach to rhetoric pressed into the service of

vulgar persuasion, advertisement, seduction and sales.

It has abandoned the classical Aristotelian rhetoric of

deliberation and action in the interest of the polis, but has

also ignored and denied contributions from other cultural

traditions.

In this African conception of rhetoric it is a practice of communal

deliberation, discourse and action oriented towards what is good

for the community and for the world. This essence of community

is both expressed in the goal of the rhetoric but also in the

practice of the rhetoric. It is designed to help bring good into the

world.

The Odu Ifa of Yoruba land claims: “Humans are divinely chosen

to bring good into the world,” that is their mission and

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communication is the way that they do that. They are uniquely

situated among living creatures to do this.

This is not to replace but to contrast and add to classical European

and Greek approaches to rhetoric. Often this African enterprise

uses Kawaida philosophy, the consolidation of enduring African

theory and practice in rhetoric.

Kawaida philosophy invites us to ask what Africa has to offer to

the understanding of human communication in the interest of

benefiting all humanity.

We should engage in ancient and modern traditions, written

and practiced, oral and other forms.

It has traditionally been concerned with building

community, affirming human dignity and enhancing the life

of the people.

More recently, it has been a rhetoric that concerns itself

with struggles for liberation in the political, economic and

cultural senses as well as a rhetoric of resistance.

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It is not just about “tradition” in the way we usually mean it, but

also in terms of Location, the continual reference to context and

centeredness. It is about history as well as tradition.

African rhetorical theory emphasizes communal discourse,

deliberation and action.

It is a rhetoric of resistance, formed in the crucible of

struggle.

It is not just about African people, but also about all of

humanity.

It is the rhetoric of reaffirmation, for African peoples as well

as all of those who are not considered fully human.

It is also a rhetoric of possibility, about what we can do that

is new as well as what is traditional.

NOMMO

The historical cultural triumphs of ancient Egypt (Kemet) stands as

one of the main modal periods for Africa. It was the first and one

of the most developed societies in the world. It has been clouded

over by European jealousy and attempts at outright theft.

It was African, not European.

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It was not a huge slave society, free people who volunteered

their work built the pyramids. Europeans needed it to be

“slave” because of what they had done with slavery.

It was the basis for much of so-called “western” civilization.

The great works of law, medicine, and rhetoric began there,

not in Greece thousands of years later. Hippocrates admits

in his text that he is a servant to the great Kemetic healer

Imhotep. We shall see more about this in BLACK ATHENA.

While the historic tragedy that was slavery and its results tried to

erase these traditions, it could not be erased. African rhetorical

traditions reappeared during the resistance of the 19th and 20th

centuries, and especially in the rhetoric of the 1960’s, both “civil

disobedience” and “by any means necessary.”

Nommo is the creative power of the word. While conceptually

rooted in the rhetorical teachings of classical Kemet, the word

itself comes from the traditions of the Dogon people of central

Africa.

The creator spirit sends Nommo to the world in the form of

speech to assist humans in the forward movement of history

and the reorganization of the world.

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It is through the word that we develop weaving, forging,

cultivating, building family and community and making the

world better, bringing good into the world.

Nommo is the unity of water, earth and fire, and the unity

between male and female.

It was not until the 20th century that western rhetorical theory

began to fully understand the generative power of symbols, that

they create a reality, that they shape our experience, as opposed

to the more traditional view that they are just tools that we use to

“get our way.” The rhetorical basis of Nommo puts African

rhetorical theory ahead of Greece, Rome and Renaissance Europe

in this way.

As Karenga puts it (p.8):

It is this sacred, indispensible, and creative character of the

word, as an inherent and instrumental power to call into

being, to mold, to bear infinite meanings, and to forge a

world we all want and deserve to live in, that seizes the

hearts and minds of the African American creative

community and becomes a fundamental framework for

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developing, doing, and understanding rhetorical practice –

both its oral and literary forms.

ASANTE

African American rhetorical scholar Molefi Kete Asante is largely

responsible for this rebirth of traditional African rhetorical

theories. His major early themes included:

Africans brought a sophisticated oral style to the western

hemisphere

Africans brought with them a different rhetoric, not just a

concern with influence and ends

African American rhetorical tradition retained and further

developed the concept of nommo, African Americans

understand the transforming power of vocal expression.

Because African Americans were denied reading and writing

they learned to rely on the spoken word.

The enslavement experience stands astride all discourse like

colossus, whereas the discourse might be about

discrimination or voting rights, but the slave experience is at

its basis.

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ANCIENT KEMET (EGYPT)

Kemetic rhetorical studies pre-date similar Greek activities. The

Book of Ptahhotep offers guidelines and principles for good

speech. For Kemetics, eloquence and good speech is a unity not

just of techniques that are successful but also that lead to what is

good for the community. The three standard Greek modes (logos,

ethos, pathos) are brought together, so that if techniques are

successful but lead to bad for the community, then it is not real

eloquence.

Speech is conceived as an ethical activity, because it is a

tremendous power that can be used for good or evil. For them, a

“good” speech is not just effective, but is also ethically and

morally good.

Maat is the Kemetic standard for what is “morally good.” In

application to speech, Maat means that it is truthful speech.

Truthful speech creates its own ethos and is in and of itself

persuasive. This stands in contract to the artifice and

dissimulation that is so important in modern western rhetoric that

has been put to the service of seduction and sales.

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The Book of Ptahhotep is also the major source for the

understanding of Maat as an overall moral concept.

The central focus of the book is a narrative about the calls

petitions for justice from a normal peasant named

Khaunanup.

He makes a number of appeals to figures in power and these

demonstrate the speech that is both “moral” and

“effective.” The point here is that rhetorical eloquence is

not necessarily that used by leaders and important people,

but by all people – peasants, servants (and men and women)

can be rhetorically eloquent, and are expected to be so.

It is no surprise that the model orator in this Kemetic text is

a farmer.

Humanity is seen as a spiritual force. In African rhetoric and

African American rhetoric there is no line of demarcation between

the spiritual and the secular. The speaker calls all of us to go to a

higher place and improve ourselves not just as physical but as

spiritual beings. Communication is the way that moral and

spiritual ideas are transmitted.

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If the greatest spiritual law is the law of love, then great

communication events are examples of this. Asante has said that

there are no speeches by hatemongers that have gone down in

history as great speeches. There will never be any, because the

overwhelming judgment of history is a moral one and the speaker

who imperils the forward march of human dignity will not live in

the minds of the future. It is the champion of righteousness who is

the true victor in rhetoric.

The African culture tends to be a very oral one, and thus rhetoric

is paramount in its importance for the human spirit, for the

benefit of human conditions and in the achievement of personal

and social harmony.

African and African American rhetoric does not compartmentalize

rhetoric, poetry, literature, prose and drama. All these forms are

interwoven into a discourse designed to achieve important goals

and ends.

ARISTOTLE RECONSIDERED

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Aristotle might be a bit unfamiliar with modern rhetoric. He was

clear that rhetoric had to have an ethical dimension, that truthful

arguments were always stronger, and that rhetoric needs to serve

the ethical dimensions of politics.

Today we see the dominance of technique in discourse, of the use

of rhetoric to control, manipulate in a way that can be mapped

out in advance. The fault may not lie with the extended vision of

Aristotle, but with the basic definition of rhetoric, “the faculty for

observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.”

This focus on persuasion through any available means has

become the central tenet of current rhetorical practice.

Kemetic texts called “sebyt” are instruction manuals for how

officials and others in important positions should conduct

themselves, but it also contains advice on how communication

should take place in family life and community life. The Kemetics

viewed the unity of private and public life as important.

Fox has identified five important canons of ancient Kemetic

rhetoric:

Silence (self control)

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Good timing

Restraint

Fluency

Truthfulness

The sebyt of Ptahhotep is the oldest complete text in the world. It

is a set of instructions to his son about how to engage in public

service.

Because African rhetoric has a commitment to values, Karenga

indicates four ethical concerns of classical African rhetoric:

ONE: DIGNITY AND RIGHTS OF THE HUMAN PERSON

The ethical concern for the dignity of every human person is a

fundamental aspect of rhetorical practice.

Be not arrogant because of your knowledge. Rather converse

with the unlearned as well as the wise. For the limit of an art

has not been reached and no artist has acquired full mastery

of an art. Good speech is more hidden then emeralds and yet

it is found among the women who gather at the grindstone.

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In an example, Pharaoh is cautioned not to use people as

experiments or for unnecessary reasons, in this case with a

convicted prisoner. Each person is part of the “flock of God” and

must be respected.

The petitions presented by Khunanup are all for common people,

who should be respected just as much as the most famous. His

appeals for justice are based on Maat, the equal dignity and rights

that all should have. Maat needs to be in its rightful place, as a

foundation for political, judicial and social practice.

Leadership is seshemet, as in “working out” or “proving” a

problem in mathematics. This must be done through consultation

and communication. The speaker is called on to not just speak to

but also to speak with those concerned so that a proper

conclusion can be reached. Thus, Kemetic rhetoric tends to be

consultation as opposed to unidirectional.

TWO: WELL BEING AND FLOURISHING OF THE COMMUNITY

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In the text Count Harkhuf explains why he feels he is worthy of

respect.

He locates himself in his community and his family, and then

speaks about the way he did good for the people, especially

the vulnerable. “I gave bread to the hungry, clothing to the

naked and brought the boatless to land.”

Iti, the treasurer, says, “I am a worthy citizen who acts with

his arm. I am a great pillar of the Theban district, a man of

standing in the Southland.”

Lady Tahabet defines herself as not just a worthy daughter,

but as a worthy citizen, when she says, “I was just and did

not show partiality. I gave bread to the hungry, water to the

thirsty and clothes to the naked. I was open-handed to

everyone. I was honored by my father, praised by my

mother, kind to my brothers and sisters and one who is

united in heart with the people of her city.”

This is different from many of our western conceptions. In the

west we say, “I think, therefore I am.” In a Kemetic sense, “I am

related and relate to others, therefore I am.” I discover myself

through being with, being of and being for others. Others

listening are not merely audience, but co-agents and co-

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participants in creating and sustaining the just society and the

good world.

THREE: THE INTEGRITY AND VALUE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Moral obligation is related to all parts of life. As one has

obligations to other people, one also has obligations to all of life –

to nature. Maat requires worthiness before the Creator, nature

and the people. If there is damage and degradation, there is an

obligation to restore and repair. This obligation implies:

To raise up and rebuild that which is in ruins

To repair that which is damaged

To rejoin that which is severed

To replenish that which is lacking

To strengthen that which is weakened

To set right that which is wrong

To make flourish that which is insecure and underdeveloped

Notice how African rhetorical theory predates Western rhetorical

theory, which is still having a hard time incorporating ecological

values.

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FOUR: RECIPROCAL SOLIDARITY AND COOPERATION OF

HUMANITY

We have obligations to each other and we must cooperate

through our communication.

This is in conflict with the artificial eloquence, deceptive

discourse and instrumental reasoning that may serve some

but not all of humanity.

Likewise, this questions the nature of the closed public

square, saying that human communicative exchange should

include all of humanity.

The Book of Ptathhotep, there are examples:

“He who does justice for all the people, he is truly the prime

minister.”

Leaders and speakers must stand for and speak for all

marginalized and oppressed people as well as those in the

mainstream who are privileged.

Doing good leads to solidarity. “A good deed is remembered,” and

also, “do to the doer that he may also do.” When Maat is a part of

rhetoric, it leads to two kinds of solidarity:

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Solidarity of action

Solidarity of understanding

These are both achieved through communication.

Lady Ta-Aset says: “Doing good is not difficult; just speaking good

is a monument for one who does it. For those who do good for

others are actually doing it for themselves.”

In the Dogon text, it is written that, “Doing good worldwide is the

best example of character.”

AESTHETICS

For African people, language is art. Art is not for the purpose of

artistic expression and creativity, but is always functional. In the

west we separate art from life, but this is not the African

conception. It is not the product of the artistic activity, but the

process that is important. That process is always a part of living.

Art has the same ethical obligations as rhetoric. Rhetoric is an art.

Call and response is one example of aesthetics in rhetoric. One

does not just listen to, but responds to and participates in

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discourse. The discourse is a living presence and the audience

responds and becomes a part of it.

In African rhetorical tradition and specifically in African American

rhetoric the audience engages in this way. In church, in meetings,

in political speeches. The rhetorical event becomes a communal

one.

Aristotle posed the concept of the enthymeme, an incomplete

argument completed by the audience. This is effective because it

allows audience participation that increased acceptance. The

entirety of African American rhetoric already knows this. Knowles-

Borishade puts it this way:

Responders (audience) are the community who come to

participate in the speech event. They are secondary creators

in the event, containing among them a vital part of the

message. It is they who either sanction of reject the message

– the word – based on the perceived morality and vision of

the Caller (rhetor) and the relevance of the message. The

notion of community or group sanction is the basis of the

African call and response tradition.

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We will examine many other aesthetic elements of African

American rhetoric in the weeks to come.

STRIPPED OF AFRICANNESS

What signals a real African presence in a discourse? Some might

be African American in appearance but not in substance. Danny

Glover in Switchback or Morgan Freeman in Shawshank

Redemption. They are African American when they express a

sensitivity to themes relevant to African Americans. There is no

African American way to order a grilled cheese sandwich, but

there is an African American way to discuss racial discrimination

or white privilege, because it carries with it an energy and a

perspective. A single phone call may offer multiple indicators of

an African American presence: tone, rhythm, enunciation and

metaphorical use.

ORALITY

The Harlem Renaissance writers were able to take elements of

traditional African culture and apply them to modern African

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American culture through the legitimation of folklore and oral

histories to written literature. An oral tradition achieves not only

contact with the past but also is flexible in dealing with changing

present and future.

Orality tends to be: text may not be

Immediate and direct.

Speaker and audience are one

It is common and everyday, not isolated and elevated

It is spontaneous and not rehearsed.

It is improvised for the purpose and situation.

It allows individuality to flourish in a group context.

Traditional rhetoric positions rationality and logic at the center.

African rhetoric positions ethics, critical thinking and personal

logic at its core.

AVOID CONFRONTATION

Traditional Eurocentric rhetoric tends to be direct and explicit.

African rhetoric sees this as crude and unimaginative. The African

tradition talks around something in an exploratory way, and

allows the audience to make its own decision instead of following

orders that are justified logically. This practice is their version of

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the enthymeme. When discourse in daily life is too direct it

creates problems in relationships. The more indirect methods

allow people to structure the ideas in ways they wish and allow

for consideration without an open confrontation.

LANGUAGE USE AS PLAY

African Americans are more likely to use language as a form of

play. Of course, there is always a relationship between what is

“play” and what is “real,” and that relationship allows the

exploration of issues in a more indirect way as mentioned before.

Play is entertainment, but it is also a symbolic exchange of each

other.

Signifying is an example. Signifying is a practice of making a point

but not doing it so obviously, using cultural knowledge and

context to make the point. There is an element of indirection, but

the apparent significance of the statement may be different from

the real significance. Someone gives me an order I do not like, and

I respond with, “Yes Massa.” I am not agreeing with or

complementing them. In Jamaica you call the boss “Mister T” but

the workers know that as an insult, most bosses think it is polite

and deferential. Shared knowledge helps the listener interpret the

message properly. We call it “reading between the lines,” but in

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African American rhetoric it is all important and almost ever-

present. We do this through shared knowledge, and shared

knowledge is cultural knowledge. Shared knowledge in the African

American culture consists of those patterns of communication,

behaviors, worldviews and philosophy as understood by the

members of that community.

We often say that meaning is in people not in words. Yet, in an

oral culture the meaning is often found in the cultural setting than

in strictly an individual. Meanings may be ultimately in people, but

in the oral tradition meanings are tempered by the text, the

context and the pretext.

CONCLUSION

These concepts have been expressed through African American

rhetoric, where the elements of African rhetorical theory can be

seen. Frederick Douglass, said:

Great is the miracle of human speech – by it nations are

enlightened and reformed; by it the cause of justice and

liberty is defended; by it evils are exposed, ignorance

dispelled, the path to duty made plain, and by it those who

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live today, are put into the possession of wisdom of ages

gone by.

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