>>uh, the theory is not mine, tho i'm flattered you have
>>confused me for Benedict Anderson.
>
>i think you know i mean to ask what does that theory mean.
>because i would still like to know..i've obviously never
>heard of the term before and the person behind it.


dude, you confused me describing historical phenomena for me advocating them, and went on to school me on the divisions in liberia (!), so i don't think i'm the right person to unpack benedict anderson for you. he wrote a book on the subject tho, and a few of his essays are online. google.


>>
>>and what you are referring to when talking
>>>about this: "liberia to christian missionaries to garvey to
>>>rayford logan to rastafarianism to molefi asante"
>>
>>
>>they all thought new world people of african descent were
>>especially authorized/located/ to bring enlightenment to
>>africa.
>i guess i should have said i would like to know how these
>different groups felt they had a burden to enlighten
>africans. i haven't read that aspect in rastafaria (nism),
>or garveyism..


i don't know how you could have possibly missed it in garveyism, the distribution of titles to territory garvey hardly controlled in the first place is a clue and a half. logan was fond of the french evolue' model, with af-ams as the evolue's. wrt rastas, there's a gregory stephens interview in which he discusses the "africa awaits her creator" discourse in rastafarianism. wrt asante, kelefa sanneh has a detailed reading.

but i liked this quasi-hegelian bit from a review of unafrican americans, and i think it describes the others mentioned above as well:

Africa became a prized target for the civilizing efforts supported by Black Nationalists in that...Africans throughout the Diaspora would be able to take their place alongside Europeans on the great chain of being... The synthesis promoted by such Black Nationalists...sought to reconcile the opposing ideals of American democracy with the reality of an unabashed lack of human rights of African Americans in the matrix of a redeemed Africa and an African race. This synthesis however was at the expense of a free and self-determining Africa.