APPENDIX A FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS FRAMING THE ISSUE FRAMING THE ISSUE A recurring debate questions whether Black American culture is a distinct creation or merely an extension of African traditions. Some argue that cultural forms such as Blues, Jazz, and Hip Hop are simply African expressions continued in the United States. Others emphasize that these forms were created under unique historical conditions in America and represent a distinct cultural identity (Southern, Eileen, The Music of Black Americans: A History, 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997). At times, these discussions overlook or minimize the contributions of Black Americans. While cultural influences from Africa are undeniable, the suggestion that Black American culture is not its own diminishes the historical realities under which it was formed (Floyd Jr., Samuel A., The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). Call-and-response patterns
APPENDIX A FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS FRAMING THE ISSUE AFRICAN FOUNDATIONS Many elements associated with Black American music can be traced to West and Central African traditions, including:
Improvisation
Rhythm-centered performance (Kubik, Gerhard, Africa and the Blues. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1999. JSTOR lists the book as published by University Press of Mississippi with copyright date 1999).
Polyrhythmic structures
-- -- -- -- These elements served as a foundation, not a finished cultural form.
Suppression of language and cultural continuity APPENDIX A FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS FRAMING THE ISSUE TRANSFORMATION IN AMERICA In the United States, these elements were reshaped under conditions unlike those in Africa:
Conversion to Christianity
Economic hardship and regional migration (Epstein, Dena J., Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977; anniversary ed., 2003. The University of Illinois Press describes it as a classic study of Black slave music in America). Slavery and forced displacement
-- -- -- -- From these conditions emerged entirely new cultural forms, that consists of the Blues, Jazz, Gospel, and Hip Hop. Segregation and racial hierarchy
-- These are not direct African continuations—they are Black American creations, shaped by American history (Stuckey, Sterling, Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). APPENDIX A FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS FRAMING THE ISSUE THE ROLE OF THE DRUM The drum illustrates this transformation clearly:
African traditions introduced different rhythmic structures and communal uses (Georgia Writers’ Project, Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1986; originally published 1940). In parts of the United States, drums were restricted among enslaved populations due to fears of communication and collective organization (Baraka, Amiri, and Jones, LeRoi Jones, Blues People: Negro Music in White America. New York: William Morrow, 1963). Drums existed across Indigenous North American cultures long before European colonization (Diamond, Beverley, Native American Music in Eastern North America: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008). -- -- -- In response, rhythmic expression adapted into handclapping, foot-stomping, and vocal rhythm (Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. JSTOR describes the book as covering African American music from bebop to hip-hop). APPENDIX A FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS FRAMING THE ISSUE CLARIFYING THE MISCONCEPTION The presence of African cultural elements does not mean Black American culture is simply African culture continued. Just as American English developed into a distinct form, Black American culture developed into something new—rooted in history, but created under entirely different conditions (Lawrence W. Levine, Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977). APPENDIX A FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS FRAMING THE ISSUE ON RESPECT AND RECOGNITION It is important to acknowledge that Black American culture was built in the United States through generations of adaptation, innovation, and resilience. Dismissing it as merely derivative overlooks the people who created it and the historical conditions that shaped it (Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003). APPENDIX A FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS The Music of Black Americans: A History, Third Edition The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States Africa and the Blues (American Made Music Series) Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War (Music in American Life) Slave Culture Second Edition: Nationalist Theory And The Foundations Of Black America Native American Music in Eastern North America: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes Blues People: Negro Music in White America Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop (Music of the African Diaspora) (Volume 7) Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to Freedom