The African American Culture

Overview of Culture Keys to Understanding: Behavior Social values Family values Gender roles Academics Traditions

The Back Story… In order to understand the African American culture, one must be open to discussing stigmatizing elements that have theorized racism and discrimination as developmental mediators in the lives of Black Americans throughout their lives. In studying the relationships that exist between parental racial socialization ideas and how they affect self-esteem, it is clear that African American children have been labeled as they transition from home life, to school life, and as it relates to how African American children even dealt with peer self-esteem issues and ideas. Cultural ideas imbedded in the minds of the African American children that they picked up in their homes, promoting pride and knowledge, usually were received in a negative connotation when these same attitudes and views were carried over into the school life as negative. The consensus was that because the pride exuding from these African American children, as it related to the home lives, were not those of the majority (or White) culture, so they were ill-received. The rules of what is acceptable and expected within the African American culture as it relates to them personally, were not acceptable in the world outside of their homes and parental influences. Today, I intend to disspell this connotation.

African American Culture’s History Interestingly enough, as far back as the colonial times, African Americans have been in America; however, they did not gain a respectable presence in history books until the 20 th century. Clearly, there have been instances of being slighted, so pride, honor, and values had to come from within; their homes. And with this, other cultures, outside of the home, viewed these behaviors otherwise. What we all have failed to realize is that every culture should take pride in their heritage; we just need to find a way to do it respectfully and harmoniously.

Black Pride Thus, contributions within an educational setting has brought us Black History Month. Instead of being depicted and reflected upon as inferior, the idea was to celebrate positive aspects and acknowledge superior acts of greatness. I would have to say that because so much has been done to obliterate African American accomplishments, the persistence to show ambition became the incentive.

Inclusionary Practices To include all students, teachers can modify curriculums as such: -Insert information about ethnic heroic figures as well as cultural events and artifacts to ensure that minority families and students gain a sense of empowerment and social equality -Add a book, unit, project, or entire course to the core curriculum. -Infuse transformation techniques to change the basic assumptions of the core curriculum, enabling students to study ideas that promote historical advancements from a variety of perspectives Wardle, F. (2013). Human Relationships and Learning in the Multicultural Environment. SanHuman Relationships and Learning in the Multicultural Environment Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Parent/Community Involvement To ensure that parents feel welcomed and accepted, schools must support and include them in their child’s learning experience. Joyce Epstein’s framework suggests implementing the following: Parenting (providing information to assist with honing parenting skills, discipline options, and positive child development re-enforcement) Communication (incorporating a family-school partnership where that positive, consistent, and current information about their child is shared) Volunteering (while adhering to school policies, extend the invitation for them to be a part of flexible, creative, fun, and cultural learning opportunities) Learning at home (incorporating lateral activities and ideas at home that coincide with school practices) Decision making (empowering them to be involved in the process that directly affects their child) Collaborating with the community ( taking advantage of the local resources, organizations, and events available to them)

Reference Wardle, F. (2013). Human Relationships and Learning in the Multicultural Environment. SanHuman Relationships and Learning in the Multicultural Environment Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.