Essays on African American Culture

During the colonial period early American settlers came up with the idea to bring African natives overseas to America and use them as slaves. The white man was higher up than the black man in society at the time because of the color of his …

The Nightlife painting among many others can be found in the Art Institute of Chicago. Artist Archibald John Motley Jr. did this painting in 1943. This artwork was done as oil on canvas with the dimensions 91.4 x 121. 3 cm (36 x 47 ¾ …

Despite the abduction of millions of blacks from their homeland, slaves developed a strong familial camaraderie in America, retaining their African traditions as seen through dance, language, clothing and hairstyle. Although kinship ties were usually broken during the slavery process, blacks living on the same …

The 2016 census reported around 9.2 million African Americans to be below the United States poverty line, which at the time was nearly a quarter of all the people living in poverty at that time (“Basic Statistics,” 2018). This is a defined group of people who live as a …

Detroit, a staple name of a powerhouse city in the heart of Michigan that rings a bell to almost every person in the United States. Known for it’s manufacturing businesses and being dubbed, “The motor city”, “D-Town”, “Motown”, and of course, “American’s Comeback City”. The …

The Nashville Annual African Street Festival is an event hosted by the African American Cultural Alliance (AACA) in Hadley Park. This amazing event has grown tremendously over the past thirty years because it interconnects its family-oriented atmosphere with African and African American culture which allows …

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change that you want to see in the world,” and that’s exactly what Jawole Zollar did. As an African American dancer, she wanted to create a company where dancers of all colors, shapes, and sizes could explore expression culturally. This …

Revelations choreographed by Alvin Ailey and performed at the American Dance Theater in 1960 is a dance piece that is often considered a masterpiece or classic by many. It tells the story of African American culture and history throughout the United States along with the …

African-American dance is a medley of dance typologies used to convey the experience of African Americans. Through dance African Americans were able to proliferate their culture and show realistic portrayal of themselves in opposition to the constant stereotyping. African American dance created a platform for …