The background of black culture and music

Conversion, however, did not result in slaves adopting the traditions associated with the practice of Christianity. Instead they reinterpreted them in a way that had meaning to them as Africans in America.

Meanwhile, society cuts and commercializes pieces of Black culture for white consumption. Just think of how common it is for white people in the US to make music, talk, and dress in ways influenced by Black culture.

I Feel Mocked Last year, an old college acquaintance added me on Facebook. The background of black culture and music you do with a social media reconnect, I scanned her photos for updates, and most of them reflected her life as an upper middle class white woman living in a wealthy suburb.

But I stopped scrolling at one picture. She stood in front of a graffitied wall, bulging her eyes out, scrunching her mouth, and holding two fingers sideways. A red handkerchief pushed her blond hair back from her forehead. They took a distorted snapshot of what it means to be poor and Black and made a mockery of it.

And her handkerchief reminded me that a Black person who dressed and posed like she did would be judged as nothing more than a dangerous gang member.

I thought about how the media shows the people she was imitating — as thugs, as one-dimensional characters, as threats to your family — but not as fully human.

Last year, the creators revealed their identities: And still, even if he bought the best suit he could afford, he might have run into people who judged him as lazy or incompetent just because of the color of his skin. When it benefits them, the creators of Thug Kitchen can adopt an exaggerated version of AAVE — which was developed to help Black people resist and survive oppression.

But when they need to, they can drop the act and access opportunities they only get thanks to white privilege. And they get to maintain their culture as the norm, while treating elements of Black culture as trivial things to play with.

I should be embarrassed to admit that.

Teen Vogue featured them as a new trend with a spread showing only white and fair-skinned models. This is such a common pattern of cultural appropriation: Black folks struggle for affirmation, then develop tools to resist anti-Blackness, only to have white folks claim those tools as their own and erase the significance.

Many readers of Teen Vogue have been introduced to Senegalese twists as a style for white women, without learning about what they mean for women like me after a lifetime of learning to love my hair. People of all backgrounds have come to love the music and style this genre introduced to the world.

But not everyone who enjoys hip-hop connects with its meaning — or even knows how it originated. Do you know how hip-hop started? It began as an outlet for urban Black youth to express themselves and release stress from the poverty and violence of inner city life.

Since the beginning, Black hip-hop artists and fans have been regarded by mainstream culture as thugs, not real artists or consumers worth paying attention to.

“The Importance of Music in the African Culture:More Than Just a song” | All For Music

But hip-hop has survived. Black artists create studios and put the power of resistance in their rhymes. They continue embracing hip-hop culture — even when it costs them mainstream success — and bravely defy the common idea that the way they dress and speak makes them less valuable.

In many ways, the story of hip-hop reflects the struggle and resilience of Black American life itself. It shows that even those who suffer the most at the intersections of economic and racial injustice can create amazing things that help them survive. And that story — not just a sick beat — is what resonates with so many Black folks about hip-hop.

Mainstream record labels and audiences have stopped ignoring hip-hop. These days, they exchange billions of dollars for the music of white artists like Iggy Azalea and Macklemorewho dominate hip-hop categories at music awards shows.

Black entertainers are still struggling to find success. And removing everything that represents actual Blacknessnot just a costume of it.

History of Jazz | Black History in America | lausannecongress2018.com

Pop culture provides endless examples of this double standard. For instance, celebrities with dark skin are rarely seen as attractive like white and fair-skinned celebrities. They were trying to look like white model Kylie Jenner, who achieved her look with cosmetic surgery. White people can adopt elements of Black looks and still be treated with dignity — be treated as hot trend-setters, even.

This double standard shows that a hierarchy of skin color is alive and well in our society. People will always assign me less value because of the color of my skin. Your actions matter — you can contribute to racism by pretending all things are equal and acting on your privilege, or you can recognize your own contributions and put a stop to them.

Here are three steps to showing respectful appreciation: Being a supportive ally means listening to us and learning about our struggles. Being an ally is an ongoing processso stay open to learning.African-American dance, like other aspects of African-American culture, finds its earliest roots in the dances of the hundreds of African ethnic groups that made up African slaves in the Americas as well as influences from European sources in the United States.

Dance in the African tradition, and thus in the tradition of slaves, was a part of both everyday life and special occasions. “The Importance of Music in the African Culture:More Than Just a song” Posted on April 30, by Samiuah Garnes Music has traditionally played an important role in .

African-American culture, also known as Black American culture, Black Music Month is highlighted with various events urging citizens to revel in the many forms of music from gospel to hip-hop. African-American musicians, singers, and composers are also highlighted for their contributions to the nation's history and culture.

May 22,  · Black culture can be seen in religion, language, family structure, food,music, dance, literature, art and so much more.

It is about the community and the individual, the accumulation of wealth and giving back to the community, the coolness and the swagger, and the spoken word and the written prose, to name a few.

The song is as much a cultural theft as it is a literal one. Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus' VMA performance was the spark that ignited the still-raging discussion of cultural appropriation in music.

The Scholastic History of Jazz resource site is full of audio clips, history, and research starters on the subject of jazz. Join Grammy-Award winning trumpeter and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center Wynton Marsalis on a tour of jazz — see the people, read about the events, and listen to the music.