“We are the custodians of the cultures of our mothers, fathers, elders, scholars, and ancestors. We are the perpetuators of the culture for our children. We have no right to leave behind a culture that’s less fertile than the ones our parents left us.” – Professor William Cross, co-founder of the Blacology Research and Development Institute

The study of people of African descent as many know it has long focused on the ethnic group’s oppression and the atrocities committed against them. Since the 1970s, Professor William Cross and Dr. Amos M.D. Sirleaf have countered such thinking, looking at the story of African people as that of justice and redemption.

They’ve coined this brand of Afrocentric scholarship as Blacology.

Through the Blacology Research and Development Institute, based in Fort Washington, Maryland, Cross and Sirleaf scientifically chronicle and analyze the worldwide black freedom struggle. In the spirit of self-determination, they disseminate what they consider an accurate portrayal of African history and culture.

While history often highlights enslavement and colonialization of Africans, the Cross and Sirleaf explore the totality of the African experience after the Black Holocaust, focusing on the Haitian Revolution and subsequent events that helped black people redevelop their culture and secure some semblance of justice. In spreading this knowledge, Cross and Sirleaf hope to help Africans across the world follow the example of their ancestors in everything they do.

In this AllEyesOnDC video, Cross and Sirleaf, now a professor at Cuttington University in Bong County, Liberia, talk about Blacology and the hurdles they’ve faced in their efforts to reverse centuries of European brainwashing. This interview counts among one of the best in the AllEyesOnDC catalogue considering that the mission of the Blacology Research and Development Institute mirrors that of AllEyesOnDC.

Check it out and weigh in!