Spiritual deprivation and the legacy of black fathers
insight and solutions to the African /American social dilemma . This critical examination is part of a larger, textbook-length work whose aim is to explore what an African-centered or Afrocentric examination of African American literature yields beyond the possibilities of other less culturally centered li erary approaches. To be sure, criticism of Black writers and accompanying literary productions abounds, yet most approaches-including many of those employed by Black critics-still rest upon Eurocentered criteria to assess the value and merit of a work which stands upon African-centered ground. Put differently, many literary critics still explore Black literature through the bluest of eyes; consequently, conclusions are drawn and assertions made about various works that often do not reflect their function in or contribution to African American life or literary traditions. Fortunately, however, the cry for African-centered literary analyses is finally being heard. Culturally centered concepts such as "Signifyin" (Gates, 1990) and "coolness" (Majors and Billson, 1993) are now being used as analytical tools by which to comprehend more completely the complex ideological, spiritual, and social commentary Black writers have attempted to offer for years.