Personal Narrative: My Cultural Identity

Culture is an important and vital component that defines who and what we are as a person. We interface with cultural difference on a daily basis. So what exactly is culture? Good Question! I will attempt to identify my own cultural and explain what cultural means to me. So, lets start by defining the term culture. “Culture is a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.”. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2015) My cultural identity consists of several parts. I am most foremost a female that has a variety of racial genetic makeup of African-American, Native American, and European descent. I was raised in a Christian religious household and in a primarily single parent home. I have a sister and a half brother on my father’s
The economic realities that have impacted the African American cultural is that proportionally African Americans are associated with poverty, make less than other racial ethnic groups, and may be required to go through extra steps in order to qualify for things such as home ownership, car ownership, etc. The social realities that have impacted African Americans is that throughout history and societal norms, african American people have been looked as less than human, uneducated, and uncivilized people. This is evident when you look in the past at slavery and how much the African American people were dehumanized and demoralized. In today’s society there is progress that has been made since then. African Americans are becoming more and more accepted, there is less stigmatization, and the African American people are more acceptable to other cultures than in the past. For instance, other ethnic groups have started to adopt parts of the African American culture without necessarily realizing it. Recently, Kylie Jenner made headlines for wearing cornrows, which was depicted and glorified through mainstream social media. Whereas, in contrast Alicia Keyes wore cornrows when she first started her singing career without the same amount of attention and recognition as Kylie Jenner. Cornrows have been a huge
I am prideful that i am unique in my color (skin tone),physical attributes (the prevalence of butt implants/lifts), the accomplishments of my cultural (invention of peanut butter, curling iron, street lights, constructing the white house, president), building America (working the fields, contributing to the economic growth of America), traditions (wedding ceremonies of the jumping the broom), food (soul food, creole, music (Jazz, Hip Hop, Rhythm and Blues), and literature (Langston Hughes, Ricard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston and Maya Angelou); i am also prideful of the fact that the human race originated in Africa. The thing that I am shameful about as an african american in the year 2015 is that racism is still strong due to ignorance and the loss of the astonishing amount of african american males that are being taken due to violence, discrimination, substance abuse, poverty, and mental illnesses. I believe that the prideful and shameful aspects of the African american has impacted me as a person. I have realized that I have a strong sense of my self worth and ability. I am more hyper vigilant when it comes to situations of racial discrimination and prejudice. As I get older, and as a 30 year old, African american female with no children, I feel that my cultural identity has shifted. When I was in my teen years, I aspired to follow the norm and strived to be accepted by my