Reflective Essay On African American Culture

As I reflect on who I am and which culture I identify with, I am met with reservation. My parents are both Black Americans, they were both born and raised in the United States, their parent were also born and raised in the US. It is obvious that we derive from African descent; our skin color and physical features yet I find it difficult to relate or identify with my African heritage as slavery has played a pivotal role in separating us from our African origin. African enslavement left us devoid of a way to define ourselves. It severed familial ties and deprived us of any viable opportunity to reclaim them.(www.huffpost.com) We are descendants of African slaves but when I speak to someone who was born in Africa or research African culture, I

First the family. Before slavery was abolished, African American families were torn apart as parents and children were sold to different people. That being said, Many Black American families were broken for many decade, they resurged with determination to reestablish a strong family presence.(www.family.lovetoknow.com) Today, many Black families host family reunions and picnics to maintain those family ties. Black families also rely heavily on parents, grandparents and in laws to provide emotional, financial and psychological support to one another. Music is very important for Black Americans as it has always been a form of expression that may have otherwise not been available. First, the African slaves brought the drums from Africa and to make a long story short, we still feel the beat! Hip- Hop, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Rap, soca, dance hall and many, many more genres of music derived from the influence directly or indirectly from the complex beat(s) of the African drum. The dances related to hip hop and rap are also rooted in African

Why they use the word soul instead of African American can be traced back to slavery. The African slaves were not allowed to eat the food that was served to their masters, however they were welcome to the trash. The African 's ingenuity embodies the saying," if life gives you lemons, make lemonade". These slaves gathered the fat parts of the pork pig that was thrown out. They also grew collard, turnip, and mustard greens where they could and cooked them along with ground corn and wheat which made what we call cornbread today. Throughout the early 1900s when slavery had been long ago abolished, but the Jim Crow Era was in full force, African Americans again made lemonade! The slaves fried chicken and wrapped them in paper so that they would have food to eat on their trips in which they would walk. These foods mentioned, as we know today, may be the leading cause in many heart diseases, diabetes etc. These foods are pumped full of processed ingredients and other things that was not prevalent years ago. This may explain why the older generation of African Americans may not be as receptive to the "diet" era we are experiencing today.

Black people view race as divided particularly hold a negative view of the nation’s racial climate. Many feel that we are unfairly treated as opposed to those of other cultures. Some feel inferior to white people as we were taught that during slavery. Sadly, racial disparity is particularly