What happened to black culture?

Question

What has happened to black culture? It has gone down from what it used to be. We used to be a nice people, but for the past 25 years we have gone down to the pits. 140 years after slavery we are still in bondage to another type of slavery: ghettoism. It's not cool --- it's stupid. It's why much of the world looks down on black people in America. Even many Africans dislike us. It's a shame.

Answer 1

Don't mistake a trend for the majority. Every black person isn't ghetto or even from the ghetto. But, most of us have been stereotyped as ghetto. I know that people are often suprised that I come from 4th generation of of college educated women in my family. Or, of course they are suprised that I am in my 30's single and I don't have any children. The best that you can do is hold your head up, be proud of where you come from and have standards. You will be suprised what type of people are drawn to you.

Answer 2

First I think every generation has been saying this since the formalized end of slavery. Part of the issue is the inherent change in culture from generation to generation.

In terms of the culture over the last 50 years, then the answer is the civil rights movement. The movement gave ecomonic access to a signifigant (not a large number, but more than a little)number of blacks. For America, a country founded upon the ideals and theories of capitalism and free market economy, this was devestating to "authentic" black culture. Today there are two disting black cultures, just as their are two distinct white cultures.
There is the culture of middle to lower upper class who have money and are relatively comfortable and secure. And there is the culture of those poverty or at the low end of the middle class life who, at best, live check to check and work extremely hard for little reward.

Ghettoism is not slavery. Ghettoism can be found in any culture where a group of people are systematically oppressed in an urban enviornment. For proof do a cultural study on the immigrant poplutions (European great migration) in urban centers when immigration into this country was at it's highest levels.

The true slavery we deal with is wage slavery. Meaning we are bound to the owners of major corporations and companies. We cannot eat, maintain health or provide shelter unless we enter into bonded agreements with these owners. Even if we decide to leave it is entirely possible to end up bonded to the same owner who owns what we thought was a different company. (I can work for Taco Bell, quit and get a job as a truck driver for Pepsi go to school get a degree and become coporate manager for Pizza Hut and still be working for the same owner.)

Africans look down on us (dislike is harsh) because we have the opportunity to make a living that most could never dream of and yet we have contributed nothing back to our homeland. A scary statistic is that if Africans Americans were there own country they would rank #9 in terms of wealth in the world. This would put us ahead of countries like South Africa.

Black culture is still around, it just is not what we envisioned it to be in the 60's and 70's.

Answer 3

There are so many good parts about black culture - that is why so many people of other cultures imitate black people! However the ghettoism can really be a bad influence. Ghettoism seems to be a problem effecting all youth in general actually - it is becoming more and more cool to do EVERYTHING that is BAD - commit violent acts, disrespect women, hate other racial groups, get drunk or high enough to have to go to the hospital, etc. And YOU KNOW in a group of young men, if one of them hits a girl, none of the other guys are going to stand up and tell him that is F'D up or rat him out. It is very very sad how many people are not strong enough to stand up for what is right. And the effect just keeps snowballing.....]
for ALL races.

Answer 4

What new thing have we added to black culture in the last 25 years, there is the answer to you question. Rap man! Gangsta Rap more specifically. My ex criticizes me for not being black enough. She came by my place the other day, I have kids with her, she saw a Black Enterprise magazine on the bathroom floor. I told her, see, I buy black publications, what she said is typical of how many blacks think these days, she said "That ain't black, look, it say 75 most influential blacks on wall street, that's some uncle tom sht." That is what she said. These 75 black men and women in that magazine have more wealth than most rappers combined yet my ex, ex for good reason, thinks the black people in Black Enterprise are lame.

Answer 5

It's just the perpetuating cultural situation that they are in. Increased education in there areas would do the trick and it could be fixed over the next 50 years if anyone cared to do anything about it. We just need a leader that is willing to do the right thing and not just exploit. Most of the black leaders I see today are just pimps and hustlers with out the cape.

Answer 6

everyone has there own culture......culture can mean anything, the religion u choose to associate yourself with...what food you eat..music u relate to, how you live. if some black people choose to be ghetto and not to educate themselves, it is by choice. some dont care how they are representing their race, but that has nothing to do with what u r referring to..culture. its not that we as blacks dont have culture anymore, its just that we r all too diverse to have just one! we can not be put into a box as a whole, like u r doing. u need to put yourself outside of that box, and just know who u are as a person, know your own culture, and then associate yourself with that. all u have to do is be an example, teach the next generation about our roots, and things will change, as it always has. Black culture is there, ITS EVERYWHERE! all over the media, music and television...dont u know that? its just not anything like history, or slavery, like you were saying..times are changing.. u cannot define black culture, or black people. the problem today is being stereotyped, and i see you are part of that problem...you called it stupid, but being ghetto is a lot of peoples reality..they cant help whether or not they were educated..BE THE DIFFERENCE, DONT HATE OR JUDGE. CHANGE YOURSELF FIRST

Answer 7

am somewhat torn on this issue. I think that ghettoism is a part of black culture- and we should all embrace it... my concern however, is with regard to the youths... the way they go around intimidating each other, we should be trying to combact this rather than complaining about the deteriotion of the culture... am black and very proud.
I listen to rock music; and enjoy a 'traditional Eglish breakfast' occaisionally. but i am black. and very, very proud of it...
there needs to be more of an understanding about the black culture...

Answer 8

It's all a shame.
My Co-Worker grew up in the ghetto. He thinks for
his son to be a man he will have to grow up that way to.
That's crazy. He left, but is so full of rage. You're
suppose to want better for your children.

Answer 9

Its because hip hop/rap artist glorify ghetto-ism. have you heard some of the rap songs and seen the videos. the baggy clothes and rundown houses and crime ridden neighborhoods hip hop artist are basically telling young African Americans if you grew up in the ghetto your cool cuz your were able to survive living in harsh conditions and all that stuff so they keep that ghetto mentally

Answer 10

Because it's a hard, hard chain to break. We discriminate against one another-women are the worst offenders-and half of us don't know the meaning of loyalty.