When asked to write about something that many people didn't know about my culture, it spurred so many thoughts, I had so many ideas from black community structures to the food we eat to our presence in the media. All of these ideas seemed like great topics to write about, until one thought crossed my mind. What exactly is considered black culture?
Do a google search and type in "black culture" and here's what you get: "African-American culture, also known as Black-American culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of African Americans to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture." Upon reading this I was partly disgusted. Disgusted because in some sense, my peoples culture is seen simply as something added to the American culture, something that everyone could share. But only partly disgusted because there seemed to be a drop of truth in it.
Some truth lies in that statement only because black culture, in my opinion, seems to be the most appropriated in this country. But my culture is the most unique to me because it is changing everyday. Everyone wants to be like us but no one can be us. We've had everything taken from us; Our freedom, our ideas and even the words we use, but we still have our own unique identity in this country whether it is explicitly defined or not. So one thing that many people may not know about my culture is that despite having everything taken from us, we still managed to created an identity in this country that is so beautiful that everyone wants to wear it.
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