African American Identity Issue

Slaves would gather to sing and dance, and would create their own musical instruments using all sorts of materials, animal skins and bones. Drums, banjos, different flutes and pipes combined with the instruments of Europeans is an excellent example of acculturation and could very well serve in the very early history of the development of Jazz. A place called "Congo Square" in New Orleans highlights the importance of music tradition despite later attempts at restricting the gathering of slaves. Each nation had their own styles and types of

There are numerous ways to identify would I am. I am a african american female that is country and loves the outdoors mainly like mud riding . My cultural identity is important it’s part of me . it’s who I am . inside and out . My religion is very important to my family, when I become an adult my religion will pass on to my children. Growing up it made me realize that my cultural is like a oreo hard on the outside and and the inside is thing sweet person filled with joy and happiness .

“The soul was the body that fed the tobacco, and the spirit was the blood that watered the cotton, and these created the first fruits of the American garden” (Coates 104). In Between the World and Me,” and within this quote alone, Ta-Nehisi Coates argued not only the importance of black identity, but also how and why black identity was so deceivingly shaped in response to the dark history behind it. Through Coates’ recollections and fair warnings to his son, the relationship between black identity and “The Dream” becomes clearer. In spite of the “white supremacist” trademark that comes stamped upon “The Dream,” Coates provides impermeable evidence as to why black identity is not only more invested in history than white identity, but more importantly why it is the investment to be made in “The American Dream.”

Though it has been apparent that people of color have been treated as a subclass within the medical field for centuries; as was brought to light in The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the recognition of forced hysterectomies and sterilizations of African American women in the 20th century and, to “The Negro Project” which worked to reduce the African American population through eugenics (Feagin & Bennefield, 2014). With even these three examples it is clear that the medical field has played a large role in creating both psychological and physical disadvantages and trauma for minority groups in America. Yet, it seems to be a subject that many professionals refuse to address. A meta-analysis conducted by Mayberry, Mili and Ofili found that,

Famous African American females also have to face the reality that their beauty is not accepted in society. Various interviews were conducted for a documentary named “Imagine A Future: My Black Is Beautiful.” Amongst the women interviewed were Tatiana Ali, Gabby Douglas, Gabourey Sidbe, and Adepero Oduye. The women share stories with the interviewers about incidents that lowered their self-esteem. “A former coach told me I needed to fix my nose [have] surgery on my nose…it kinda lowered my self-esteem, and I just remember looking in the mirror like maybe I do,” Douglas explains. Such insensitivity and ignorance has been expressed to these women by authority figures and people they know. Adepero Oduye shares a few comments that were made to her by people she cared for. She says, the people say you never work with hair like that, natural hair…I thought about changing my name; somebody suggested I get a nose job…and I'm just like I'm just trying to be me…” she continues by pointing out that “the message was, who I am isn’t enough.”

During the era of segregation, blacks couldn’t even look at a white woman without it being deemed sexual and they were ultimately beaten or killed for it. That mindset is still present today in the form of misidentification in sexual assault cases. A black prisoner serving time for sexual assault is three and a half more likely to be innocent than a white convict (Gross, Possley, & Stephen,2017, March 7). The reason for this mishap is mistaken identification by a white victim in violent crimes involving African Americans. In present day, assault on a Caucasian woman by an African American male is very small throughout the United States ranking in at only 11%. Misidentifications are products of racial bias, which is the belief that one race

Assess the materials presented by the National Genome Research Institute in the understanding of the identity and health of African Americans. Note: you may focus on any or a combination of the following major headings: the Ancestral history from genomic information and historical records, Ethnic identity and cultural diversity from historical and genomic information, and the arts and culture from ancestral information.

Being born in Columbia, SC and moving to a small town called Lancaster, I identity as being African American, although many perceive me to me biracial. Many people would ask if I were mixed or adopted because I looked distinctly different than my mother. My mother is a very chocolate lady while my father looks almost Caucasian with his very sandy brown hair. As many African Americans are stereotyped as not having a father figure in their life, my father was indeed in my life but he did not play a key part. My mother on the other hand is not your typical “black” mother.

Identity has been a major concern of African and African American authors from the beginning. In fact African American identity underwent drastic transformations between the eighteenth century and twentieth century. As Amistad, "Federalist No. 54", The New Negro and The Souls of Black Folks shows, African American identity has shifted from an early tribal identity, to a dehumanized identity based in slavery, and finally to a ‘new' type of Negro identity based in art and African origins. These transformations of identity have been a tremendous struggle that were produced by their exploitation by white America.

At this stage in the capstone process I have finalized my ideas regarding my topic and I am currently brainstorming pictures ideas that I could use for my project. Originally, I was focusing on black identity and primarily answering the question, "What does it mean to be Black?". Now my topic has shifted a bit and while I am still focusing on black identity I am not specifically and outrightly answering that question. I have also chosen my medium. Originally, I was leaning towards photography or videography, but I have decided upon printing.

The African American community has sat at the end of a discriminatory lens from the moment they set foot in the United States. For that reason, black communities have undergone the process of community building to ensure that all members feel a sense of belonging.

In Mk Asante memoir of buck struggles are reveled regarding the broken bonds in African American homes. The motive of this essay is to evaluate the silence and invisibility within black families through a feminist theoretical frame walk regards to the crucial role the mother’s strength is to the African American family. Broken homes seems to be normal in society now of days and the burnt of the weight is left on the mother. Black men are an Integral part of the black family and this is important for men to lead with understanding, support and Love. In this memoir family struggles are current when Mk Asante mother Carol also known as Amina expresses her level of depression writing to herself throughout BUCK. “I don’t know how to deal with yet another pain. I want to scream while dance and dance while I scream. I want to forget that pain can be so intimate”. (Phone Tap Chapter 7) Page 113. Amina is struggling with pain and wants to physically express herself but can’t due to silence and insecurities. Growing up I lost my parents temporary to drug abuse and street violence at an early age, I completely understand what it feels like to be broken but silent on the inside trying forget the pain and struggles families go through. Mk families’ faces mental health illnesses, street violent contretemps and broken family principals. These are common struggles that are found in many African American homes today.

Ashley Graham, a famous plus size model being the first to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Graham deals with criticism from the public everyday. During an interview with Motto, Graham spoke out about the real image she places on society. When asked the question about her plus size modeling career “ I notice you said you could be “considered” plus-size—and in your ted talk you say, “I don’t see it as ‘plus-size,’ I see it as ‘my-size.'” Could you explain why you think that distinction is so important?I really believe that the word “plus-size” is something some women hold onto and

A new study in the NCA’s Communication Monographs discovered that when women, who were hocked up to a heart monitor, viewed images of other women with the same or similar body type to their own. There were more reports of body positivity and less social comparison. While there is more growing awareness of plus-size models there is also starting to be more demand for plus-size clothing in more styles. When a heavier set woman goes to flip through a magazine and all they see is skinny models being portrayed as beautiful and smart, yet this starts to take a mental toll on them. Thoughts of self-discrimination can lead to low self-esteem issues. To help with these thoughts fashion industries have now started putting plus-size women on their runways, such as the Lane Bryant’s #ImNoAngle and Dove’s Real Beauty campaigns.

More recently, Sports Illustrated model, Kate Upton whom is a size 4, is now considered a plus size model and deemed to be “too curvy”. In the United States the “normal” sized woman is between the size of 6 and 10. Most of us do not understand why some put themselves through so much anguish to satisfy these body image complexes. Back in the 1950’s, models were