African culture in the Americas

Reading: Excerpts from “Chapter 4: African Culture in the Americas,” in Krauthammer, Barbara and Williams, Chad. Major Problems in African American History, 2nd edition.
Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2018, linked in previous page of module.

Background: In this paper you’ll examine the ways in which Africans enslaved in America drew upon African cultural traditions to create a hybrid Black American culture, focusing mostly on cultural artifacts. Most historians of slavery in the early twentieth century maintained that slavery either was a benefit to enslaved Africans, by introducing them to white Christian civilization, or later, that the trauma of enslavement so utterly destroyed the psyches of captured Africans that they retained no African heritage. In the late twentieth century, however, historians of slavery began to pay greater attention to how the enslaved held on to African traditions in America.

Investigation: The reading for this chapter provides evidence of diverse African cultural traditions practiced by enslaved Black Americans, but it also addresses how enslaved Africans from different regions of Africa created a new, hybrid Black American culture, incorporating European as well as African traditions. Armed with this evidence, in this paper students will examine how enslaved Black Americans interpreted and used European American traditions and institutions in their own, separate way.

Method: Students should first read the assigned reading in Yawp, especially Section II, on “Slavery and the Making of Race.” Next, read the introductory and “Questions to Think About” sections from the Krauthammer handout. Then, with those questions in mind, read the “Documents Overview” and then carefully examine the sources. Enlarged versions of the visual sources, including photographs of the African instruments, are inserted into the handout.

Questions to Consider: In addition to the “Questions to Think About” section of the handout, please consider the following questions while reading and examining the handout. These need not be answered directly in the paper itself; these questions are just to guide your thinking as you read.

  • Musical instruments essay: What traditions in instrument-making did Black Americans retain in America? How did the experience of slavery in America change instrument-making and use?
  • Visual sources: Which things seem the most “African,” and why? Which items seem most “European,” and why? After inspecting these sources, would you assume that they were from America or Africa? What makes something look “African” or “European”? Almost all of the artifacts are from the twentieth century; what conclusions can you draw from this information?
Paper Topic: Write a one-to-two page paper (around 500 words) answering the following questions in the form of an essay: How did Africans enslaved in America create a hybrid Black American artistic and musical culture? How did these Africans use European artistic and musical traditions as well as African ones? Be as specific as you can and use the sources from the reading. DO NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES.