Food

African slaves had to find their own way to prepare edible and pleasing meals for their families.  Only the scraps and left overs were given to the slaves to eat.  Slaves from the Southern United States created a style of cooking food that would later be described as soul food.

Adrian Miller, a former special assistant to Bill Clinton says, "The term soul food, for example, gained currency in the late 1960's and early 1970's"(John).  After Slavery was abolished most African Americans grew their own vegetables.  Most were poor and could only afford the off cuts of meats.  Hunting provided meats such as squirrel, waterfowl, possum and rabbit.  

One popular, easy to make, soul food dish is cornbread. 

•    2 cups organic cornmeal

•    1 cup organic unbleached all-purpose flour

•    2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum-free)

•    1/3 cup organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)

•    2 tablespoons organic maple syrup

•    2 cups homemade almond milk (room temperature)

•    2 teaspoons organic apple cider vinegar (or fresh squeezed lemon juice)

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpDL6E2JS40

Soul food cuisine:

•    Biscuits 

•    Butter beans 

•    Catfish 

•    Chicken livers

•    Chitterlings or chitlins

•    Chow-chow 

•    Collard greens 

•    Cornbread 

•    Chicken fried steak

•    Cracklins

•    Fatback 

•    Fried fish

•    Fried ice cream

•    Grits

•    Ham hocks

•    Hog maws

•    Hoghead cheese.

•    Hot sauce

•    Lima beans

•    Macaroni and cheese

•    Mashed potatoes

•    Milk and bread 

•    Mustard greens

•    Neckbones

•    Pigs' feet

•    Red beans.

•    Ribs

•    Sorghum syrup

•    Sweet potatoes 

Language

African American English, also commonly known as Black English or Ebonics, is a dialect of standard English language that was derived from Pidgin. In theory, Pidgin was a mixture of African languages that melded together on slave ships. Pidgin was used by slaves as well as slave traders and slave owners as a form of communication. As the slave trade traveled out of Africa, through the Caribbean and finally into the southern United States, Pidgin morphed into Creole. Creole was the first language spoken by Africans born on American soil and is still widely spoken in certain parts of the southeast. Through time and location changes, Creole and standard English were mixed by African American speakers to form Ebonics.

Most people assume that Ebonics is just a lazy or broken form of English. In actuality, it is a valid form of language with it's own rules and structure. The biggest "rule" of Ebonics is that where contractions are used in standard English, Ebonics instead uses deletion. Also past tense usage in Ebonics is still considered present tense in standard English. 











 http://www2.nau.edu/~eng121-c/africanamerican_engl.htm

http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-ebonics-african-american-english

Pop Culture

Damia's Post

The evolution of African American clothing is difficult to trace because of the lack of historical evidence. However, much of early African clothing history has been pieced together from art, oral histories, and traditions that are continued by present-day tribal members. It wasn't until Europeans began trading and later developing colonies in Africa in the thirteenth century C.E., when information about how Africans dressed was recorded, and that continues to this day. 

 

 During the civil rights movement, along with the head wrap, other young black revolutionaries adopted what they perceived to be West African attire, such as caftans and male head caps. Men and women grew their hair into enormous styles called "Afros", allowing for the natural texture to be emphasized in direct reaction against conks and Walker's straightening products that attempted to simulate European hair. Since the 1960's, some black men have continued to look back to Africa by wearing Rasta locks while black women have their hair braided into elaborate African styles, often adding hairpieces. 

African Americans generally have dressed in the prevailing fashions along with other Americans. Between 1895 and 1925, black intellectuals, literati, and artists strove to present themselves as quite different from the racist stereotypical cartoon illustrations of "Mammys" and "Sambos" drawn by whites. Many illustrations show these "New Negroes" groomed and adorned in conservative, mainstream dress.

100 Years of Beauty:USA 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtApHjxsGq4
African American Music Evolution Timeline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wORf_Qv6o58

The Black influence on American music is greatly under appreciated. The image of rock stars today seem to be slim,white guys in ripped jeans and long hair. 

Their style of music is usually wailing barely audible lyrics over a thrashing guitar riff. Though that may not be the style for everyone, that style of music holds its place in sculpting the history of music. Artists varying from The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, from Nirvana to Marilyn Mansion, we rarely see the link to Black folks within the context of modern rock.

Other artist like Elvis Presley, who are known as the "King of Rock n' Roll" owe their style of music to musicians such as Chuck Berry, who for many is the real King of Rock. Berry, Ike Turner and Little Richard produced the kind of music that Elvis, The Rolling Stones and other rock heavy weights mimicked for years to come.