Cultural Identities

When my group presented the topic of Cultural Identities in class, we covered the history of cultural appropriation and minstrels, light skin versus dark skin in the African American community, and the relationship between African Americans and Africans. I presented the history of minstrels because I felt that this was the beginning of our culture being imitated(Appropriated) that portrayed us in a negative light. When you look at hip hop today it is enjoyed by people all over the world, but it is still a reflection of the negative aspects of our community. In both time periods these were the cultures that specifically identified us as a people. Because of being in America we have had many aspects of our culture being mocked and portrayed as negative. Yet when other people take our culture we do not benefit from it. Throughout history there have been many things that have crossed cultures and helped humanity as a whole, which makes it hard to sometimes identify who created something first. As technology continuously advances, more historical documents are found and an accurate explanation of the origin of certain things can be expressed. We as Americans have a fine example of cultural appropriation in this country: Italian food. For almost one hundred years, Italian food has moved into the cuisine of America and become a part of the staple foods that people in this country love to eat such as pizza and pasta. Regardless of whether or not you like those foods is your choice, but for the population as a whole, these foods are eaten by us. Yet these foods will always have their identity rooted in Italy. Americans borrowed these foods, but they will never be authentic when made by someone who is not Italian. Today, the Italians still get respect for what they have created. People of African descent have not gotten that respect yet for many things. For example, hip hop was created by black people yet other people want to take credit for its existence, and if we must suffer for our culture and not be acknowledged as the creators of that art form then there is a problem. With that said, there are many factors that play into what a culture is and how people can identify with that culture. Ultimately, when a person can identify in a general sense with a culture then they have a sense of belonging to a group that is bigger than them.