AFS 2010

BLOG #1

Saundra Wells

 

Melville Herskovits a Jewish sociologist whose studies of the African American culture initially believed in the idea that African Americans retained their instilled cultural practices. This idea differed from that of his colleague E. Franklin Frazier that African Americans had lost part if not all of their cultural practices during slavery, because of the oppressive experience during their time of captivity. This may have been a forethought because of the in human treatment of African Americans extended to them in slavery, including the practice of not letting the captured individuals practice any of their homeland rituals.

 The parallel of both Lorenzo Turner and Melville Herskovits lives was significant even from the beginning their educational goals as well as their interest in Africa starting in 1930 was substantial. Both adopted the African retention theory and held it as the center of their studies in the African American culture. Although both were scholars of the African American culture the only division was that Turner explored his theory as a linguist and Herskovits developed his views as an anthropologist. Both scholars was very much interested in African retentions in the new world.

Early theories on the African culture focused on many ways of grasping a set way of understanding how this diversified group functioned. The theories of African people and that of African American was connected through music, folklore, art, speech and religion.

The scholars discussed in the video as well as in the readings for this assignment was Lorenzo Turner whose theory was that of language. He was Linguist who studied data and many languages utilized by African Americans from different areas in Africa. Turner studied the language of the Gullah people of West Africa with the idea that his theory of language would be supported.

Herskovits an anthropologist, whose theory was that African Americans were indeed not influenced by their African Ancestors, but that African Americans utilized the culture of the Europeans who forcefully removed them from Africa.  Herskovits theory of “African Americanism” was not supported by the cultural patterns that paralleled Africa to blacks in Harlem an area in which he felt represented a cross section of the black life. His theory as it was set began to change after experiences during his travels which included Dominica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and Barbados. During these travels he was able to view that something as a simple as a game or dance portrayed cultural roots to their African Ancestors in their original culture.

Sociologist Frazier’s theory was one that once Africans were brought to the United States-they dismissed all of their African cultural practices.

The article highlighted the participation of African Americans in the war. The migration from the “Garvey Movement” created false pride of Nationalism. Although during this time the interest of blacks on learning more about their heritage and history. The development of the NAACP had the attention of many authors of European descent implanting and interest in African American communities throughout the country. The presence of racial issues aided in the development of the African American culture. One primary influence was the “Harlem Renaissance”, which was discussed in the documentary as well as in the article. The Harlem Renaissance can be very well identified as a display of African Americans coming to their identities. African art, music and writings thrived in Harlem. Herskovits witnessed this development-he was at Columbia University at the time.

The educational achievement of both Turner and Herskovits inspires me. It is my goal to study “cultures” to help me satisfy my curiosity as to how they developed. My academic goals I have set for myself include obtaining a PhD in Sociology. I would also one day want to be able to be a teacher of the African American Culture.

Posted by Saundra Wells at 5:21 PM No comments: