Decline of African Heritage in America
When Africans were uprooted from their homes and their land and forcibly brought to the Americas
at first they retained many of their cultural traits and values; however, as time passed and they were assimilated into the Euro-American culture, those cultural traditions and values were lost. In hindsight, the ugly scar on the history of the founding of the United States
can't ever be healed, but the dignity of the history of the Africans who were brought here should be part of history, and be honored.
The first premise of this research is that languages and culturally identifying traits brought to the American shores by Africans stayed in play during slavery years -- but a great deal of that aspect of African culture is gone today. Secondly, historians have "lost" African heritage and culture through incomplete recounting of African and slave history.
Literature Review
In author Betty M. Kuyk's book she asserts that Africans brought with them "…their whole experience of living in their own African culture," and for many Africans arriving in America, the fact of "Americanization" did not totally "erase that experience" (Kuyk, 2003). At least not right away. While the African slaves cooperated (they had no choice) with their masters in a physical context, their "beliefs, values, customs and rituals that lay at the heart of each person's culture remained" -- for the period in which the Africans were in bondage and some period after that as well.
The given names of the Africans brought by force to America remained. And, Kuyk continues, as people from the Congo (spelled "Kongo" in the book) were moved inland from their landing spot on the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia, they were "intermingled with people bearing values from many other African cultures." As this movement continued, cultural...
African Centered Education In 'The Miseducation of the Negro', Carter Woodson (2000) argues that the education provided to African-Americans ignored or undervalued African historical experiences, and overvalued European history and culture. This has caused the alienation of African-Americans, who became dissociated from themselves, by ignoring or cutting African-Americans' links with their own culture and traditions. Woodson argued that this type of education has caused African-Americans to reject their own heritage, while
Furthermore, as a result of these conditions there was a general failure of black business and entrepreneurships. "Black businesses failed, crushing the entrepreneurial spirit that had been an essential element of the Negro Renaissance." (the Great Depression: A History in the Key of Jazz) However this did not crush the general spirit of the African-American people and there was a resurgence of black culture and enterprise in area such as
Although Friedman claims that the use of religion as a common bond among early Americans is no longer relevant, there are scores of Americans who still believe that the nation is essentially a Christian one. The identity of Tea Party people is inextricably tied into an identity that may seem outmoded to many Americans. Yet to the Tea Party, their identity is more American than any apple pie. Most Americans
As the vast majority of African-Americans do not know where their ancestors came from, it is difficult to trace one's roots back to the African continent. At the same time, the United States, while certainly the nation that nearly every African-American would consider to be home, has hardly been hospitable to African-Americans throughout history. Even today, nearly a quarter of all African-American families in the United States live below
West African Kingdoms Ghana, Mali, Songhay The discovery of the New World opened new markets for European colonizers, as well as new sources wealth. In the Americas, the rich and abundant land meant much wealth could be generated through industries such as agriculture. The only missing factor was a cheap source of labor in order to clear and farm the land. For this purpose, European colonizers turned to Africa. The kingdoms of Mali
HIV / AIDS on African-American Community in U.S. Certain diseases occur more frequently within certain communities or ethnic groups. In part, this can be connected to genetics, heritage, environment, or the habits of a given cultural or ethnic group. This phenomenon is no different with HIV / AIDS, an illness which has been aggravated in the African-American community. HIV stands for the human immunodeficiency virus, a virus which can eventually
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now