[Mpls] African American and Jamaican

[wmmarks]

In a post today, Megan Goodmunson asked the musical question: "isn't 
that a little ridiculous" to "split hairs" about the origins of Mr. 
Samuels in Jamaica, a culture somewhat different from the culture of his 
African American and Caucasian American and American Indian, etc. neighbors.

To answer: No, it isn't at all ridiculous to make note that there is a 
very large cultural difference between the two, as there is between the 
Somalis and Af.Ams., or Ghanaians and Af.Ams, or any of a long list of 
African countries and western hemisphere islands under the aegis of the 
UK, France, or, once, Spain (Cuba, et.al.) These are different cultures, 
each one, and since Af.Americans are born and bred here, they are our 
own and live within the American (as in USofA) culture and straddle the 
dominant culture and the Af.Am. subculture. Every one of us whose 
ancestors came here brought with him/her pieces of the culture they left 
behind. It shows in the law (based on British law), it shows in the 
language, it shows in the music (poly-rythmic African peoples and 
polyphonic European peoples), in the food, and on and on.

Jamaica, to this day under some form of UK rule, developed very 
differently from the states.

To acknowledge the difference (as in viva la difference) is to position 
oneself to gain some perspective on the issues and the man.

WizardMarks, Central