Dance became a form of entertainment for themselves and their masters. It contained elements and music that they brought with them from Africa. In addition, African dance went on to influence many popular American dances and styles. Dances that originated in African-American communities spread first to the nation and then to the world—like the Cakewalk, Turkey Trot, Charleston, and the Lindy Hop (a.k.a. Jitterbug, Jive).
Slave Song History It can be said that Slave songs was born in Africa and that slaves or Africans brought their customs or rituals to America. Singing songs was very important to the Africans because it acted as a form of communication. In the home country of Africa the songs that the people sang told a lot about the communities the people dwelt in, like the condition of the tribes or about nature. African songs were also used to express the religious beliefs of the Africans, whether it is God or gods or to ward of those spirits that they thought meant harm. The Africans also used songs to tell about what happened in the community.
Where did Folk Music Come From? Folk music originally came from the black slaves of America when working all day long, some of the songs we still know today, like ‘down by the riverside’. The songs were about overcoming hardships and struggle. Another song would be ‘We Shall Overcome’ which was one of the bases for Martin Luther Kings speech. There were also different types of folk music even before the American slave era, the songs based from different melodies told stories and were passed down generation by generation.
Their influence on U.S. culture runs deep even though the African American community represents a relatively small percentage of the U.S. population, accounting for about 13% (United States Census Bureau). In this essay I will focus on their effect on the entertainment industry, language, politics, economy, and education. African Americans have a rich musical tradition, rooted in African tradition, which was incorporated into daily life by slaves. They used “singing, call and response and hollering to coordinate their labor, communicate with one another across adjacent fields, and bolster weary spirits” (Class notes, week 4). These were the building blocks in the development of jazz, gospel and blues, which continued to evolve into to Rock ‘n Roll, R&B, Hip Hop and Rap; all quintessentially American forms of music.
New Orleans, as mentioned before is located along the coast of North America and during times of slavery it was a hub for trade of goods, services and slaves via ships. These slaves, mainly originating from Africa, are what you would call the pioneers of Jazz and Blues. Although the instruments they would have played in their home country were not brought with them, they were still able to express their musical creativity using various European instruments and by the early 19th Century, their ethnic culture and musical traditions were subsequently integrated with the European forms and styles of music. Since then however, the instrumentation and structure of Jazz and Blues has developed and its popularity and sound have changed as well. In the early 19th century approximately half a million African slaves, mainly from West Africa were brought into the U.S. mainland and were used for various menial tasks such as field work and house chores.
The short story "Desiree's Baby" is a perfect example about how slaves were treated, especially in the south of United States. Wealthy families had a lot of slaves in their houses, they had to cook, clean, work in the fields, basically everything. The story describes different scenes where it shows what they were forced to do. For example when one of La Blanche's little quadroon boys was fanning Desiree's baby. This shows what black people, who were slaves, had to do.
The Creation of the African American Culture In Leland Ferguson's book Uncommon Ground, Ferguson uses historical archaeology as a lens to interpret African and African American history. Ferguson’s work focuses on sites and artifacts that are considered typical to, and characteristic of, enslaved persons’ lives on plantations in the United States. In 1740 Blacks in South Carolina outnumbered whites by almost two to one, and one half of that majority had been born in Africa. As slaves, they cleared forests, planted crops, and built homes; together with a surprising number of Native Americans. This book is about the obscured settlers who laid the foundation for African American culture; it is also about the recent beginning of African American Archaeology as a means for learning about that culture.
This fall from American attention also led to a new form of music that was just developing in the streets of New York City during the same time period, a new form of music that derives from the same culture, spirit, and same principles as jazz music. A form of music that in time became accepted and integrated into the jazz community. This form of music was Hip Hop. Growing up amidst terrible discrimination within society, many African American’s channeled their pain and suffering into a musical movement. In the 20’s this music was Jazz.
Why Slavery in the U.S.? Is there a Debt? Slavery is important to understand the history of the United States and the role Africans played in making this country what it is today because slavery built the economy of the U.S. And as its legacy, slavery has left a stubborn impression on the soul of the America, which in turns affects race, religions and gender in many ways. Considering that United States enslaved my fellow human Africans to build its economy, and make itself one of the wealthiest and most power nations in the world today, those who benefited from slavery owe reparations to the children of the slaves. Slavery built the U.S.’s economy.
African American’s most important cultural characteristic is its love of food, resulting from the years of slavery and oppression they went through. Because food is such a strong and powerful key in black tradition, it is proven that African Americans that have struggled through the years and developing their own identity in fact resulted in what we know as “soul food”. “Soul food”, as we call it, was created in slavery times and is the foundation for the African American food we have today. As the basis of black culture soul food is what has brought African American families together for many years, good and bad times. Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were taken and brought to America.