Finest_G wrote:
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A big culture shock for me til this day, and for all the times I have lived and been to america, is the culture of food that black americans eat......I'm suprised.....When I first went to america about 16 years ago, I was so suprised to see that the black american speciality of food was, Fried chicken, Grits, MASHED POTATOES!!!, Gravy, macaroni cheese, and fried fish........It was so suprising because I was like "right, now I want some curry goat....patties....rice and peas....salt fish....dumplings...and everytin...! And a large mojority of black people in the states don't eat that type of root foods, and have never tasted this type of amongst black people...! In america, it's like the black people and the white people eat the same thing.....whereas in england we don't eat the same has white people....most black people eat carribean based foods....! Considering black americans are so caught up on this word AFRICAN-AMERICAN.....There dosen't seem to be that much 'AFRICAN' about them, and food is what truly shows your heritage....even black people int he carribean and britain still eat and have a good knowledge of root food....!
It's not there fault though....Slavery is what stripped black americans of there heritage and roots...! I think it depends on where you go in the states though, because in southern florida and new york city, you can generally get a broder range of foods including carribean foods, because there are a large minority of jamaicans in new york(queens) It's was pretty relieving to find shops and stores that sold foods like plantain and salt fish in new york...! But in the south......i'm talking, tennese, georgia, north carolina, virginia.....there are such a large number of black people that have never tasted food like this...! It was very weird and suprising....
Have any other people from the U.K had this same experiance in the United states..!
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[b]Most Black folks here in America are NOT caught up into using the term African-American. With few exceptions we tend to refer to ourselves as Black. "African American" was a term that about 20 years ago, whites started slyly slipping into the vernacular. I've seen more whites say it than Blacks. I don't like the term because it is used
as a racial description in place of using Black. This is dangerous, because it is divisive. If one were to accept "African American" as a race, that would mean the African American is a totally different race than French Blacks, Caribbean Blacks, British Blacks etc. To my eyes, "African American" is only useful in describing a collective culture - but not a race.
As the foods we eat here goes vs. the foods that Blacks in Britain eat, it is not at all indicative of one's true Blackness, African-ness or Heritage. The way I see it, the things you say and do determines how down with Black folks one is. In other words, worldwide in many places where Black people reside, we have various crisis situations dealing with subjects as diverse as economics, education, health, living conditions, etc.
The REAL questions of Blackness are:
- Are you doing your part to help in any of the above areas?
- Do you promote unity amongst your immediate family, your immediate Black community or amongs Blacks from varied cultures?
- Or are you caught up in the foolishness of trying to criticize the level of someone else's Blackness?
These questions are not specifically directed at you, Finest_G. They are rhetorical, really. I respect your right to express your point of view. It's only by sharing viewpoints and listening that any of us can learn.
On the subject of types of food, I would say a majority of Blacks in America tend to have a diet that is somewhat different from white folks when it comes to suppertime. Cornbread, for example, is regularly seen on the dinner tables of millions of Blacks in the U.S. The same does not hold true for white dinner tables. There are certain carryovers from Africa that we enjoy too - such as squash, okra and yams.
In that sense, there is little difference between the food of the African-American culture and Caribbean foods. Not all of the Caribbean foods you listed had their roots in Africa. Both Blacks from the Caribbean and from the States have ancestors who were slaves. It's how many of our peoples arrived in the West.
Me? I enjoy almost ALL the foods that yall mentioned. And impactplayer? Man, someone needs to hook you up with some good curry goat and rice (and plantain), then your tastebuds will know of the delicious food of which we speak.
......Matta fact, someone needs to hook ME up with some too! blkpoketongue