2009 marks 21 consecutive years of the Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference. Every year, Afrocentric scholars from around the world, convene in Philadelphia, PA to advance the Afrocentric paradigm, strengthen and expand this scholarly community and the discipline of Africana Studies, and to address critical issues confronting the African Diaspora. Held in October each year, the conference highlights the latest in Afrocentric research through paper presentations, special panels, and publications. Scholars are also recognized for individual achievements at the annual awards luncheon.

Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, the conference’s namesake, asserted that his work was designed to scientifically reestablish the place of Ancient Egypt (Kemet) in the orbit of African history and culture, and also toward recovering Kemet’s rich legacy and employing it to expand the horizons of knowledge and history in the interest of African peoples, humanity and the world. Further, Diop argues for a “return to Egypt in all domains” or a critical engagement with Kemet as a fundamental source of paradigms of excellence, achievement and possibilities in all disciplines of human knowledge. Diop contends that such a return for critical retrieval and creative reconstruction “is a necessary condition to reconcile African civilizations with human history; to build a modern body of human sciences; and to renew African culture.”

Accepting Diop’s charge, Dr. Molefi Kete Asante advanced the theory, methodology and paradigm of Afrocentricity. In 1988, Asante and colleagues founded the Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference in conjunction with establishing the world’s first Ph.D. program in African American Studies. The conference was convened at Temple University until 1996. From 1996 until the 20th anniversary in 2008, the Association of Nubian Kemetic Heritage (ANKH), also under Dr. Asante’s direction, sponsored the conference. Beginning in 2009, the conference is convened by the (newly formed) Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement, which is coordinated by Executive Director Adisa A. Alkebulan and an Executive Council consisting of Kathrine Bankole-Medina, Sherina Davis, G. Jahwara Giddings, D. Zizwe Poe, Suzuko Morikawa, Christel Temple, and Stephanie Yarbough. Molefi Kete Asante, Ana Yenenga Asante, Maulana Karenga, and Mambo Ama Mazama serve as Senior Advisors to the Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement.

Each year, the Diop Conference features peer-reviewed awards for outstanding books, articles, and other Afrocentric initiatives. The Diop Conference also affords participating scholars an opportunity to publish a completed manuscript in Africalogical Perspectives journal, an independent affiliate of the Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement.