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Langston hughes american experience
Langston hughes american experience
Langston hughes american experience
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Why Whites Embrace Black Culture
Blacks' contribution to American culture is so rich and vibrant that everyone wants to benefit from it. Black culture, from the style of dress to music, has such a pervasive influence on all races.
Whites are drawn to Black culture because of the extraordinary quality of it, our aesthetic, our style." "We set the styles. We are the trendsetters of America. America is known globally for its culture, which is Black. When you look at basketball, people love Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant."
Black people continue to determine the taste of richer White people. "They want to look like us, but they don't want to be us. They don't want to live in our skin. It's kind of a cultural voyeurism. It allows White people to safely tour Blackness without being subjected to the reality of being Black. By taking in our Black culture, they are also taking in some of our political and social ideas. White America has always found Black culture to be exciting, exotic and perhaps more expressive and less restrained than what they identify as their culture. They find our culture to be very exciting and attractive.
W.E.B. Dubois once said, that we, meaning African-Americans want what is said, about us to express the best and noblest and brightness in us. It was Dubois, who wanted to educate white folks into a respect for blacks. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk, the traditions, expressive culture, and values of African-Americans had to be respected and recognized by both white and black Americans.
On that note, in the article "Why Whites Embrace Black Culture", African-Americans today, yesterday, and tomorrow exhibit a culture pride that is effervescent. The aesthetic of the black culture expands way back to the Harlem Renaissance, a period of vibrant creativity. Perhaps, this period can be considered a movie from the old to the new. The old being the stereotypical images of blacks as ex-slaves and as members of an inferior race; to the new, in which blacks recognized their own existence as a race and they articulated that existence and that culture through the arts. Then, its no surprise that whites embraces the black culture so adamantly.
Notables such as DuBois, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston, and Martin Luther King have helped to define the beauty, intellectual, and admirable qualities that blacks, for so long were denied to express.
W.E.B Du Bois had a very prominent role, when it came to changing the lives African American people in the United States. He had many positions; he was a writer, an editor, a historian, a civil right activist, and the father of sociology. African Americans in the United States would not have the advantages and privileges they have today, if it wasn’t for the works of Du Bois. He constantly fought for the rights of African Americans. Du Bois used his incredible mind, to change the lives of many people. He not only changed people lives, he changed the country as a whole.
Hip-hop culture has been a global phenomenon for more than twenty years. When introduced into the American culture, the black culture felt that hip-hop had originated from the African American community. The black community was being denied their cultural rights by the supremacy of the white people, but hip-hop gave the community the encouragement to show their black pride and televise the struggles they were facing in the world. The failure and declining of the movements, the influential, rebellious, and powerful music is what reshaped Black Nationalism, unity and to signify the struggle. The African Americans who suffered from social and political problems found that they similar relations to the political movements, which allowed the blacks to be able to voice their opinions and to acknowledge their culture openly.
Modern culture, especially that perpetuated on MTV, has given many suburban white kids the idea that they are oppressed by some business-like aristocracy. That may be true in a way, but in another, it is puzzling that the reaction has been for many middle-class Caucasian youth to adopt black culture as their own. And as far as media perception of black people, I really don't fit that mold. I am very in touch with my culture, heritage and race. And I take a great deal of pride in it. But because I don't fit the stereotype that even white kids are now trying to emulate, it sometimes puts me at odds with my own perception of my race.
Unlike Washington, Dubois was born a free man and lived in the North in a predominately white area in an integrated community. He was very intelligent and excelled in the local schools he attended. However, it wasn’t until he attended Fisk University in Tennessee where he encountered his first issue dealing with racism and the Jim Crow laws. This experience is what shaped his ideas and philosophies on black people and their oppression. Dubois went back to the north to continue his education, focusing on the racial injustice and how to build equality for African Americans right then. After being the first black man to receive his PhD from Harvard University, he wrote his dissertation “The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the Unites States of America” which was one of his first academic works. Dubois was a powerful scholar and was headstrong as well. He believed that Washington’s idea would only help to continue the oppression of blacks from white people. Dubois advocated for a right now change. He created a civil rights agenda to work towards advocating equality for African Americans. He argued that Washington’s idea seemed “...well-nigh impossible…” (539). Dubois was an integrationist; he believed that there had to be a stand now, not later and that Washington’s philosophy was more of a submission to the oppression instead of a stand against it. Dubois’ call for change
Are black people that different than white people? This is both a question and concern society focuses much attention on today, is there cultural assimilation in the United States or does the country still remain segregated? Realistically, America has a long way to come before saying it fully integrates both races equally. Donnell Alexander, author of “Cool Like Me” approaches the topic of the prejudices whites have of blacks, arguing that there exists no cultural integration and the United States is still separated. With many lucid examples using expressive tones and personal examples, he compares the coolness of himself to the coolness of other blacks and other cultures in order to get the reader to identify “cool” and relate it as a black quality and observe it in American culture as a style and a way of thinking.
In this paper I’m going to show how African Americans have used hip hop and black hair are two ways in which African Americans embrace their culture and fight oppression. However, as we have reviewed in many classes, oppression is not easily escaped. So in this paper, I’m going to show how cultural appropriation is used as a way of oppressing black culture. So this paper is an expansion of what we have learned in the class.
In Souls of Black folk in 1903, W.E.B. DuBois urged African Americans to aspire to professional careers, fight for their civil rights, and whenever possible get a college education. It was not only important to change the image of the African American for the White people it was important for the African Americans as well. African Americans from the time of slavery wanted to move past the racist images of them that were always being portrayed. Many felt that to be portrayed in a positive way would help to unite them. Also, as more African Americans became skilled, educated, and cultured it would give a sense of hope that in the face of aversion anything could be achieved. This is evidenced by seventeen-year-old African American boy who created and autobiography of his movie going experience as a child. In the autobiography he
In Stuart Hall’s “What is This “Black” in Black Popular Culture?” the historical implication of popular culture in the U.S is examined and the influence that blackness has in it is deconstructed. According to the text, the departure of European concepts of culture after WWII sparked a hegemonic shift as the United States emerged as a world power. Due to this, the U.S. became the epicenter of global culture production. However, since America has always had a large ethnic population due to slavery, the true face of American popular culture was black American vernacular traditions. Even today, slang that emerge from black ghettos and communities become highly popular with people of other races. In fact, much of black culture is not just our culture,
The time has come again to celebrate the achievements of all black men and women who have chipped in to form the Black society. There are television programs about the African Queens and Kings who never set sail for America, but are acknowledged as the pillars of our identity. In addition, our black school children finally get to hear about the history of their ancestors instead of hearing about Columbus and the founding of America. The great founding of America briefly includes the slavery period and the Antebellum south, but readily excludes both black men and women, such as George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Mary Bethune. These men and women have contributed greatly to American society. However, many of us only know brief histories regarding these excellent black men and women, because many of our teachers have posters with brief synopses describing the achievements of such men and women. The Black students at this University need to realize that the accomplishments of African Americans cannot be limited to one month per year, but should be recognized everyday of every year both in our schools and in our homes.
The people of the black culture need a motivating force behind their community. They need a black aesthetic to motivate them and incline them to support the revolution. The black aesthetic itself will not be enough to motivate the people; they will need black art to help them understand what they are supporting. The art in the black culture needs an aesthetic to get the message across to its viewers and allow them to understand the meaning behind pieces of artwork. One of Ron Karenga’s points is how people need to respond positively to the artwork because it then shows that the artist got the main idea to the audience and helps to motivate them to support the revolution. In “Black Cultural Nationalism”, the author, Ron Karenga, argues that
Two of the most influential people in shaping the social and political agenda of African Americans were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois, both early twentieth century writers. While many of their goals were the same, the two men approached the problems facing African Americans in very different ways. This page is designed to show how these two distinct thinkers and writers shaped one movement, as well as political debate for years afterward.
“The end of the First World War in 1930 was followed by the inception of the cultural movement that ended in the middle of the Great Depression. It has been argued that the war formed an expansion of the economic opportunities in the Northern cities that had been characterized by industrialization, as well as a decrease of European immigration into the U.S.” (Harlem Renaissance, 2010). The Great Migration that was realized in the beginning of the 19th century played a major role in the creation of the cultural movement. The blacks in the Southern region saw this as an opportunity to escape from the Jim Crow laws, which were laws to constrict the behavior of blacks. “The lack of expression of their issues, and the lack of political voice prevalent with the hatred of the blacks made the blacks express themselves through artistic ways” (Wall, 1995).
In 1903 black leader and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an essay in his collection The Souls of Black Folk with the title “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans, they disagreed on strategies to help achieve black social and economic progress. History shows that W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.
During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American society instinctively associated white with light and all good things; while black is associated with darkness or evil.
The beauty of blackness is a question that may be hard to answer for some people and easier for others. The beauty of blackness goes beyond the physical characteristics of a person. Things that are incorporated into answering the question is black beautiful are traditions, values, and history. This question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. The answer to this question may be different and have different perspectives. Blackness is frowned upon and shamed in the eyes of some people. In the eyes of others blackness is seen as an iconic way of living and sometimes blackness open up the roots of pain and hardships African Americans had to face back during times of slavery. African Americans were brought to the continent of North America