African-American Values

There are 4 peculiar institutions of the United States stated by Loic Wacquant. These 4 peculiar institutes were developed to control, define, and confine the African Americans to the lowest positions in society. These institutions has spanned from before the United States came to be.The 4 peculiar institutes Chattel Slavery, Jim Crow, the Northern Ghetto, and Prison were designed to take control of the African American race for free labor. The African American race has been stigmatized and defined as living property, slaves, sharecroppers, menial workers, and criminals. All of these titles share a common goal which is to keep them at the bottom of society.

The American culture is define to everyone in their own way. Everyone grows up differently in a particular community that shares the same languages, values, rules, and customs. The American Culture on that is consider to be a “melting pot”, because of all the different cultures that reside inside of it making it so diverse. Race in this country has never been a great topic throughout history. African Americans play a huge role into defining what our culture is as a whole, as well as being a part of racism for the past 250 years.

In this paper I discuss the African-American culture in regards to values, norms and beliefs.

The emancipation proclamation was what seemed like the beginning of freedom for African Americans. African Americans fought hard and valiantly in the American Civil war and with the Unions win freedom and peace for blacks seemed to be assured. As most people would quote," Freedom isn 't free." It almost always has a cost. Africans Americans since the origin of this country have literally laid down their lives for the cost of freedom and opportunity in the US. One of the most coveted freedom 's both past and present is the right to suffrage. My paper discusses the many factors leading to and the trials and tribulations involving black 's right to vote. In this paper, I will discuss the constitutional amendments as well as the landmark supreme court cases that affected both the lives and voting rights of African Americans during the time period of 1865 through 1900.

I might not be a person like Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B Du Bois, Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, Bell Hooks, and Jesse Jackson, or I might not be a part of organizations like the NAACP, SCLC, Afro American Unity, and Black Panther Party, but if I ever get an opportunity to make a difference these people and organizations made to the lives of African-Americans, I would never hesitate to take it. Although, these people adhered to the different ideologies, they all are unique, as they all had a significant role in fighting against the struggles of African-Americans in one way or the other. It’s true that, these people were able to achieve the equal

“Cooning” was a TV show or Film usually they act like idiot behavior that misrepresents African American culture. I think idiot because that shows a deliberate act. Many people called “coons.” Yes, I saw some examples today’s culture some white people still discriminate black people. Some white people were enjoying it, and that seems to some people they insulted African- American behaves. African-American got angry. It was not fair at all that behavior. All are good examples.

Africans have, since the early settlement of America, has had a great influence in the nation’s growth. These contributions to the United States from enslaved Africans have been greatly portrayed in American culture. Varying from cuisine, to song and dance are not only portrayed today but it has a deep-rooted impact throughout the United States. During the middle passage, enslaved Africans were forced to abandon their everyday lives, their families and their homes and forced to adapt to a new lifestyle they knew nothing of. However, upon arrival into the New World, due to their prior knowledge and wisdom from back home, they were able to quickly adapt and custom themselves to this new lifestyle in order to survive with the hope of potentially one day returning back to Africa. Unfortunately, African contributions to the culture of the United States has received little to no recognition and it has been taken credit for by Europeans and Whites since the early establishment of the United States.

A feeling of affiliation with community and strong interaction with all of its members serve as the basis of the peculiarity of Black community. Membership of community has been always more important to African Americans than the feeling of individualism and competition among its members. Jagers and Mock (1995) have talked about Afro-cultural communalism. This communalism is the tendency of African Americans toward collectivist orientation or the preference for interdependence among people. Students who are driven by this communalistic orientation cannot describe themselves in individualistic terms. In fact, much of their self-identity is grounded in their social concern for, and need to be with, others [3]. Being a member of community young African Americans always relate themselves to it, because as it has been mentioned above, individualism is not a characteristic feature of Black community.

The mission of the students around the country who fought for an education that would shed light on African Americans. The progress the students created is seen today in American Universities ,and also HBCUs, where (AAS)African American Studies is implemented into the curriculum. Before, the dissection the formation of AAS, it should be noted that without the sacrifice from others I undoubtedly would not be writing about AAS ,or reflecting on the significance it has created for generations so far.

I am an African American and I want to give my perspective on how I think about events involved with the Civil War. My perspective on the Confederate States of America is that it is a lot of Southern States eleven to be exact. The Confederate States seceded from the Union and that’s what started the civil war. The war had a big effect on us they wounded about three million slaves. My perspective on African Americans serving in the army is not really good back because they just want to use us and if one of us dies the whites wouldn’t care. They basically treat us like slaves making us work in the army fighting their battle.

Recently, I just read your book, Between and World and Me. I am glad that you spent your time to conduct many types of research and express your thoughts about the equality of rights for black people in the U.S. Being an ancestor of the black freedom movement, I appreciate your efforts of revealing the true living environment of the African American people in this modern society. I think your book offers a different way to look at the concept of American exceptionalism. After viewing your perspectives and comparing them with the late twentieth century, I agree with your rejection of the ideas of American exceptionalism.

The most surprising information that I discovered in the article was the fact that African Americans appreciate their heritage more than Africans do. It is really awkward that African Americans are more proud than the Africans are. African Americans take racism more serious than Africans and that’s really because they love who they are, and are also proud Americans, so African Americans are proud because as in today we have seen a lot of free citizens that have become lawyer, doctors, and the musicians that’s what makes African Americans to be proud of their country.

African Americans spirituals were religious songs that were sung by the African Americans during work, rest, play and church. These songs were of great importance to the African Americans. Singing these spirituals helped them escape the everyday hardships of slavery even if it was just for a moment. Each spiritual had its own meaning but overall, I think that the central meaning of the spirituals was encoded communication. These spirituals were used mainly to talk about escape plans and routes. The spirituals used biblical names to speak of the everyday people around them. The encoded messages about escape were part of the central meaning of these spirituals. I do not think that the spirituals were overall political. My opinion differs in the sense that I think the spirituals were a genius way to communicate with their in-group. The messages in the spirituals were what they needed in order to escape to the freedom that they deserved all along. First, I will give examples of the encoded messages within the spirituals that used biblical names to reference every day people. Then, I will give examples of the communication of escape. Together these both represent the central meaning of encoded communication.

I have traveled all over the world but I have never been down South. Being from New York has also given me a very narrow perspective of African American culture. The purpose of this research project is to gain some understanding of Black culture specifically in the South. College has exposed me to a lot of people who were born and raised in the South and some of my closest friends are southerners. By researching the history, culture, and demographic information of the South, I plan on becoming a more well-informed American.

In 1989, I was born in Orange County, California to my father and mother, Paul and Susan. My father was born in a farming town in North Dakota but grew up mostly in Bakersfield, CA. His heritage is half Norwegian and half English. My father received his schooling from California Lutheran Seminary. Most of my life my dad was a pastor at Lutheran churches. Until recently did he became a chaplain for Hospice. My mother was born in Québec, Canada. When she was 23, she moved to Orange County, CA. Her heritage is mostly Scottish, French Canadian, and Irish. She grew up speaking French at school, but spoke English at home. She received her nursing degree from Vaner College in Quebec. Most of my childhood my mother was a stay at home mom. My mom and dad met when they were both working at St. Joseph Hospital. They have been married for 36 years. They had five kids, and I am the fourth. All of us kids are about two years apart. My sister, Katie, is the oldest. She is six years older than me. She has always been hard working and disciplined. She did well in school, educationally and socially. Next is my brother, John. He is very intelligent, but struggled in school because