Camden Commentary: Real African-Americans and Americans-of-African-descent: cultural differences.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Real African-Americans and Americans-of-African-descent: cultural differences.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/14/africans.in.america/index.html

4 comments:

Venita "Ninni" Le said...: I saw a link to your blog through CNN.com. I found this article intriguing. Although I have completed my studies in nursing, I found myself invested in critical studies on race and ethnicity. Its amazing how "White" America (not to be confused with European Americans...remember, I too am part European :-) ) have historically and socially contributed to the misunderstandings between Africans and Black Americans. Black/African Americans were historically stripped of their identity, language, and customs due to slavery. White America has created these images of Africans as being primitive and wild...definately not the case. This is a mechanism which causes tension between persons who share a common background and history...It is devastating to know what measures a society can take to separate the common roots and experiences of a people. I thought this was an interesting article, but moreso than not, its just another example of the poisonous historic social mechanism that serves to divide, and not unite.; July 15, 2009 at 8:49 PM
Jay Moreno said...: Interersting that you found a link where you did. I'll have to check that out.

My understanding oif the article was that the African-Americans (native born Africans now living in America) were anmazed at the misconceptions about modern African nations and their contemporary lifestyles that were held not so much by Americans-of- European descent, but by Americans of African descent. To say that the misunderstanding of currnet generation Amewricans of African descent and true African Americans are the result of slavery are is a prima facie absurdity. Mty last name is Moreno - clearly Spanish. My forbears came to the Spanish colony of Pensacola (FL) in the early 1700's. Yet, amazingly, I was not born speaking Spanish nor did I have the ability to play twelve string guitar or castanets, dodge bulls, or danced flamenco before I became disabled. Similarly, a bacl American born on the same day I was has no innate connections to Africa nor any special knowledge of the true current state of African culture and civilzation. His knowledge off Africa would spring from two sources: watching the same old Tarzan and other Africa based movies that I watched as a kid, and being fed a lot of Afro-centric hogwash that I wass not taught but am aware of (all Egyptins were coal black; Greek culture was riped off from African high culture, ancient Egytians could fly - like birds, etc., etc. All of the young dashiki clad, black Amnerican racist fools who claim they would love to go live in Africa don't have a clue. They would likely be on a plane back here within a week.

I have had occassion in the not- too-distant past to interact with a number of true African Americans who were either nurses (male and female) or working as nursing assistants while going to college.
My experience has been that they tend to speak excellent (though often heavily accented) king's English and are far more closely aligned with the cultures and mores of the European colonizers of their countries (and thus more aligned with the mores of Americans-of-European descent) than they are in any way "kindred spirits" of Americans of African descent. I would hasten to note that because of U.S. immigration policies, we are, with a few exceptions, only allowing the cream of African society to migrate to the U.S., however. We do this with virtually all countries, by the way. The contrast between the typical, legal African immigrant and the
thugs of contemporary popular black American "gansta" culture is stark indeed.; July 16, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Anonymous said...: As Venita Le said White America keeps this debate going. Those from African countries see Black Americans as ignorant as compared to whites. Blacks in America see those from African countries as either not authentic because their cultures include the cultures of their colonizers; or as heinously ironic because the images white America fed us are so off. When will we learn?; July 16, 2009 at 6:19 PM
Jay Moreno said...: "Not authentic" whats? Clearly, they are authentic Africans (which is rather like saying that all Candians and Americans are "North Americans").

What does "not authentic" mean when we hear an American-of-African-descent use the term about another such citizen? I know, but I would like to hear your opinion first.

"Those from African countries see Black Americans as ignorant as compared to whites." Well, would not arriving aliens from deep space arrive at he very same conclusion, based upon the objective evidence? If you consider that ignorance means a lack of knowledge (vs. intelligence), then it is patently obvious that the contemporary, lower class, "gansta rap," "hip-hop" generation of young blacks values education even less than their young white counterparts - a damning indictment indeed.; July 17, 2009 at 8:45 AM