 Early in his masterful Introduction to Africana Philosophy, Lewis R. Gordon defines his subject in a deceptively simple way that both anticipates important complexities and sets some basic boundaries. Africana philosophy, he says, is “as an area of philosophical research that addresses the problems faced and raised by the African diaspora” (Gordon 2008, 13). The references to problems and to the diaspora immediately point to two vital framing themes for the field.