WAR OF VALUES

Consistent with the descriptions referenced previously in this chapter, there is a different set of cultural values that are embraced in an African-centered worldview. These have become the foundation of the African and African-American psychological prospective. These values include the ne- cessity and importance of spirituality, the inner connectedness of all things that exist on the planet and in the universe, that the collective is the most salient el- ement of existence, the idea that self knowledge is the key to mental health, a belief in the transformative possibilities of the human spirit, and the need for self knowledge that was rooted in one’s own cultural traditions.