Do We As African Americans Have A Culture?

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by 4MYPEOPLE

This is exactly what I mean. I think because we have lost our identity through the diaspora, we as African Americans (today's black American in America) lack a "cultural" identity. I think it will take hundreds of years to pick, and choose, and participate, and borrow, and influence to finally have an "identity" of our own. I think music is the start...jazz, r&b, hip hop...but we have a ways to go to have an established "cultural identity" because we were robbed of it.

Okay I see your point but I think you should define what *you* mean by cultural identity. Do you think Black Americans lack a cultural identity because we do not talk of a common motherland, as many Italian Americans would? Is it becase we don't speak a common language like many Hispanics? Is it because we are not known for a particular food dish from our country of origin like the French? Or have a particular type of script like the Japanese?

Why do you think what Black Americans have as an identity today does not constitute a cultural identity? Yes, we were robbed of our original cultural ties, but during the procsess of our ancestors being in this country we have created new ones. What's wrong with that? Jazz has been recognized as an original music form created in the US, by Black Americans.

Let me ask you this, when growing up, did you play with White dolls or Black ones? Who do you identify with more?

[AKA_Monet]

Like DSTChaos and laylo said, folks really need to KNOW their history before emphatically saying that those of Afrikan descent stuck in the wilderness of Amerikkklan have no such thing as a culture or Asili or a cultural identity with epistemology of utamawazo...

If anything, by genetic evidence alone, all other cultures borrowed ours...

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

Jazz has been recognized as an original music form created in the US, by Black Americans.

You make a good point but I really get tired of people only thinking of music when they think of black people. We have rich intellectual, spiritual, and artistic roots that go along with all that musical creativity.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by 4MYPEOPLE

I think music is the start...jazz, r&b, hip hop...but we have a ways to go to have an established "cultural identity" because we were robbed of it.

Geesh. You're buying into the pigeonholing and brainwashing.

Black folks were doing their own thing before they started dancing a jig. We sang slave "spirituals" and later focused on music for a reason. That reason wasn't because we didn't have anything else to fall back on.

I urge people to actually read up on this subject matter if you think that we're still struggling to find ourselves and that music is the place where "we's black folkses" need to begin.

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Geesh. You're buying into the pigeonholing and brainwashing.

Black folks were doing their own thing before they started dancing a jig. We sang slave "spirituals" and later focused on music for a reason. That reason wasn't because we didn't have anything else to fall back on.

I urge people to actually read up on this subject matter if you think that we're still struggling to find ourselves and that music is the place where "we's black folkses" need to begin.

Soror can you list some titles that would be helpful in this area for us to read? I would be interested in reading more. I took some sociology courses in undergrad but none that dealt specifically with US.

I am just an observer in this thread, although I wholeheartedly believe that African Americans/Blacks have a strong cultural identity in several facets.

[DSTCHAOS]

Yes.

We are not defined by our common skin colors, hair textures, body types, and facial features alone.

People who don't think that Blacks/African Americans don't have a culture or cultural identity have not studied our history, American history, or observed very much of their social world. It's as clear as day. The failure to acknowledge and understand our culture is the real problem. So people who deny that we have a culture are a big part of the problem because they are contributing to the sense of anomie, confusion, and diluting that has ailed our communities for decades.