According to different anthropologists, culture is the epicenter and fundamental part of their scientific study. To many, it is an erudite behavior that is adopted with the passage of time, whilst to others, it is just the cogitation of behavior (White, 1959). Cultures and subcultures of any country or state convey knowledge about the human aspects of its citizens. It’s their emotional, social, and physical attributions that make them distinct from the rest of the world. There is a cultural lens that exists in every society, and in order to realize its significance, it is imperative to step out of it. In doing so, the purpose of this essay is to shed some light on an eloquent withal distinctive subculture of America, which is the African-American culture.
The United States of America is an amalgam of various subcultures such as Amish, African-American, Evangelical Christen’s hip-hop culture, etc. African-Americans refer to a subculture of America that consists of a mixture of Africans and American people. Today, people belonging to this subculture prefer calling themselves “Black Americans,” which emphasizes their patrimonial linkage rather than a depiction of their culture. There are about 40,695,277 African-American inhabitants in the U.S. which makes up approximately 14.4% of the total country’s population (Cherry et al., 2020). The mindset of Americans regarding African Americans is that they forcefully immigrated as “slaves” in the seventeenth or eighteenth century, and this concept still pertains but, in reality, is debatable. Even in those times, they depicted a high sense of “cultural homogeneity” (Oyserman, 2017).
The bred-in-the-bone of African-American culture in Africa. It is basically an admixture of Sub-Saharan African and Sahelean cultures (Brown, 2013). It is enriched with conventional poetry, such as soul-engaging poetry, gospel music, and rap (Brown, 2013). The language that African Americans use is English like the rest of the citizens of the country, which is a clear depiction of promoting the admixture of both cultures. But at the same time, their dialect of English differs in the context of pronunciation, syntax, and the use of grammar. Although speaking the native language is preemptory, speaking “Black English” helps them remain connected to their cultural heritage and values.
The workplace ethics are slightly distinctive when considering African-Americans as they behest a closer individual, collegial space. Likewise, they believe in developing healthy work relationships but, at the same time, do not prefer matters done orderly (Jones et al., 2018). Politically, they were not allowed to practice politics let alone vote or support a political party. But with intense hard work and the fight for their rights, this concept has changed, and now the United States of America has made history by electing a “Black” president Barack Obama. Their virtues and customs have altered or commixed with the white culture, and more embracive of their country land, they still try and practice their traditional norms (Brewster, 2017).
The African-American subculture is one of the largest minority groups in the U.S., but they face the greatest oppression as well. The uprising against racial inequality has given rise to protests and rallies such as “Black Lives Matter,” which has increased awareness of the general population regarding racial inequality among Black people (Gershoni, 2016). They have strived hard situations and fought for their basic rights in medical, political, social, cooperative, and educational fields. Albeit all this hard work, they still face dejection and are considered inferior to the white population. However, times are changing with the increased advertence and impartial reflection of American citizens; Black people are looking forward to a better future. Although corrupted by narrow-mindedness, African-American culture is indifferent, yet it is the abridgment of cross-cultural settlement that was initiated by the African ancestors and prolonged by the later arrivers.
References
Brown, A. K. (2013). Black Culture. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 1(1), 108–110.
Cherry, B., Powell-Young, Y., & Giger, J. N. (2020). African-Americans. Transcultural Nursing-E-Book: Assessment and Intervention, 160.
Gershoni, Y. (2016). Africans on African-Americans: The creation and uses of an African-American myth. Springer.
Jones, E., Huey, S. J., & Rubenson, M. (2018). Cultural competence in therapy with African Americans. In Cultural Competence in Applied Psychology (pp. 557–573). Springer.
Oyserman, D. (2017). Culture three ways: Culture and subcultures within countries. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 435–463.
White, L. A. (1959). The Concept of Culture. American Anthropologist, 61(2), 227–251. JSTOR.
