My culture identity, as I know it as is African American. My culture can be seen in food, literature, religion, language, the community, family structure, the individual, music, dance, art, and could be summed up as the symbolic level. Symbolic, because faith plays a major role in our daily lives through song, prayer, praise and worship. When I’m happy I rely on my faith, same as when I’m sad, for I know things will get better as they have before.
There are different disciplines within the humanities, but there is one that I feel that has influenced my cultural identity the most…music. I say music because from the start music told my culture’s history; informed others about deeds or events that had taken place, also, music was and continues to be important in comforting, healing, and during labor. “African American music has evolved through various eras and styles; the powerful melodic lines and the rhythm (the all-important rhythm) remained prominent and influential” (Powell, 2007, p.1).
One way that I’ve celebrated and tried to connect with what I know as my culture is to attend Juneteenth Festival of the Carolinas. “According to Welcome to Juneteenth, “this is an annual four day event celebrated in the month of June at Independence Park, in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted by Pape Ndiaye, proprietor of the House of Africa located in Charlotte, NC since 1997” (Juneteenth, n.d.). This family event unifies Africans, African-American, and non-African people and is celebrated with drummers, dancers, faith communities, local talent, special guests, and vendors that sell clothing, jewelry, food, books, art, music, furniture, purses, and much more. One may say we already have a day set aside to celebrate freedom. The Junete...
... middle of paper ...
...x.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133&Itemid=10
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (n.d.). Who Are The Lumbee? Retrieved March 7, 2014, from http://www.lumbeetribe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135&Itemid=115
Powell, A. (2007). The Music of African Americans and its Impact on the American Culture in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Miller African Centered Academy, 1. Retrieved from http://www.chatham.edu/pti/curriculum/units/2007/Powell.pdf
Main Section | Community Tool Box. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2014, from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/culture-and-diversity/main
Welcome to Juneteenth. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2014, from http://www.juneteenthofthecarolinas.com/
Whirty, R. (2007, March/April). The Lost Colony of Roanoke. Natives People. Retrieved from http://www.lost-colony.com/magazineNP.html
Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans. 2nd ed. 1971. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986. 367, 404-5, 407, 430, 437. Print.
Cultural identity is a person’s background and how it refers to that person or groups culture, what you eat, think, and the actions that you take are all parts of the cultural aspect of culture identity. If you was to ask someone what the culture identity of the African Americans were no matter the race of the person you asked they nine times out of ten would mention the importance of black history month, but while the races around us are able to recognize the importance of this historic month why is it that today’s generation of young African Americans don’t realize the importance of this month? The race of people it celebrates, has placed it on the back burner. Due to the rise of technology and social media in today’s age has taken the youth’s eyes off of what is culturally vital in the black community opposed to the generations that came before.
The purpose of this study is determine why and how African American music that’s is so deeply rooted into the community is being culturally appropriated. This is a topic that has been the on the foreground of race for years. Activists and celebrities like Adrienne Keene, DeRay McKesson, Azealia Banks, and Jesse Williams helped bring the issue into the national attention. Most of the world or better yet the appropriators have very little knowledge of what the word actually means. In order to understand the problem we must first understand the word Culture and Appropriation. Culture being defined as the beliefs, ideas, traditions, speech, and material objects associated with a particular group of people. Appropriation the action of taking something
community through thier music past and present. Each era of change in the African American
African American culture is defined as the learned, shared and transmitted values, beliefs, norms, and life ways carried by this group of people, which guides their decisions, thinking, and actions in patterned ways. The individual in society is bound by rules of their culture. Culture of people are different in that the same events that maybe fear- inducing in one culture, maybe anger-inducing in another culture (Leininger's, 1991).
My cultural identity, is Haitian American. My parents come from a country of beautiful landscape and valleys of the hidden treasures of knowledge, diverse people, and rustic towns. My parents walked up steep plateaus for water, laid in grassy plains for peace, and dive into the sea for cooling in Haiti’s humid heat. Although, I come from a culture of deep history, the first country to gain independence in the result of a successful slave rebellion, my parents knew the plague of suffering Haiti’s battle with will not recover through the poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy. As Haiti fought through its demons, my parents fought to provide plentiful opportunity for their family and immigrated to the United States of America.
I classify my race, ethnicity, and culture as a white, Irish-Italian- American, woman. My mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and my paternal grandparents are from Sicily, Italy. I imagine being first generation Irish and second generation Italian helps me relate with my ethnicity.
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
My personal cultural identity is a lot different compared to the society I am surrounded by. I am considered an outsider in my society. I am an outsider living in a constantly changing environment where there are many different kinds of people and many different cultural identities. In my culture we know how to respect people and their belongings, know how to work hard, use what we have while being thankful for it at the same time, and last we know how to stay true to ourselves in this very fast pace world of ours. I am a cowboy.
I interviewed an African American male (D. Simington) age thirty. This section of the paper will illustrate how certain factors played a significant part in developing his cultural identity. I began by asking him to define his ethnic/cultural/racial identity, he explained the following:
Who am I; my beliefs, values, morals, and views on society have assisted in molding me into the person that I am considered to be today. I was raced with specifics values, traditions, and norms. Being raised in a small town made being socially aware very easy. I was raised under the southern Baptist Christian religion. Church was always the same and it had a majority of women in attendance although the men and elderly people ran the church overall. It was always the same, repetitive habits and events that occurred in my town but after a while I became accustomed to always being near or known by others.
Music played a very important role in the lives of people is diaspora communities. It served as a reminder for the immigrants of their homeland, which allowed them to proudly express their national and cultural identities. Diaspora refers to an international network of communities linked together by the identification of a common ancestral homeland and culture. People in these communities are no longer living in their homelands, with no guarantee of a return either. (Bakan, 19). Music played a large role in African diaspora communities. This was first started by the slave trades many years ago when slave traders traveled to the coast of West Africa to capture Africans and brought them back to the United States to be slaves on plantations. Slaves were more prone to loose a sense of their own culture because every new aspect of their lives was forced upon them, therefore they were undoubtedly forced to abandon their n...
Cultural identity is a tricky thing. In Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco’s article “What is Cultural Identity, they wrote, “Most of the time, our own cultures are invisible to us…” An individual’s cultural identity cannot be determined solely on race or what he or she likes to do. To truly ascertain one’s own cultural identity, you have to look deeper into your being. What makes you you? That’s the question, and the answer will ultimately lead to the discovery of your cultural identity. A person’s cultural identity is developed by taking different aspects of your life into account, mixing them together to form a bubbling concoction of characteristics, experiences, values, and interests. My cultural identity is influenced by many different
My heritage culture is what has shaped me into who I am today. I am a Caucasian female who is twenty-three years old. I am a granddaughter, daughter, sister, and friend. I am a Christian, and more specifically a Baptist. I attend Musella Baptist Church in Musella, Georgia. My ethnicity is a blend of Cherokee and English. Along with my family and who I am particular experiences have opened my eyes to the other cultures’ practices. Additionally, witnessing the diverse cultures has allowed me to become a more accepting of others’ differences. Through my own family’s culture, beliefs, and experiences I have become more aware of the diversity that surrounds me.
Music has played a role in society since the dawn of man. Said to be the beginning of communication in early civilization, music and dance have influenced how we think, act and treat members of our own society. Song and dance is used in rites of passage ceremonies such as births, weddings and funerals throughout the world. Jamaican and Yoruba cultures have made many contributions to our society. The uses of this music as a vehicle for political issues, values, and beliefs have been used by many musicians from different cultures. I intend to discuss the Contribution of these two contemporary cultures music and their effect on society.