Oba Iparankanru said:
Well I went and asked black people what their culture is, and I have also studied customs of negroes from the south during slavery. to see if they had any maroon groups, finding out half of the siminoles were black and had little intermixing with the natives they escaped with keeping a good part of their culture. I still don't know what soul food is (nobody i have talked to will agree with 1 set group of foods) but i am getting a good idea of the culture itself outside of music.
Brother Oba - and others - this speaks to the importance of DISCUSSING our culture, and defining it for those who don't have the slightest notion of what culture is, or what it consists of...
On another thread recently started by the poster, Virtual God, he/she suggests that culture is what folk are doing when they are doing it... True dat, but then this is the reality of one learned about this thing called CULTURE... This is, however, not everyone's reality, as most of us have not done any study, and I have rarely if ever, had an African American pose the question to me of what is culture, or what is our culture... Unfortunately, I have heard African Americans say "we aint got no culture..."
Needless to say, that annoyed me so much that I began to more thoroughly study the culture, and that has led all the way to this, a forum where we can actually enlighten one another... Problem is that those who know don't want to teach... They say it is important, and that those who don't know the culture are in trouble, but, no, they aint 'bout to teach anyone nothin'! That's wrong, man... You can't preach a good sermon, and then you're actions shout out that you talk a good game, and aint about much else...
Those who know, brother, need to teach, need to share, need to bring more to the discussion than this... The unenlightened are depending on those of us who are enlightened...
Peace!
Isaiah