When examining the political policies and social status of African Americans both in their native country and in America, it is important to see where their practices come from. First, when you look at Africa's rich history, you need to look at African values. In Africa, their value system consisted of “affiliation, collectivity, sharing, obedience to authority, spirituality, acceptance of destiny and the past” (Pinderhughes, 1982, p.91). This is the picture that Africans knew before arriving in America through the slave trade. Once in America, new African American values emphasized individualism, social status, and financial aspirations (Jones, 1985). These are crucial to understanding the political side of things because the politics of the time shaped the culture and vice versa. Furthermore, the Afrocentric perspective helped to further embellish African American values. African Americans are very spiritual, they believe in God and that “everything will be okay.” Additionally, the idea of collective responsibility allows African Americans to care for each other and share traumas and difficult times. This idea is huge because it really encompasses that each of them has a strong affiliation with each other. Finally, bringing all of this together is the interconnection with the basic concept that when people hurt others, they hurt you. The Afrocentric view allows for “these protective factors to shield African Americans from the impact of racism and oppression, as well as improve mental and overall health” (p. 232). The illustration of interconnectedness can be best illustrated through the role of women in society. culture. Rooted in the African tradition of a non-employment role for birth mothers...at the heart of the document...depriving political and cultural institutions to cultivate and advance the collective interests of Black people and promote Black values (Gates p. 262). The impact of the Black Power movement in generating valuable discussions about ethnic identity and black consciousness is manifested in the relatively recent proliferation of academic fields such as American Studies, Black Studies, and Africana Studies in both national and international institutions (Williams p. 92). . The value and attention given to African American history and culture today is largely a product of the Black Power movement in the 1960s and 1970s. While it was radical at times, it offered some new insights and a bottom-up approach to achieving racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions to cultivate and advance black collective interests and promote the black values we see today..
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