Kwanz African American And Pan-African Holidays

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

The Passover in Hebrew is known as Pesach. It begins in the Sunset of Monday, April 10, 2017, and ends at the nightfall of Tuesday, April 18, 2017. The Pesach is depicted in the book of Exodus 12:23. It describes the day when God passed over Israelites. During the Passover, the Israelites usually celebrate their Liberation from the Egyptian bondage. This is when God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. The Passover is also considered to be one of the most theologically important holidays in the Jewish calendar. It normally goes for eight days but in other communities, it lasts for only one week. The Jews are prohibited to eat any bread or leavened food. They are only allowed

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that is celebrated from December 26 until January 1. Kwanzaa is not affiliated with any religion. Kwanzaa was started to assist African Americans recollect their heritage. Dr. Maulana Karenga founded Kwanzaa in 1966. Dr. Karenga was a professor and chairman of black studies at California State University. Kwanzaa was established in result of the Watts riots. The Watts riot occurred in a predominantly black neighborhood in Los Angeles. Dr. Maulana Karenga developed Kwanzaa to amalgamate African Americans as a community. Kwanzaa is an Swahili word and is borrowed from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza”, which means fresh fruits.

1. Coates has a somewhat chilling description of schools. What are some of the phrases he uses to describe them?

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, his family and Friends. Dr. Karenga, a professor of African-American History at CSU, Long Beach, was effected by the Watts Riots of the summer of 1965. He felt that African-Americans had lost touch with their African heritage. He began to study ways that they could help themselves and each other. Dr. Karenga wanted to unify his people and instill a pride in their joint culture. He felt that there should be a special time of the year set aside to reflect upon and reaffirm the black community. He studied the harvest and "first fruit" celebrations on many African tribes, and although they all celebrated differently there were

As mentioned in previous chapters the need to teach multiculturalism among young children. There are many misconceptions about multicultural teaching. For example, Bill Howe presents misconceptions about this theme and there were a few that were interesting such as, tour and detour approaches as appropriate in multicultural education. For example, Black history month is when many schools celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans. It is great to celebrate the accomplishments of the diverse population in the United States, but why celebrate it one a year. Maya Angelou once remarked that she will be glad when Black History Month is no longer necessary. When all Americans are sufficiently a part of our courses of study and daily instruction,

did. Jesse E founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. It

Black history is remembering African Americans and their roles they contributed to the U.S. society. It was in those times that people for color fought for equality. We recognized them for their accomplishments, achievements, and diversity of African Americans. In my opinion, people use the premise of black history as only remembering people whom fought for civil rights, not the black scientists, doctors, etc. whom made a difference in America. It was started as Negro history week by Carter G. Woodson in 1926, then in 1976 President Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month. But it does concerns me that our people of color are being memorialized once a month and not spoked along with all American history throughout the year.

There is no doubt that African Americans have a rich cultural background and history like the many different ethnic groups who settled in the New World, whose origins lie in another country. For this reason, America was known as the melting pot. However, the backgrounds of each of these cultures were not always understood or, in the case of African Americans, accepted among the New World society and culture. Americans were ignorant to the possibility of differences among groups of people until information and ideas started to emerge, particularly, the African retention theories. This sparked an interest in the field of African culture and retention in African Americans. However, the study of African American culture truly emerged as a result of increased awareness in America, specifically through the publication and findings of scholarly research and cultural events like the Harlem Renaissance where all ethnicities were able to see this rich historical culture of African Americans.

The African American Culture and Traditions A Research Study and Facts That Will Take Us Into What Makes This Culture So Unique.

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.

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.

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.

     The black family is centered around the African ethos, a common guiding principle that filled African peoples lives. The African ethos, broken down into two categories, is the survival of the tribe and the oneness of being. “The knowledge of one’s tribal or family genealogy not only reflected and showed the importance of the interconnectedness of all elements of the family (tribe), it also was thought to impart the sense of sacred obligation to extend and continue one’s genealogical line.” In other words, existence is dependent not only on those alive, but those dead as well. Therefore in practice, the structure of traditional African families is based on union. African-based family systems can be thought of as a “Continual Flexibility in Circularity”. It is based on the continuity and union of people. African culture must be the basis for understanding black families. “African roots of black culture is the retention of an African attitude, an attitude based on a belief system which understood everything in the universe to be endowed with the Supreme Force.” In

The general study of humans and their ways of life is called Anthropology. Anthropology have four classic subdivisions: Cultural (or socio-cultural) Anthropology, Archaeology, Linguistics Anthropology and Biological (or physical) Anthropology. He or she who typically had some training in each of these four classic subdivisions in fact, have connected them to one another within a large field anthropology study. Moreover, he or she can use the theoretical knowledge and findings of anthropology to solve real-world problems surrounding human beings or human customs. Anthropologist has an idea that the beliefs and practices of a culture should be understood within the context that particular culture’s background, history and current events surrounding it called Cultural relativism. The main objective of this final research paper is examining my own culture from etic (i.e. outsider’s) perspective and another culture from emic (i.e. insider’s) perspective to clearly show my personal understanding of cultural relativism. Specifically, I will examine the rites of passage in African American girls/women lived reality and effects of the intersectional race, class and gender oppression in America coupled with discussing Japanese different rituals comparison to American outlook into death and the afterlife. All in all, rites of passage are done differently and makes a difference in its own society.