FREE ESSAY ON AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE

African American Culture
Culture is not a fixed phenomenon, nor is it the same in all places or to all people. It
is relative to time, place, and particular people. Learning about other people can help
us to understand ourselves and to be better world citizens. 
One of the most common ways of studying culture is to focus on the differences within and
among cultures. Although their specifics may vary form one culture to another,
sociologists refer to those elements or characteristics that can be found in every know
society as cultural universals. For example, in all societies, funeral rites include
expression of grief, disposing of the dead, and rituals that define the relations of the
dead with the living. And on the most significant cultural universals is the incest
taboo, a cultural norm prohibiting marriage or sexual relations between certain kin.
Whether the underlying basis of human behavior is biological or purely learned, how we
channel that behavior is an important aspect of culture. 
From the time we are born, we are socialized to believe that our way of life is one that
is good, civilized, and above reproach. Such ideals usually sets the tone for what
sociologist would refer to as ethnocentrism, the attitude that one's own culture is
superior to those of others. Though it exists from one degree or another in every
society, it may also serve as the glue that holds a society together. In the event that
ethnocentrism is taken out of context or has reached an offensive tone, it may be
suppressed with cultural relativism, the belief that a culture must be understood on its
own terms.
From the African American perspective, culture encompasses all we know, all we feel, and
all we have absorbed from our elders (whippings, the teaching of specialized skills,
living within your blackness, etc.). Every Black experience is shared by all, however,
there are links in our heritage or our "culture" that binds one to another. Many of our
life lessons were often given by our elders in the form of stories, jokes, and the
spirituals which serve often song in the fields, as well as, on Sunday mornings. Yet, as
a people, we thought it necessary to hold on these priceless teachings because it has
served as the only link to our African ancestry. African American culture is both part of
and distinct from American culture. African Americans have contributed literature,
agricultural skills, foods, clothing, dance, and language to American culture.
There are distinctive patterns of language use among African Americans that arose as
creative responses to the hardships imposed on the African American community.
Slave-owners forced African Americans to create a language that allowed them to
communicate effectively with one another. Slaves were not allowed the opportunity to read
and write because most slave owners thought they would find a way to buy their freedom if
they knew how to read and write. Significant numbers of people still speak some of the
Creole languages they used to communicate so many years ago.
Agriculture and food is also a unique aspect of African American culture. The cultivation
and use of many agricultural products, such as yams, peanuts, rice, okra, grits, and
cotton, can be traced to African and African American influences. African American foods
reflect creative responses to racial and economic oppression. "Soul food," a cuisine
commonly associated with African Americans in the South, makes creative use of
inexpensive products. Ham hocks and neck bones provide seasoning to soups, beans, and
boiled greens. Other common foods, such as fried chicken and black-eyed peas and rice,
are prepared simply.
Africans introduced Americans to musical rhythms and instruments quite different from the
musical traditions of Europeans. African Americans saw music as a way of communicating
with each other. Often they were not allowed to congregate together so they sang songs to
convey messages to each other. The tradition of slave spirituals developed into gospel
music, a religious song form which incorporated melodies and rhythms from popular music.

African American dance is rooted in African and African American traditions. During
slavery, slave-owners defined dancing as sinful because slaves crossed their feet to
dance. Slaves adapted their dances to conform to European beliefs, creating a shuffling
motion with the feet that would be less offensive to Europeans. However, New Orleans'
slaves were allowed to preserve their dance. African American dance has greatly
influenced popular culture.
The celebration of Juneteenth, the day that the emancipation was signed, is celebrated
annually by African Americans. Many African Americans do not see the Fourth of July as a
day of celebration and not a part of their culture. Kwanzaa, derived from the harvest
rituals of Africans, is observed each year from December 26 through January 1 by many
African Americans. Participants in Kwanzaa celebrations affirm their African heritage by
drinking from the Unity cup, lighting red, black, and green candles, exchanging heritage
symbols, such as African art, and recounting the lives of people who struggled for
African and African American freedom. People who celebrate Kwanzaa hope to strengthen the
black community by adhering to the seven guiding principles, designated by the terms from
the Swahili language: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), umija (collective
work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia 
(purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith).
Although many African Americans share some culture similarities with those of the
dominant culture, there are some aspects of their culture from the dominant ancestry of
sub-Saharan West Africa in which they have retained. Culture is not a fixed phenomenon,
nor is it the same in all places or to all people. It is relative to time, place, and
particular people and African American culture plays a significant role in the United
States today.