Introduction
Talking of cultural diversity we refer to the various human societies and cultures that do exist in a region or a country. Cultural diversity can also be used to refer to the multicultural concept within our societies or a specific organization.
Among mainstream anthropologists, they are convinced that generally the cradle land for human beings is in Africa. This is agreed to be several years ago approximately two million years, after which there has been a wide spread throughout the world. This is one dimension of the so called cultural diversity
Cultural diversity also refers to the normal differences that are evidenced in the various societies that we do belong to. These involve things like language, dressing, and traditions lifestyle among other things that can identify a society or a certain ethnic group. This is the concept or rather the dimension of cultural diversity that I would like to focus on. Clarke, 1972.
Through my research I have come to conclude that in America ones tribe does not really matter but at the same time some people are not happy with themselves being identified as African Americans. The general perception that they are partially black the Native Americans who are proud of calling themselves as whites bring a difference in us. This difference is the source of the feeling of separation in the whole American society. As if the African American tribes are inferior as compared to the whites.
Cultural diversity in the afro Americans
As an African American, I have to admit that our society is diverse. From our values, our ideals, there is no doubt that our communities are complex. The African American societies have a common language just like the rest of the Americans however, there pattern of speech brings the distinctiveness from the way we talk. Basically we don’t have that accent of the native Americans and in most cases we do have a mixed language , kind of a pidgin English, but the good part of it is that we o understand each other. We do explore our lives from this language and have had impacts on the rest of the American communities in that they do understand what we mean when we talk with them.
Dressing wise, I can not say that we are that unique. In some communities like ours you will find some aspects of the African dressing. It accommodates both dressing from the African and the European dressing which in most cases is very official. Foodstuff is another aspect that brings diversity in our culture. We as half Africans and as half Europeans, we have a problem of identifying with a certain type of food. This is simply because people are getting into what is called the western lifestyle even the types of food that were embraced are now diminishing. Basically, we had the African foodstuff, the European, the Indians but nowadays these types of foods are disappearing at an alarming rate. This thus can not help us define our foods as Afro-Americans.
Religion is another aspect of culture. Our community is complex. A good percentage of the population is Christians among which the protestant form the majority. There are Catholics who also belong to the same category of the Christians. Apart from the Christian community, there are Islamic who do form the smallest percentage, the Hindus and the Sikhs are also available.
Apart from religion, there are other aspects like the general organization that also do depict diversity in itself.
In our community people are welcome; I think this is basically from the humility that our fore-fathers acquired from the kind of life that they experienced in the gone days of slavery. Especially when you are one of our own, a member of the community you can get access to any kind of information that you may need. However, our leaders are not very generous with people whom they are not sure of their whereabouts. These are people whom they are not familiar with. This makes them to keep a lot of information from strangers and warnings are sent t o the community members to be cautious of the people they share the secrets of the community with.
Our community is organized in such away that there is a sense of belonging right from the current generation backwards. We have the nuclear families who are basically the children and the parents, there is the extended families and from there have our clans. These are people who tend to have common ties and consider themselves as brothers, sisters, cousins, and a family.
Generally, there must be inequalities in the societies. However, those that are in our community are not much evident. People live a life that can be described as good. People work in associations to realize common goals especially towards achieving their economic abilities. This is our community and how it interacts.
African Americans are inhabitants of the United States whoa are believed to be the descendants of the Africans who found themselves in the United States as a result of the slave trade that was taking place early in the 17th centaury. The descendants of this tribe basically share the same history in enslavement and racial oppression. This initiated the bonding that now exists in the people. These people were basically from different societies in the African continent bur came together under the umbrella as Africans, thus when I talk of cultural diversity in my tribe as an African America, it starts from here. Different languages, social practices, religious practices among other were to be harmonized or rather be forsaken for the sake of a common tribe, the African American tribe in the united state which now forms the biggest percentage of the total population n this country. Chinoy, 1965.
The culture of the African Americans is rich and very unique; this makes the distinctiveness of this culture. This is a product of the influences that the African culture had on the American culture. Apart from the diversity in the African culture that came into contact and produced a single culture, there are differences in the ways of life that these African Americans show that is majorly from the influence of both the American and the African lifestyle. The Afro-Americans lives are basically centered on slavery and bits effects. The distinctive cultural patterns that do exist include there patterns of music, dance, there patterns of speech, self expression and relationships. These have come to be products of their creative nature and the energy that dedicate towards their success in whatever they do.
Another distinctive characteristic of this culture is its enduring impacts on the lives and the institutions of its members. As people of common experience i.e. in slavery, these people, the African Americans laid foundations to their cultural value. The diversity that existed at the initial stages due to diverse languages, cultural practices and many aspects had prefunding impacts on their systems of culture. From this concept we find that certain values are only relevant to certain generation. This brought the uniqueness in this culture and will remain this way till uniformity comes to the whole population of the American community. Billingsley,1974.
In the American societies, there is evidence that they have their roots in the western tradition. It therefore means that the African American societies do depict some elements of the western culture especially in the areas of the curricula for the public schools among other areas. However, this is not an indication that the western views are fully accepted as the final truths in the lives of the afro Americans. There is a body that ensures the understanding of the lifestyle and the culture of the black people. This is made available in the African American schools and even universities
There is also public education in the African American societies that have helped so much in delivering the information concerning the past i.e. the history of the people and their culture.
Despite of these complexities that I can see in our community, there is a strong conviction that people will be at per by the near future. Around 2050 we will be in a community of Americans. The rate of change in the dynamism of culture is so high and this fact that I can not refute.
Conclusion
In concluding this paper, it is worth to deduce that most African American societies our community included was greatly affected by the enslavements that the great grandparents of these societies faced. Also, the cultural diversity in these communities is a result of the initial diversity that was in the African culture, the encounter with the European culture just increased the scope of diversity.
However, it is also possible to say that the society is changing very fast and very soon the divergence in culture that is seen in the American communities would not be there.
References:
Billingsley, 1974. The Struggles for the Black Families survival. New York: Friendship Press.
Chinoy, 1965. The Society. New York: Random House.
Clarke, 1972. The Minority Life and Education. New York: Brown University Press.
