What Was Africa Foodways Like on the Continent Prior to the Middle Passage - Assignment Example

African American Study Questions What was Africa foodways like on the Continent prior to the Middle Passage? Traditional African foods mainly consisted of cow-peas, black-eyed peas, okra, sesame, millet, taro, ensete, watermelon, kola nuts, cattle and pastoralism - very prestigious and common in savannas (E and W) Africa (also camels, sheep, goats) (Bower 248). From this, it is obvious that there was no particular recipe since most of the foods were naturally obtained, for Africans before the middle passage. The nature of Africa foodways can be analysed in terms of social, political, geographical and cultural aspects. It is worth noting that religion and culture governed what a society in Africa could obtain for eating. For West Africa, their contact with the European traders contributed largely to their food source. Further, it was mainly made of Muslim communities who prefer the vegetarian diet. For East, trading with the Arabe traders constituted the main source of food before the colonization by the Europeans. Muslim influence on this region also made people from this area mostly vegetarians. Across Africa, women were known to cultivate most of the food to be consumed, while men specified in cultivate commercial crops such as coffee and tea. In which case, men were responsible for the management of a family’s wealth while women were looking for the daily food. What impact did the post-Reconstruction period have on U.S. race and class relations? Due to core social change experienced during the post-reconstruction era, race and class relation was also significantly altered. In which case, majority of whites continued to view African American as inferiors even though slavery had ended. This could be much evident in segregated worlds where the races lived informally. However, it is worth noting that the end of era left black citizens free people who had both political and civil rights to make them improve themselves. This saw a rise in black middle class and lifestyles putting them in a position to pay for better stay. Further, the blacks continued to carry out protest in the countryside regarding unfair treatment (Berlin 90). In most case, the whites suppressed black aspirations for freedom with violence. This could be witnessed in rural areas whereby they sent African Americans away from the lands they were inhabiting. In urban areas, whites demanded for a formal segregation between the races, which could lead to exclusion of blacks from any facilities owned by the whites. Because of the demanded formal separation, reference as racially inferior race continued to haunt African Americans. For instance, the existing authority proposed and support laws requiring the transports system (railroads) to offer separate coaches for whites and black passengers. This led to the formation of the popular “Separate Coach” law, which is only a tip of an iceberg. Other measures segregating blacks in public spaces were still to come. Voices of black community leaders went unheard because they did not take part in political power that could have allowed them to change the election laws (Hornsby 235). 3.What impact did the Great Migration have on African Americans and Caribbean immigrants? The impact of Great migration can be better understood by categorizing it into three: demographic changes, discrimination and working conditions and integration and segregation. In which case, it is considered that the great Migration lead to the first known large population of black and carribbean communities in the states especially in the North. Most of the African Americans moved from the South to North to take up the opportunities of labor shortage during the World War 1. Between 1910 and 1829, the African America population had increased by 100% in Detroit (Hornsby 234). Further, increased population of Caribbean communities was evident in New York’s Harlem. Even though the migration presented job opportunities for the educated African-American and Caribbean communities, the migrants faced diverse types of discrimination. As the result of large influx of job competition, from the high migrant population, European American felt threatened and resented the presence of the migrants. Further, housing shortages festered the wounds of discrimination on the migrants. They were only allowed to secure the oldest housing and the restrictions to crowded neighborhoods only made the condition worse. This is indifferent to the already established populations who had access to newer housing. Due to the migration, there was significant increase in integration of the migrants in the society. They were in a position of reducing the divide between them and European Americans while working closely with them (Hornsby 247). However, the migrants encountered residential discrimination, as they were not allowed to rent houses in white neighborhoods. This contributed to the racial divide witnessed by both Carribean and African American population in the North. Who is Carter G. Woodson? What is the importance in his analysis on blacks and education? Carter G. Woodson was an African-American writer and historian known for his contribution as “father of Black History Month”. He lauched Negro History Month in 1926 which was later named Black History Month. He was famous for his contribution in putting the black Americans in spotlight at national level. He authored The Mis-Education of the Negro. The basis for his influence on the black-American freedom can be attributed to the way he enforced the need to embrace African-Americans’ history leading to the establishment of the Black History Month. His analysis of black history brought to light ways to suppress white racial chauvinism that was used as a weapon to oppress the black-American. He believed that distortion and misrepresentation of black history was the core cause for injustice and lack of liberty for the migrants. In which case, studying of black history brought up the value for black intelligence and worthiness in the society. This served in enforcing black students’ psychological defense to counter the assaults facilitated by white supremacy. Further, the knowledge about black history also worked positively by placing the white brothers on a guilt-trip for the failure of African-American (Hornsby 235). In addition, this has promoted social mobility among blacks because of the understanding of the devastating effect of centuries of slavery. What brought the decline of Soul Food in New York? The decline of Soul Food in New York is majorly attributed to racial decline of the African-Americans in the city. Soul Food was mainly linked to the African-American who were attracted by Southern-style cooking. Intuitively, it is evident that the prosperity of the restaurant relied heavily on tradition, after the social migration lead to southern cooking coming north. However, in the last decade the population visiting the restaurant significantly reduced because the city was also gradually losing the black population. This means that the decline is a representation of changing identity within the city where the blacks had inhabited as among the largest racial group for the years (Rojas 34). The declining population of African-American visiting the restaurants is supported by the fact that majority of middleclass residents are migrating to the suburbs while the retirees are going back home towards the South. Further economic lures, in other states, have contributed to the spread of African Americans toward the Sunbelts thereby reversing the historical migration to the North. In addition, modernity has fast catch up with the restaurant triggering them to easily give way to fast food. This has essentially led to fading of a tradition, which made Soul Food famous among the blacks. In which case, the decline of the restaurant is predictive of dying tradition in the city and spread of blacks from where they were highly populated to other areas around the states. 6.How did the demand for Black Studies emerge from the turbulent 1960s? What can you do with a Black Studies Degree? The demand can be studied based on political context of a movement, which arose as the result of desegregation across America, the rise of specific grievances at college levels and maturatioin of black political organization (Rojas 34). Intuitively, sudden increase of black students at the so-called white college campuses, guided by desegregation, was core to the success of mass action organized by the black students. Several court decisions came into play, during the 1960’s allowing black students to occupy white colleges in large populations. This formed a framework for organized political groups allowing the college black students to get full representation in the schools. The rise of grievances within the colleges led to essential creation of groups and clubs that could allow people to explore avenues for change. The growth of such communities was witnessed among the black community especially in 1968 when these groups established strong ties with the black students through their clubs within the universities (Rojas 34). For this cause, strengthening of the organizational abilities of political groups made it possible for the representation of black studies. Both the demographic shift and the radical change of the face of civil rights movements were intrinsic for making black studies a reality. Before 1960, when these factors were still illusions, there were few, if any, such distinct field in the universities. Just like any other field in the university, Black studies degrees attracts diverse span of scholars regardless of their descent. Further, the professions offered are as many as one would think of in a college or campus setting. This insinuates that holding a Black Studies Degree allows me to seek for employment in any institution provided it is in line with my degree. 7.What constitutes Soul food? Why and when was Soul food developed? Is it good for you, or good to you? Soul food arises from Southern-style cooking constituting beans, greens, cornmeal and pork. In which case, pork fat is used in frying the components. The food describes the type of food whereby southern Negro uses what they had to make a good food. It is a form of expression and identification of the black among other races, on the basis of food they eat. It came with the onset of Black Nationalism movement in the 1960’, with majority of African American seeking to reclaim it as a cultural legacy. The African-American had been cooking the type of food and it was only natural for them to use a term like “soul food” for describing the recipe they considered original in their culture. Intuitively, the basic roots can be traced back to African-American slavery when they had to make use of whatever ingredients they had. For me, I consider soul food good for everybody. The ingredients are basic and readily available in most areas thereby making it even more preferable to those who are living in poverty. The ingredients are mostly natural and can be obtained from the farm, hence less need for carrying money. Further, natural ingredients assures of healthier lifestyles as compared to the artificial ones. Soul Food makes use of pig fat, which is considered to have less health adverse impacts. 8.Is there a connection between Natural hair and liberation politics? There is a close connection between natural hair and liberation politics since both focuses on reducing a form of oppression on given individuals. Natural hair, the opposite to the straight hair owned by whites, served as a one of the factors leading to the turbulent 1960’s in the US. Black power movement sought for something that would make them enforce their appreciation for their African-American descent. At this point, natural hair came as a core aspect since it made the blacks stand out from the whites who had straight hairs. In which case, natural hair provided one of the tipping points for African-American to “become” black people again. The blacks were not to rely again on making themselves look like whites, instead they were to embrace their connection to African ancestry. Furthermore, natural hairs were a way for blacks to detach from assimilation in the White America. As a result of acting as a way for establishing connection with African ancestors, blacks were able to mobilize themselves as one and fight against oppression from the external forces. Instead of believing in personal looks of whites as the source of beauty, African Americans were ready to take on a road where they believed in their inner power and free from bondage. This was a succinct show that Africans have their independent ways of making things work rather than relying on the whites. Work cited Rojas, Fabio. From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Social Movement Became an Academic Discipline. Baltimore (Md.: the J. Hopkins university press, 2007. Print. Bower, Anne. African American Foodways: Explorations of History and Culture. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009. Print. Berlin, Ira. The Making of African America: The Four Great Migrations. New York: Viking, 2010. Internet resource. Hornsby, Alton. A Companion to African American History. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2005. Internet resource. Read More