Premium Essay

African

In:

Submitted By alecia
Words 801
Pages 4
African Ethics

A hateful misconception of African Culture ethics and thought is that it is fundamentally primitive, unsystematic, unsophisticated, and lacking rigid philosophical analysis. An additional stereotype in African thought is it cannot have a real system of ethics due to the behavior dictated by local customs. To label African ethics in this way forms a huge disregard to the rich African indigenous heritage and traditional ethos. The African ethos are based upon tradition, authority, and well-being of their communities. Just currently living in one place is not considered an African community. An African community consists of those who are living and have lived and dies, known as ancestors. African ethics is very complex considering that there is fifty-three nations and almost twelve hundred diverse groups. This leads to difficulties regarding generalizing anything as African perspectives or thought. African culture is diverse and detailed in areas such as polygamy, identity, authority, customs, morality, and religion. In African ethics, behavior is dictated by local customs. This brings confusion to people between customs and morality. Customs are like social rules, they are either explicit or implicit, social rules reflect values. Not all social values have moral rules behind them. For example a social values in African cultures would be a beautiful speech, which is logical, but it is not considered immoral if one is to lack in value. When it comes to etiquette, it becomes more complex. Social etiquette does reflect social values in African cultures. Many social values do have moral relevance much like the Confucianism idea of li. Li is defined as propriety, better known as etiquette.
This may shock many, but the act of polygamy is something that can be found in African culture today. Polygamy is completely normal and acceptable to Africans and

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

African

...February 2015 African Americans and the word Nigger African Americans are God’s greatest creation. God said himself that he gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. According to the short film “War for your Soul” this nation needed the strength, wisdom and abilities of African Americans to build the America we have today. The most powerful nation in the world. See what people fail to realize is that America was built on the backs of African Americans. Most of America is founded and created by African Americans but, it was taken away from them by the white people. Now white people are considered to be the founders and rulers of this land when truly the African Americans were the first Queens and Kings. The whites stripped African Americans from everything they built and owned. The Master of Darkness from “War on your Soul” claims he even tore their families apart by separating their children and selling them to different slave owners. Changed the name of African Americans to degrade and used racial slurs like calling them the word “Nigger.” A nigger is below everyone on the face of the planet close to being a dog says Master of Darkness from “War on your soul.” These tactics were used to break the spirits of African American slaves so they would feel belittled and worthless. African Americans could always count on the mercy of God. To withstand the pressures of time. God carried them through the decades of the 30s, 40s, and 50s helping African Americans know...

Words: 1048 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

African Americans

...African Americans: The Role of Race Abstract The Following Essay defines and integrates the role race plays on the African American culture in their family values and politics in comparison to the Anglo American Culture. The United States has become increasingly diverse in the last century. While African American families share many features with other U.S. families, the African American family has some distinctive features relating to the timing and approaches to marriage and family formation, gender roles, parenting styles, and strategies for coping with adversity. African cultures, slavery, slave rebellions, and the civil rights movements(circa 1800s-160s)have shaped African American religious, familial, political and economic behaviors. The imprint of Africa is evident in myriad ways, in politics, economics, language, music, hairstyles, fashion, dance, religion and worldview, and food preparation methods. In the United States, the very legislation that was designed to strip slaves of culture and deny them education served in many ways to strengthen it. In turn, African American culture has had a pervasive, transformative impact on myriad elements of mainstream American culture, among them language, music, dance, religion, cuisine, and agriculture. This process of mutual creative exchange is called creolization. Over time, the culture of African slaves and their descendants has been ubiquitous in its impact on not only the dominant American culture, but on world...

Words: 1369 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

African Union

...CONFLICT RESOLUTION. THE AFRICAN CONTINENTAL BODY (AFRICAN UNION). Introduction The AU project was born in Sirte in 1999 with the decision to draft an act of constitution. The AU’s Constitutive Act was subsequently signed in Lomé, Togo on 11 July 2000. The official inauguration of the AU took place in July 2002 in Durban, South Africa and represented the next level in the evolution of the ideal of Pan-Africanism. Learning from the lessons of the OAU, the AU has adopted a much more interventionist stance through its legal frameworks and institutions. The AU’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) was established in 2004 through the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of 2002 (AU 2002). The AU’s 15-member PSC is mandated to conduct peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace building. In effect, the AU maintained a working relationship with the UN and other international organisations, namely the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), The AU has adopted a number of important new documents establishing norms at continental level, to supplement those already in force when it was created. These include the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003), the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and its associated Declaration on Democracy...

Words: 1307 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

African History

...course of history African Americans have bravely fought to gain the same rights that white folks had. Even though the constitution grants and promises equal treatment under the law for all men, it sure didn’t feel like it. African Americans felt out of place in their communities due to the fact that they weren’t being treated as equal as whites, especially in the south. The white southerners felt that anything African Americans were trying to obtain was a problem. So why did white southerners restrain African American from having equal rights? The answer to this question lies in the economic field and on a hysteria that African American where going to become more inferior then they are. After African Americans received their freedom, most of the white southerners were angry. They were furious because all the “workers” were gone. Emancipation had hurt the rich white southerners economically because most of their income came from the slaves working in the plantation. During the reconstruction period white southerners had restrained African Americans in many ways and one way was financially. There was a system put in place called share cropping. Share cropping meant African Americans had to work for a certain amount of crop that the white southerners had or they purchase it from them. During this period most of white southerners would not give African Americans the total amount of crop that they work for. Another way that white southerners made it difficult for African Americans to...

Words: 560 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

African Drums

...Grace March 2, 2011 Cultural Presentation |V11SP: INTRO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (ANT-1010-VO01-V11SP) | Drums are of big importance to the history of Africa, they have been a part of Africa's culture dating back to 500 A.D. In most Western Cultures, like India or China, the idea of drums is mostly always associated with entertainment. In Africa, drums hold a much deeper symbolical and historical meaning. Drums are referred to the “backbone” of African music because of the pulse it creates. The African drums basic uses are for communication, entertainment or both together. The talking drum has been called Africa's first telephone, this is because it was utilized to send messages or signals to surrounding tribes. These signals or codes, were sent to announce danger or upcoming meetings. The drums imitate the pitch patterns of languages, which makes it possible for others to interpret the messages. This drum is usually played beneath one arm and held against the ribcage, the drum is then squeezed to produce the pitch while the other strikes the drum head with structure resembling a stick. Drums are used during festivals, not only for entertainment but also for communication. Depending on the event being celebrated, drumbeats are played to instruct listeners of what type of dance is to be performed. For example, at the time of a birth of twins there is a different dance done than at...

Words: 628 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

African Trypanosomiasis

...African Trypanosomiasis is a systemic parasitic disease, which is caused by a protozoan Trypanosoma brucei and is transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of the tsetse flies which obtained the infection from humans and animals. Also known as African Sleeping Sickness, it is one of the most significant and abandoned tropical infections. Discovered in Africa during the period of 1894 – 1910, African Trypanosomiasis was identified by Sir David Bruce, Joseph Everett Dutton, Aldo Castellani, J.W.W. Stephens and H.B. Phantham. This infection occurs in two forms, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. “During the period of 1894 – 1910, the cause of the sleeping sickness in humans and cattle was discovered. David Bruce identified trypanosomes in the blood of affected cattle and established that healthy game animals were host reservoirs of the disease. Trypanosoma brucei was identified in 1899 and in 1902 Joseph Everett Dutton along with Robert Ford were first to identify Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in a European patient. In 1903, working along with Bruce, Aldo Castellani identified trypanosomes in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with sleeping sickness. In 1910, J.W.W. Stephens and H.B. Phantham first described Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (3).” Trypanosoma brucei is the protozoan that causes West African Sleeping Sickness and East African Sleeping Sickness. T. brucei has antigentic variations. Thus, by the time the body builds...

Words: 1416 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

African American

...The Civil War brought significant changes for African Americans, as they were freed from slavery. However, rather than achieving complete legal, political, and economic equality during the Reconstruction Era, which lasted from the end of the Civil War until 1877, African Americans continued to be second class citizens. As will be argued in this paper, African Americans experienced hardship and significant discrimination after 1877 due to racist laws, social, economic, and educational inequality; however, as laws and cultural sentiments about blacks changed during the Civil Rights Era, African Americans today have more political, economic, and educational opportunities than ever before. On the following pages, this paper will trace the path of African Americans to equality by discussing salient events in African American history from 1877 to the present. Significantly, as the author believes, while progress has been made since the nineteenth century, complete equality remains elusive even today for many African American men and women. The end of slavery did by no means lead to the immediate equality of African Americans in American society. The years after the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, were characterized by wide-spread discrimination against African Americans. In the South, so-called Jim Crow laws effectively barred African Americans from having very basic civil liberties. Public and social life in the South but also in other places in the United States, was strictly...

Words: 1373 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

African American

...| African Americans | | | Christy B. | ETH 125 June 5, 2011 | | African Americans Who are we, where did we come from, what has been our experience since we landed on United States soil? The migration of Africans has been very significant in the making of African Americans history and culture. Today's 35 million African Americans are heirs to all the migrations that have formed and transformed African America, the United States, and the Western Hemisphere (The New York Public Library, n.d.). African American history starts in the 1500s with the first Africans coming from Mexico and the Caribbean to the Spanish territories of Florida, Texas, and other parts of the South (The New York Public Library, n.d.). Although we are most familiar with the documented 1619 arrival, in which Africans were brought to the United States aboard a Dutch ship to Jamestown, Virginia for the purpose of slavery. In the 17th century, the United States nation began to grow and white European settlers need more laborers for the production of crops, like cotton and tobacco. In 1793 the cotton industry began to grow. Cheap labor was needed for the tedious task of removing seeds from cotton, which had to be done by hand. Africans were kidnapped from their native land and sold to share croppers for forced labor. The idea of Africans as slaves was embraced and spread rapidly through the North American colonies; making the modern western slavery, known as indentured slavery, which...

Words: 1136 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

African Charter

...AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES RIGHTS African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Adopted in Nairobi June 27, 1981 Entered into Force October 21, 1986 Preamble The African States members of the Organization of African Unity, parties to the present Convention entitled »African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights »; Recalling Decision 115 (XVI) of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at its Sixteenth Ordinary Session held in Monrovia, Liberia, from 17 to 20 July 1979 on the preparation of a »preliminary draft on an African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights providing inter alia for the establishment of bodies to promote and protect human and peoples' rights»; Considering the Charter of the Organization of African Unity, which stipulates that »freedom, equality, justice and dignity are essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples'; Reaffirming the pledge they solemnly made in Artide 2 of the said Charter to eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa, to coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa and to promote International cooperation having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Taking into consideration the virtues of their historical tradition and the values of African civilization which should inspire and characterize their reflection on the concept of human and peoples rights; Recognizing...

Words: 4659 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

African Dance

...In Africa, dance has played an essential part in its culture. Dance has always been used as strong communication tool for entertainment, celebration, and to create stronger bonds. For many, African dance loosely refers to dances from the continent of Africa but it is much more complex than one would think. There are 53 independent countries within the continent of Africa with diverse people, culture, and traditions (Understanding Africa). They are further divided into different ethnic groups within the countries that have their own dance to represent their tribe (African traditions). While the styles of dance may vary from region to region, one unifying aspect in African music is the African drum. Every tribe incorporates the drums into their music and dance (Njai). It is hard to separate dance from the drums, as it would be hard to separate lyrics from a song. In class, we were reminded over and over that life is dance and dance is life. At first, the relationship between the two seemed a bit exaggerated, as some people would view life more important than dance but in Africa, those rhythmic movements are used to represent almost every occasion in someone’s life. Even in the book African Dance, Pearl Primus describes the relationship between life and dance as a “hypnotic marriage” which are inseparable (Primus). Whether it is for celebrations or religious purposes, dance is used to represent many aspects that are important to life. The specific dance that I chose is a little...

Words: 1928 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

African Study

...In the Conniff, Part I Preface, the author basically summary the book which is about African diaspora in the Americas. It includes African Americans’ individuality and personality. It “fills the continents from north to south and at all points in between”. Moreover, the book also include about global history and as well as the multicultural in classroom. In order to do so, many people contributed to finish the book, there are over fifteen main scholars and many reviewers who combine their ideas together to create the book. All of that said, the book is a combination of many people ideas, experience and surveys. Therefore it is a reliable book to read and study. Last but not lease, the author does not forget to explain to the reader more about the language term in the book to avoid misunderstanding between the author and reader. After reading the preface of the book, I feel that this should be a good book to read to understand more about African American culture and there living style. It should provide me a better view on African Americans’ individuality and personality. Furthermore, the preface mentions about the relations between Africa, Europe, and African American. That should be an interesting topic that I am looking forward to study about. I want to know more about African American normal life, their advantage and disadvantage when they live in America through the racism between black and white. That is the reason why the history of the civil rights interested me. After...

Words: 310 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Africans in the Revolution

...Africans Americans in the Revolution Damon Davis Damon Davis Mrs. Lafaele 11th Grade English 19 November 2012 African Americans in the Revolution The American Revolution was not only the colonist’s fight to gain independence but also the African-Americans to gain freedom as well. There was a conflict in the whites wanting to gain liberation from England while also having black slaves and taking away their freedom at the same time. The contradiction to this is that the white’s concept of their freedom they were fighting for was different of those by the African Americans. To white Americans the war meant freedom and liberty in a being free from England’s political hold and taxes on the united states rather than what the blacks faced in personal, labor bondage the blacks suffered from. The whites in fighting for their freedom gave the blacks a great chance to try to get their own personal freedom. They increased the number of chances a black would have in getting his freedom. They had to form a petition to let numerous amounts of blacks be freed at one time. The unfairness of this pushed blacks to fight for their freedom. African Americans saw this as an opportunity to use as leverage in their own quest in search of freedom. However the blacks got most of their freedom by volunteering of taking up arms. They took up arms fighting for the British early in the Revolution. The British also...

Words: 1196 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

African America

...Critical Response #5 Many rivers to Cross Civil rights movement was accomplishing in the court and congress in 1968. How African America dream to be able to achieve equality. The news of Martin Luther King was assassinated, killed the Politics of non-violence and blacks started to rioting across the country. African American started a group of the Black Panthers. Guns were used for defense the black community’s. Maulene karenge created Kwanza and how soul train helped spread the new that African American is beautiful. African American got job and black student’s alliance shaping the education. FBI launched an attack on The Black Panther and started conflict between black groups. Black organization came together in Gary to start The First National Black Political Convention. Successful blacks, middle class that have stability and some middle class that was poor. Problem that started in black communities have been addressed to the government that was lead to drug to increase. In 2005 Hurricane Trina struck the city of New Orleans and about 1500 lost their lives and hundred thousand lost their homes because they were black and poor. Almost them were senate Barack Obama. Then a year later Barack run for President. Obama became the first Back President. How Black man was in prison and when they are release it was hard for them to find employment The African American’s struggles have been many as well as continuous throughout the century. However, Black people are still faced with...

Words: 283 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

African American

...ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY WORKSHEET Your topic: African American Inequity In The Workplace Your tentative thesis: African American is to explain the two different viewpoints on how there are inequity in the workplace also to explain to readers different view other have about this subject List your sources in correct MLA format: Book: The Contextual Impact of Social Support Across Race and Gender: Implications for African American Women in the Workplace Bailey, Darlyne, Donald Wolfe, and Christopher R. Wolfe. “The Contextual Impact of Social Support Across Race and Gender: Implications for African American Women in the Workplace”. of Black Studies 26.3 (1996): 287–307. Web... Briefly summarize this source. In this book they explain black studies in comparison to how black women are treated in the workplace. the source also explain research that has been providing basic on age of black american women they then stated that women are most likely to have more support as being african american Scholarly Journal Article 1: RESKIN, BF. GETTING IT RIGHT: SEX AND RACE INEQUALITY IN WORK ORGANIZATIONS Reskin, Barbara F. "Getting It Right: Sex And Race Inequality In Work Organizations." Annual Review Of Sociology 26.(2000): 707. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2015. Briefly summarize this source. Explain its relevance to your topic and whether it supports or goes against...

Words: 427 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

African American

...African American Health Issues Eric Nordberg Grand Canyon University: HLT-305 9-28-2014 The African American population within the United States is a rising minority. There are 44.5 million African Americans in the United States, making up 14.2% of the population. It is projected that by the year 2060, that demographic will rise to 18.4 %( Black or African American Populations, 2014). Similar to any other demographic, the top three causes of death in the African American population are heart disease, cancer, and strokes. Apart from high mortality rate diseases, African Americans have the highest infection rate of HIV and have the highest death rates from homicides (Black or African American Populations, 2014). According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “the health status of African Americans identifies a higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and sexually transmitted infections when compared with Whites” (Health Status of African Americans, n.d.). So comparing to the most common population, Caucasians, African Americans across the board have a higher prevalence for many of the major diseases. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national average for unemployment is 6.1%; the national average for African Americans is 12.6%. With a higher unemployment rate, African Americans experience a higher rate of not having health insurance (Black or African American Populations, 2014). Apart from unemployment...

Words: 455 - Pages: 2