African American Culture Research Paper

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African American Culture: The African American culture originates from the rich traditions of Africa combined with the British colonial experience. It was established during the slavery period. African cultures, slavery, slave rebellions, and the civil rights movements have shaped African-American religious, familial, political and economic behaviours. One element of the African American culture is the strong oral tradition. This is because education was prohibited towards enslaved African American due to a fear from the slaveholders that it might empower their chattel and inspire or enable emancipatory ambitions. This forced oral tradition to become a primary source of communication and the means of preserving history, mores, and other cultural…show more content…
The strong oral tradition was used to pass down songs, prayer, laments and stories through music and storytelling. Another element of the African American culture would be the African American music. The african American music covers a large diverse range of music which includes Negro spirituals, blues, ragtime, jazz, boogie woogie, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, rock & roll, soul, funk, disco, hip hop, house, and tech constitute the principal modern genres of African-American music. The African American music first developed in the 18th century from the Southern slave. The conversion to christianity did not result them to follow practices of their religion but created a thought of them as Africans in America. They sang folk spirituals in groups as they worked the plantation fields. Slaves added dancing and forms of body movements to the singing. The melodies and rhythms of psalms and hymns were also changed by speeding the temp and repeating choruses and combination of English and African words and phrases were added in. Originally being passed down orally, folk spirituals have been central in lives of African Americans for over three centuries, serving religious, cultural, social,

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