African American Culture
The history of African American culture is hard to define because during the times of slavery the slaves were not allowed to practice much culture at all. Although slavery greatly restricted the ability of slaves in America to practice their African culture, many practices, values and beliefs survived and over time have incorporated elements of European American culture.
There are even certain facets of African American culture that were brought into being or made more prominent as a result of slavery; an example of this is how drumming became used as a means of communication and establishing a community identity during that time. The result is a dynamic, creative African American culture that has had and continues to have a profound impact on mainstream American world culture. After Emancipation, these uniquely African American traditions continued to grow.
African American culture has taken on a new look and is quickly speeding throughout the younger generation of kids both black and white. African American culture is not defined by Hip Hop; it is too large to be confined by such a new facet of the African American culture. It is not defined by braided hair or weaves, it is defined by a collection of all of the things that Black Americans do to form our African American culture. In my book the Marks Left Behind, I show the expression of our African American culture through poetry, which is another part of our culture. The Marks Left Behind is not just a book of poetry, it is a book that will teach you about African American culture.
