"What are people talking about when they speak of 'black culture'"
This is the million dollar question. Broadly I think it's a "polite" way to blame the poorest, most disenfranchised African Americans for the situation they find themselves in. When black people succeed, or (as in the majority of cases) just live happy, normal lives, it's …
"What are people talking about when they speak of 'black culture'"
This is the million dollar question. Broadly I think it's a "polite" way to blame the poorest, most disenfranchised African Americans for the situation they find themselves in. When black people succeed, or (as in the majority of cases) just live happy, normal lives, it's never credited to black culture. Barack Obama becoming president *absolutely* wasn't black culture. In fact, those same people lost their minds when he and Michelle fist-bumped.
I always have to be clear when I talk about things like this, yes, there are cultural issues affecting the black community. That's going to be the topic of an article this month. They come from within and without the "black community."
But it's really telling when an issue that affects a tiny, tiny percentage of African Americans (specifically the poorest, least educated and most marginalised by things like red-lining and ghettoisation), is framed as a problem caused by "black culture."
The thing some people (white and black) seem to really struggle to understand is that racism is asymmetrical. Not all black people are affected equally by it in 2022. Especially the legacy of past racism. If you grew up in South Glendale, for example, the impact of historical racism (thanks to redlining) is far more life-shaping than if you grew up in Forest Glen. And surprise, surprise, crime is a bigger problem in Glendale.
That people look at that correlation and say, "ah yes, it's because black people live there," and not, "ah yes, it's because of the poverty and lack of facilities and education and community and opportunity," is wild to me.
I question the utility of the phrase "black culture". I get the desire to put the positive aspects of the Afro-american experience under one heading. But it does tend to get subsumed by the negative aspects that are hard to pin down to well understood reasons. And when it gets used as a blame mechanism rooted in race, well...it makes it hard to see its continued value as a label.
"I question the utility of the phrase 'black culture'"
Yeah, I literally question the *meaning* of the phrase "black culture." The people who throw it around, both white and black, always struggle to actually explain what they mean by it. It always ends up being silly stereoytpes or context-free statistics.
Treating "blackness" as if it's this essential charateristic is so ingrained in some people's minds, whether they're for or against black people, that they feel like their world is ending if they try to look beyond it.
"What are people talking about when they speak of 'black culture'"
This is the million dollar question. Broadly I think it's a "polite" way to blame the poorest, most disenfranchised African Americans for the situation they find themselves in. When black people succeed, or (as in the majority of cases) just live happy, normal lives, it's never credited to black culture. Barack Obama becoming president *absolutely* wasn't black culture. In fact, those same people lost their minds when he and Michelle fist-bumped.
I always have to be clear when I talk about things like this, yes, there are cultural issues affecting the black community. That's going to be the topic of an article this month. They come from within and without the "black community."
But it's really telling when an issue that affects a tiny, tiny percentage of African Americans (specifically the poorest, least educated and most marginalised by things like red-lining and ghettoisation), is framed as a problem caused by "black culture."
The thing some people (white and black) seem to really struggle to understand is that racism is asymmetrical. Not all black people are affected equally by it in 2022. Especially the legacy of past racism. If you grew up in South Glendale, for example, the impact of historical racism (thanks to redlining) is far more life-shaping than if you grew up in Forest Glen. And surprise, surprise, crime is a bigger problem in Glendale.
That people look at that correlation and say, "ah yes, it's because black people live there," and not, "ah yes, it's because of the poverty and lack of facilities and education and community and opportunity," is wild to me.
"𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 "𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.""
Prepare to be accused of blaming the victim.
Haha, yep, I’m always prepared for a little fuss when I publish an article.
I question the utility of the phrase "black culture". I get the desire to put the positive aspects of the Afro-american experience under one heading. But it does tend to get subsumed by the negative aspects that are hard to pin down to well understood reasons. And when it gets used as a blame mechanism rooted in race, well...it makes it hard to see its continued value as a label.
"I question the utility of the phrase 'black culture'"
Yeah, I literally question the *meaning* of the phrase "black culture." The people who throw it around, both white and black, always struggle to actually explain what they mean by it. It always ends up being silly stereoytpes or context-free statistics.
Treating "blackness" as if it's this essential charateristic is so ingrained in some people's minds, whether they're for or against black people, that they feel like their world is ending if they try to look beyond it.