African Americans
The centuries-long battle African Americans waged for freedom, for dignity, and for full participation in American society utterly transformed the nation, and shaped the world we live in today. Today, there is no aspect of life in the United States that has not been touched by the African American experience; there is no institution, custom, or daily practice that has not been influenced or remade by the efforts of African American thinkers, workers, artists, activists, and organizers.
How Africans Came to North America
The story of African immigration is unique among immigrant groups, just as the African experience in America has been uniquely central to the course of American life.
Unlike other immigrants, most Africans came to North America against their will, caught up in a brutal system of human exploitation called slavery. The treatment they and their descendents endured in the United States was of a harshness seldom surpassed in recent history, and their role in U.S. society was contested with a ferocity that nearly tore the nation apart.
African American Contributions
Some of the contributions African Americans have made to our society are jazz music, rock and roll, rap music, poetry, literature, cuisine, inventions, and countless other things that enrich our lives. A specific holiday that has become a part of the American culture is the celebration of Kwanza. Kwanza is celebrated December 26 through January 1. It is a celebration that was established in the 1966 to provide an opportunity for the African American community to celebrate their heritage and reinforce positive community values.
Food
The popular term for African-American cooking is "soul food." Many of these foods are rich in nutrients, as found in collard greens and other leafy green and yellow vegetables, legumes, beans, rice, and potatoes. “Soul food,” makes creative use of inexpensive products. Pig intestines are boiled and fried to make “chitterlings.” Ham hocks and necks provide seasoning to soups, beans, and boiled greens. Other common foods, such as fried chicken and “hoppin’ John” (black-eyed peas and rice), are prepared simply.
Most importantly African Americans have demonstrated to the rest of the country a dignity, a will to succeed against overwhelming odds, and a desire be treated as equals. It could be argued that over the last 200 years African Americans have represented the American dream as well if not better than any other cultural or ethnic group in this country.