Ethiopianism definition of Ethiopianism in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Ethiopianism

Religious movement among sub-Saharan Africans during the colonial era. It originated in South Africa in the 1880s, with the formation of all-African Christian churches such as the Tembu tribal church and the Church of Africa. The term was first used by Mangena Mokone when he founded the Ethiopian Church in 1892. Africans resented the blatant racism of European colonialists, who denied them advancement in religious and political hierarchies. They also wanted a version of Christianity relevant for Africa and a return to tribal life. Parallel developments occurred in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, and other locations. Ethiopian movements played some part in the Zulu rebellion of 1906 and the Nyasaland rising of 1915. In the 1920s political aspirations moved away from religion and became tied to political parties and trade unions.

Although he notes the frequency with which Bruce refers to the Psalms verse "Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth her hands unto God" (68:31), Seraile does not discuss Ethiopianism, which profoundly influenced African American thought throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and which figures prominently in Bruce's literary texts and his personal belief system.

William Seraile. Bruce Grit: The Black Nationalist Writings of John ... by Gruesser, John C. / African American Review

This redemption often assumed a Christianizing and "civilizing" mission on the part of African Americans, as noted above, so that Ethiopianism often became mired in a paradox: On the one hand, it advocated racial pride and racialism (the common fate and implicit solidarity of all people of African descent); on the other hand, it saw Africa as needy of change on Western, even imperialist, terms (Sundquist 554ff.

Pauline Hopkins's Of One Blood, Africa, and the "Darwinist trap" by Japtok, Martin / African American Review

He defines Ethiopianism as an African American belief that Africa was once great, that ancient Greeks resorted thereto for learning, that African Americans can associate themselves with this glorious heritage, that Africa will rise again (what he calls a cyclical view of history), and that African Americans can play a significant role in the regeneration of Africa.

Black on Black: Twentieth-Century African American Writing About ... by Martin, Tony / African American Review

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