African JazzJoin now to read essay African JazzNumber 4:8. How did African Americans seek to maintain their particular cultures within the American society?African Americans seek to maintain their particular cultures in many different ways. One evident example is music inspired by Arican culture, such as jazz, the blues, and ragtime. Throughout the United States Africans made their mark by the numerous amount of popular jazz clubs. These clubs not only brought in a black crowd, but became ever increasingly popular among
the white population dating back to the the early 1900’s. The Progressive Era sparked the turn of interestin music to African inspired beats. Today, jazz and the blues are still some of the most popular music in America.9. What was the me aning of “Americanization” for African Americans? What was the process of “becoming American” for African Americans?In America, it was a struggle for Africans to be accepted in their communities as equals. Africans worked to become “more American” as an effort to fit in among their white peers. This process of trying to become the same as their white neighbors was known as Americanization. Some would give up their personal
lives and careers. Others would do what is called a radical change to their culture or community when they chose to leave their place of faith and to come to America. It was not the decision on whether to be born a Mormon or a Jew or to change their faith, or live outside of the mainstream. Americans would be forced to make up their own minds. But they would take the step back just in time and think. They would also try to learn. These individuals didn’t decide what was important to them. These individuals were forced not for their spiritual, ethnic, political or ethnic identity, but in their personal lives as Americans. There were no boundaries with these individuals. A choice was made. Americans turned into the “new American” where we could say our own words. We were encouraged to speak our own truth.
The early pioneers of the music genre were able to help the “other” through the various pressures surrounding the traditional American identity. The pioneers wanted a place and a culture where they could express their own “true white people.” They wanted as many people as possible in their family so they could continue to be a part of the family. They wanted to create space that would support all of their siblings like themselves. As they created space, people in their communities would join them in their community. They moved with a sense of purpose. In short, people in their communities would feel supported. This shared purpose of community fostered friendship, and the formation of a community. Some individuals would simply follow the “other’s” and share a little bit of their experience that was not part of their community. Others would create communities where they would be more connected to each other in terms of their own communities and their own lives as Americans. These individuals would feel that they were part of the group they wanted to serve the American community.
But there was no escape from the real and not fictional reality of the early pioneer experience for many African Americans.
The question arose as to how the African American community could ever have grown to accept such a diverse community before Americanization began . It was not for lack of trying. In fact, there was a much broader question at the beginning of the Revolution in 1789, when most of the first Europeans did not join the native British Indian communities. As historians are often wont to say, the question came up in the early debates. One woman asked:
“Can Englishman and Scotsman even begin a nation? What kind of country is formed for the purpose of establishing a true native,