African American Culture - Essay Example

Chapter 4 Education This chapter discusses the educational status and achievement, and public grade-school, as well as higher-education issues for the Afro American Minorities in the United States.The history of educational opportunities for the group and the relevant cultural perceptions of this culture are discussed.Also the statistical considerations in this regard will be discussed alongwith the future trends. Currently recent statistics look very promising for the AfroAmerican Population.72 % African-Americans age 25 and over, have a high school diploma. (US Census 2003-7).This has been stated to be a continuous climb in educational attainment for African-Americans in recent decades: Almost two decades ago this figure was only 63 percent for this age group and in 1980 it was 51 percent. (US Census 2003-7)..The current figures also show that 14% of the Afro-Americans e 25 and over, have a bachelor's degree or higher. (US Census 2003-7). That proportion has risen since the 1990 census, when 11 percent of African-Americans age 25 and over had a bachelor's degree or higher. (US Census 2003-7).And the current percentage has almost doubled since the 1980 census, when the figure was 8 percent. The age group of 25 and over, with in African Americans having a graduate or professional degree is 5 percent and it was 4% in 1990. (US Census 2003-7).The estimated work life earnings of the modern educated African are $2.5 million which are the estimated work-life earnings for full-time African-American workers with an advanced degree. (US Census 2003-7) The education attainment according to the educational attainment of race and gender issued in 2005 shows that the percentage achieved of advanced degrees in America by African Americans alone are 72.3 in high school alone, 42.5 in colleges, 14.3 in bachelors degree and 4.8 in advanced degrees. (US Census 2003-7) In colleges Africans Americans are half the rate of the whites, they are about 14% while the whites are about 24%.Furthermore U.S. census surveys that were done in 1998 shoes that, 89 percent of African Americans 25 to 29 had completed high school, being just slightly behind from the whites of 93% (US Census 2003-7)..Further research pertaining to the testing of the I.Q levels of the African Americans, it shows that there has been a drastic increase since the year 1989. (US Census 2003-7). Thus it can be gleaned that the Educational standards have been improving in African American population.(Jackson 2008)It shows that the modern African American population has started to take more interest in education and more and more African Americans are graduating from the different universities through out America, and the percentage increase in African American literacy has gone up as well.(Jackson 2008) For African-Americans, more education means higher career earnings: those without a high school diploma would earn less than $1 million during their work life, increasing to $1.0 million for workers with a high school education and $1.7 million for those with a bachelor's degree. (US Census 2003-7) Historically this minority was largely suppressed in terms of education and learning opportunities.Racist attitudes locked the doors of opportunities for these enslaved people and even after they gained freedom the minority ignored education as a tool for survival. (Jackson 2008)They lacked the right of suffrage until the advent of the democratic trend of Civil rights and liberties and initiatives like the American Creed during the early 1940's by Gunnar Myrdal.It was indeed Myrdal who wrote in his book famously (quoted in Jackson 2008) The ideals of the essential dignity of the individual human being, of fundamental equality of all men, and of certain inalienable rights to freedom, justice, and a fair opportunity represent to the American people the essential meaning of the nation's early struggle for independence. . . . These tenets were written into the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and into the Constitutions of the several states. The ideals of the American Creed have thus become the highest law of the land[;] the Supreme Court pays its reverence to these general principles when it declares what is constitutional and what is not. (p. 4) These movements and initiatives were aimed at resolving their problems and to ensure e equality and justice amongst all races. (Jackson 2008)A key role was played by Martin Luther king who was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights movement. He started with his civil rights career in his early days, and found the southern Christian leadership conference which played a prominent role in the civil movement which was held in the year 1950 to 1960. Some other of his fabulously effective initiatives were the "the Montgomery bus boycott" which was a campaign started in 1955 Montgomery Alabama(from December 1st to December 20 1956) for the rights of the African American Minorities..His efforts to alleviate the status of the African Americans helped them earn their civil rights and their entry into the fields of higher education.One of the landmark decisions/events in the history of African American Education has been the legacy of 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision which determined the status of African Americans based on the continued litigation,community protest, and electoral politics to get their rights.In this case the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision as follows We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Even though the Court feared a back lash as this would open a floodgate of educational changes this move brought the racism which tainted educational initiatives to an end.Thus according to academics (Jackson 2008) this was a time to bring the culture of fear to an end in the world of African Americans which had began during the slavery era and time of legal segregation. (Jackson 2008)However this decision was not an end to the race issues as recently the "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 et al. and Meredith Custodial Parent and Next Friend of McDonald v. Jefferson County Board of Education et al., 2007) has challenged the racist s policies of two school districts as unconstitutional. (Jackson 2008)This decision reinforced the importance of education for the down trodden African American minorities and reversed the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which established the separate but equal doctrine.It was further stated in that decision that (Jackson 2008), We must consider public education in the light of its full development and its present place in American life throughout the Nation . . . In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. (Brown I, 1954) Today the modern African American can be identified with the likes of Opera Winfrey and Barrack Obama,as well as highly educated Hollywood stars like Will Smith etc.This denotes a respectable status for them but academics are quick to point to the reality of the ghettos and poor uneducated members of the ethnicity who live on low pay differentials.Another example is one of the very prominent and highly regarded ,American statesmen,Powell who was the sixty-fifth United States Secretary of State and the first black president to be appointed to that position. Colin L. Powell was born in Harlem in 1937 and was the son of Jamaican immigrants who were very much involved in his education and personal achievement . He was well aware of his humble beginnings and he makes some interesting reflections about that in his biographical accounts showing similar roots to most of struggling Black contemporaries when he describes himself as "a black kid of no early promise from an immigrant family of limited means.".The Afro American struggle has produced the likes of Condoleezza Rice (66th United States secretary of state),e Michael Jordon (one of the best basketball players of all time),Mohammad Ali,,Frederic Douglass (author of the famous autobiography slave narratives).The culture of education also paved the way for the African American literature to blossom with the likes of Harlem Renaissance who has produced classical work in the field of jazz to theatre, and wrote the"The book of American negro poetry". By far the impact of higher education with in this minority has brought forward female ideals like Toni Morrison who in 1993 was the first African American woman to win the Nobel prize for literature, in 2002 the first African American to be appointed as secretary of state was Condoleezza Rice, and finally in the present year of 2008 the first African American primary candidate to win the Lowa caucus was Barack Obama. Recent research has revealed that the in case of higher education opportunities, and graduation rates the college enrolment in the last 20 years for African American students in America has been the same as of the whites, however the college completion rate has not increased at the same place. The education of African Americans still lags behind compared to other U.S. ethnic groups such as the Asian Americans, by viewing the test scores and grades, urban high school graduation rates in America and college rates for undergraduate degrees can be compared to those of the whites 30 years ago.(US Census 2005-2007) It has been shown that although the African Americans insulate behind the Asian Americans in test scores ,but they tend to do well in terms of basic education which is mandatory in the United States. In conclusion the modern African American has truly come a long way in terms of education and problems of equality are less intense than they were decades ago. Bibliography: 1. . Public Information Office, U.S. Census Bureau. Asians and Pacific Islanders Have Nation's Highest Median Household Income in 1997, Census Bureau Reports. 24 September 1998. 2. . Herbst, Philip H. The Color of Words: an encyclopedic dictionary of ethnic bias in the United States, Intercultural Press, p. 57, 1997 3. Juguo, Zhang. W. E. B. Du Bois: The Quest for the Abolition of the Color Line, Routledge, 2001 4. Jackson, B. (2008, January). Race, Education, and the Politics of Fear. Educational Policy, 22(1), 130-154. Retrieved March 9, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database 5. African Americans' economic power will grow. "The Futurist". 38.6 (Nov-Dec 2004): S3(1). Academic One file. Gale. Middle Tennessee State University. 9 March 2008. 6. Black Education, Earnings, and Inter-regional Migration: Some New Evidence Leonard Weiss; Jeffrey G. Williamson The American Economic Review, Vol. 62, No. 3. (Jun., 1972), pp. 372-383. 7. US Census 2003 and 2007. Chapter 5 :Religion. This Chapter discusses the spiritual and/or religious life and social structure of the African American minorities and their spiritual base as well as the role of the religion/spirituality in the culture. In United States the most common religion that has been accepted by the majority of people living there is Christianity, which is the belief in Jesus Christ.Although African Americans who are living in the United States have adopted numerous religions, but the majority that follows Christianity. African Americans religious places are often labelled as "Black Churches". The role of the Church in the emancipation of this minority has been pivotal and laudable as it provided them with the opportunities and leadership skills to achieve their freedom.A fraction of this minority is also Muslim or Buddhist but this is a small part. African Americans live in a very social environment. They live in communities which are close to each other and share every social issue such as family issues, religious issues which is discussed by all family members and close friends. ( Wilbur E. 1968) In 1960 there was a prediction made at the time of the upsurge of black protest was that blacks, when the black were becoming more influenced and aware about there traditional religions, would reject conservative Protestantism. According to this outlook many majority of blacks would reject all religions, depending on whether they were nationalist or assimilationist. ( Wilbur E. 1968) Hence many social issues came into being through the following years.In the United States the spiritual and religious life affects of African Americans through social structure by most African Americans live in communities which is close by to each other by the majority of African American being Christians mostly African Americans follow this religion, although many African Americans are religious and they visit churches every week. Where all of there community members are gathered together and discuss the issues that have been going on lately in the community through this way the people are close to each other because they share there social issues together and discuss them. ( Wilbur E. 1968) Many academics have identified the African American religion to be based on their escapism from the hostile white culture and as a form of identification away from their subversion and as a symbol of resistance to a white-dominated society. Many scholars have suggested that the African American religion draws upon the African religion in its diverse forms. For example the family and spiritual system of Africa is rich with an emphasis on communal values such as family, respect for the elderly, honoring traditional rulers, and the importance of dignity and proper social conduct. Customs are often passed on through the extended family. While the customary leaders or chiefs, are given historical authority over tribal, family matters, and land usage. The same is the case with the African American populace in the USA.Infact there is a marked presence of "Africanisms" within the African American religion, such as the call-and-response methods, ancestor worship, initiation rites, spirit possession, healing and funeral rituals which have all become a subtle part of the European/American Christian Customs.Initially the white people were reluctant to let their black slaves inherit their religion.There were attempts to manipulate christanity to subdue them however through the utilisation of feudalistic themes and the portrayal of Jesus Christ as a humble, and compassionate figure with whom they could converse about their problems. During the 18th century many African American slaves joined the evangelical churches-Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian. ( Wilbur E. 1968) During the era of slavery they were allowed to visit white churches but only to sit in separate galleries or in balconies. ( Wilbur E. 1968)These religious times were often presided by white ministers and they never really got to a point of enjoying complete religious autonomy until the formation of the first of the National Baptist associations, the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., in 1895.The early twentieth century brought a more emancipated black church with the rural African Americans becoming the symbol of the organized African American religion. ( Wilbur E. 1968) Today most of these religious groups are either in mainstream denominations, messianic- nationalist sects, conversionist sects , and thaumaturgic sects. According to Hans A. Baer (2008) " Conversionist sects characteristically adopt expressive forms of religious behavior, such as shouting, ecstatic dancing, and glossolalia as outward manifes- tations of "sanctification." They stress a puritanical morality and often are other-worldly and apolitical, although some congregations have been known to participate in social activism. ..Thaumaturgic sects maintain that the most direct means of achieving socially desired objectives, such as financial prosperity, prestige, love, and health, is to engage in various rituals or to obtain esoteric knowledge and develop a positive attitude. These groups generally accept the cultural patterns, values, and beliefs of the larger society but tend to eschew social activism. Spiritual churches constitute the foremost example of the thaumaturgic sect .(Baer 2008) African American Religious Music has also become very popular in the recent years as an expression of their social life, ethnic identity, and cultural expression.I(Bartlett, T. 2005). t is an expression of their spirituality and in areas like New Orleans, soul and jazz music is an integral feature of their worship services. Due to the vast racial issues and differences among the whites with the Africans Americans, many social differences have been created amongst the Africans Americans and the whites. (Bartlett, T. 2005). African Americans tend to be more traditional than whites in such cases as religion and family issues.However research does show a marked ignorance of religion with this minority due to poverty which is higher in scale than the whites. (Bartlett, T. 2005). There is another issue other than this which is about gays and bisexuals which maybe accepted by the white community but due to the African Americans being more religious and tribal in nature find it offensive and tend to oppose such trends. (Bartlett, T. 2005).. Due to there vast differences many social issues are being created day by day, and resulting to more problems amongst the whites and the African Americans, as far as religion is concerned it also creates differences in policies that rendered by the country by not having similar interests. (Bartlett, T. 2005).This has often led to hate crime based on religious differences. The African Americans are different by race and color compared to whites, both the Black and White churches have tried to fill this divide of social and religious issues to be forgotten and vanish completely so that both the African Americans and the whites and forget about their differences and accept each other the way they are and live accordingly to there believes and spirituality. (Bartlett, T. 2005). Thus the religious groups form a medley of American Spiritualism, Roman Catholicism, African American Protestantism, and Voodoo as well as other religious traditions, including New Thought, Judaism, and Islam. (Hans A. Baer (2008). Hans A Baer (2008) also points out thus that Spiritual churches often urge their members and clients to obtain salvation in this life by burning candles before images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or the saints, obtaining messages from prophets and mediums, and taking ritual baths. Most Spiritual churches are small and cater primarily to lower-class people, but some are housed in substantial edifices and cater to relatively affluent working-class and middle-class people. Even more so than Sanctified churches, Spiritual churches provide women with a vehicle for obtaining religious leadership. (Hans A Baer 2008) In conclusion the Afro-American religion is as diverse as their culture and has a market effect of "africanisms" onto their religious rituals and practices ,thus the coining of the term "The Black Church". Bibliography: 1. Bock, Wilbur E. 1968. "The Decline of the Negro Clergy." Plzylon 29 (Spring): 48-64 2. Wiredu, K. (1995). Customs and morality: A comparative analysis of African and Western conceptions of morals. In A. G. Mosley (Ed.), African philosophy: Selected readings (pp. 389-406). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prsntice Hall. 3. Evans, Curtis J. "Urbanization and the end of Black churches in the modern world. " Church History. 76.4 (Dec 2007): 799(24). General OneFile. Gale. Tennessee Board of Regents. 10 Mar. 2008 4. Bartlett, T. (Oct 14, 2005). Religious Views Vary by Race, Survey Finds. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 52, 8. p.NA. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from General OneFile via Gale: 5. Bahr. H. M.. & Chadwick. B. A. (1985). Religion and family in Middletown, USA. Journal of Marriage cznd the Family, 47, 407-4 14. 6. Hans A. Baer 2008 http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/african.htm . Read More