This is going to be a long ass thread with me trying to debunk some many misconceptions. And not trying to cause any division, but what made me want to create this thread is because I see a lot online that Africans, Caribbeans and whites have this big fallacy that Black American culture is largely "Europeanized" due the African traits being erased during slavery. This is not true. One can point to the Gullah's and Creoles as proof of Black American culture not being Europeanized, but I'm gonna go deeper.
Also many(not all of them) of them sometimes assume that Black American don't even have our own distinct culture(music, cusinine, dance, folk tales, ceremonies etc.) or that simply American pop/urban culture is only Black American culture, which couldn't be further from the truth. American pop/urban culture takes bits and pieces from Black American culture(mostly new age) NOT the other way around. But all, not even most, aspects of Black American culture are necessarily mainstream, nor is most of it based in "urbacenters", seeing as Black American culture is largely rooted in rural traditions of the US south, and fairly recently moved and evolved in big urbacenter(NYC,CHI,L.A., etc etc) with the great migration of Black American people to large metropolitan areas.
But the second paragraph is not the point, because we do know us Black Americans DO HAVE our own distinct culture in America that is not only "Urban". But is it "Europeanized?" The answer is no and actually the other way around. The oppressed influencing the oppressing. Yes Black American culture is influenced Europeans/whites in some way, BUT the influence on American culture by blacks in America trumps the European influence on blacks in America. One can point to the many music genre's. To me that does not indicate that Black American culture is "Europeanized." Is Black American culture African? I would say Black American culture evolved into something different, but it is JUST as African influenced as any other black culture of the diaspora; Jamaican, Afro-Brazilian, Haitian, Afro-Dominican, Afro-Cuban, Bahamian,etc,etc,etc...
I'm gonna start with music since:
1. Its easiest for me to address.
2. Music plays a big part in Black American culture.
3. Music seems to be the root of the misconception.
To me the reason why people outside AA's like Africans, Caribbeans and whites think our culture is "white-washed" or "Europeanized" is because Black American music isn't exactly polyrhythm/percussion heavy like that which is found in among other people in the African diaspora. Something like this...
As we know almost all percussion playing music was banned among slaves in North America, largely due to the Stono Rebellion of Angolan slaves in South Carolina, excluding Congo square New Orleans on Sundays(the French and Spanish had a slightly different more lenient system of slavery than did the Anglo-Americans). So, the heavily percussion based Lower West African and Central African styles of music eventually died out in North America for the most part, except among a few key styles and places in North America ie South Carolina Gullahs, Southern Louisiana creoles, Northern Mississippi fife and drum blues(though that isn't Lower West African or Central African derived, but from polyrhythmic Fulani flute and drum music), and African-American southern spirituals.
So with the low amount of African polyrhythm/percussion in North America, one would question HOW IS Black American music African influenced and not just largely Europeanized?
To be continued in next post:
Also many(not all of them) of them sometimes assume that Black American don't even have our own distinct culture(music, cusinine, dance, folk tales, ceremonies etc.) or that simply American pop/urban culture is only Black American culture, which couldn't be further from the truth. American pop/urban culture takes bits and pieces from Black American culture(mostly new age) NOT the other way around. But all, not even most, aspects of Black American culture are necessarily mainstream, nor is most of it based in "urbacenters", seeing as Black American culture is largely rooted in rural traditions of the US south, and fairly recently moved and evolved in big urbacenter(NYC,CHI,L.A., etc etc) with the great migration of Black American people to large metropolitan areas.
But the second paragraph is not the point, because we do know us Black Americans DO HAVE our own distinct culture in America that is not only "Urban". But is it "Europeanized?" The answer is no and actually the other way around. The oppressed influencing the oppressing. Yes Black American culture is influenced Europeans/whites in some way, BUT the influence on American culture by blacks in America trumps the European influence on blacks in America. One can point to the many music genre's. To me that does not indicate that Black American culture is "Europeanized." Is Black American culture African? I would say Black American culture evolved into something different, but it is JUST as African influenced as any other black culture of the diaspora; Jamaican, Afro-Brazilian, Haitian, Afro-Dominican, Afro-Cuban, Bahamian,etc,etc,etc...
I'm gonna start with music since:
1. Its easiest for me to address.
2. Music plays a big part in Black American culture.
3. Music seems to be the root of the misconception.
To me the reason why people outside AA's like Africans, Caribbeans and whites think our culture is "white-washed" or "Europeanized" is because Black American music isn't exactly polyrhythm/percussion heavy like that which is found in among other people in the African diaspora. Something like this...
As we know almost all percussion playing music was banned among slaves in North America, largely due to the Stono Rebellion of Angolan slaves in South Carolina, excluding Congo square New Orleans on Sundays(the French and Spanish had a slightly different more lenient system of slavery than did the Anglo-Americans). So, the heavily percussion based Lower West African and Central African styles of music eventually died out in North America for the most part, except among a few key styles and places in North America ie South Carolina Gullahs, Southern Louisiana creoles, Northern Mississippi fife and drum blues(though that isn't Lower West African or Central African derived, but from polyrhythmic Fulani flute and drum music), and African-American southern spirituals.
So with the low amount of African polyrhythm/percussion in North America, one would question HOW IS Black American music African influenced and not just largely Europeanized?

To be continued in next post: