Dehumanlization of African Americans free essay sample

Overview: enslaved Africans, not free to openly transport kinship, courts, religion, and material cultures, were forced to disguise or abandon them during the Middle Passage. Instead, they dematerialized their cultural artifacts during the Middle Passage to re materialized their African cultures on their arrival in the New World. We will write a custom essay sample on Dehumanlization of African Americans or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Africans arrived in the New World capable of using Old World knowledge to create New World realities. . Traditionally African food culture has been preserved today in many areas of American Cuisine. * A. ) Techniques of deep frying, southern stews (gumbo), and nut stews. Okra, black eyed peas, kidney and lima beans were brought to slave ships. * B. ) Fufu , a traditional African meal throughout the continent, was eaten from Senegambia to Angola and was assimilated into American Cultures as â€Å" turn meal and flour â€Å" in South Carolina. * C. ) Corn bread prepared by African slaves was similar to the African Millet bread. In some of the slave narrative reports, ‘’ cornbread ’’ was referred to as one of the foods that accompanied them in the New World. * III. * 1. Generations of hardship imposed on the African- American community created distinctive language patterns. * A. ) Several African languages are whistled or drummed to communicate over long distances. * B. ) Developing their own culture and preserving their languages or creating pidgins and creole languages to separate themselves from their situation. * C. The first Africans to arrive communicated with the European master through signs and gestures. * IV. * 1. Africans brought traditional music and dance forms in their work, their free-time – entertainment, and their burials and other ceremonies. * A. ) Many African Americans sing ‘’ Lift Every Voice and Sing’’ in addition to the American natural anthem. Many African American children are taught to song at school, church, or by their families. * B. )Radio and phonograph records, rag time, jazz, blues, and swing also became popular overseas, and the 1920s became as the Jazz Age. C. ) The first African – American dance to become popular with the white dancers was the cake walk in 1891. Later dances to follow in this tradition include the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, the Jitterbug and the swing. During the Harlem Renaissance, African-American Broadway shows such as the ‘’ Shuffle Along ‘’ helped established and legitimize African- American dancers. V. 1 . Since the beginning of African civilization, hairstyles have been used to convey messages to greater society. A. As early as the 15th century, different styles could ‘’indicate a person’s marital status, age, religion, ethnic identity, wealth, and rank in the community. B. ) Unkept hair in nearly every West African culture was considered unattractive to the opposite sex and a sign that one was dirty, had bad morals or was even insane. C. ) A women with thick hair demonstrated the life force, the multiplying power of profusion, prosperity†¦a green thumb for ra ising bountiful farms and many healthy children. VI 1. ) African Americans art has made a vital contribution to the art of the United States. A. ) After the civil war, museum galleries began more frequently to display the work of African- American artist. B. )In the century, the women of Gee’s Bend developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional African –American quilts with a geometric simplicity that developed separately but was like that of Amish quilts and modern art. C. ) In the 17th century, and the early 19th century, art took the form of small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figurines, and ceramic vessels in the southern United States. Conclusion: From the earliest days of American Slavery in the 17th century, slave owners sought to exercise their slaves by attempting to strip them of their African culture. The physical isolation and societal marginalization of African slaves and, later, of, their free progeny, however, facilitated the retention of significant elements of traditional cultures among Africans in the New World. The imprint of Africa is evident in a myriad of ways: in music, hairstyles, dancing, music, cuisine, art, and world view.