A brief history of the cultural Group
- Including immigrants from Africa and slaves
- First arrived in 1619 as slaves.
- Work for free for white colonists.
- Abolishment of slavery during the American Revolution
- Acquisition of equal rights during the 18th century (Smith, 2014).
A brief history of the socio-cultural group
- Cultures and customs brought from the homeland.
- Significance of religion for cultural heritage
- Literature arising from folktales and stories
- Music based on ritual songs
- Much attention to social rights and equality (Bailer, 2015).
Values of the cultural Group
- Freedom from stereotypes and discrimination
- Much attention to national identity and recognition
- Significance of family traditions and heredity
- Focus on religious beliefs and traditions
- Careful preservation of racial, cultural heritage (Smith, 2014).
Values of the socio-cultural group
- Preservation of important historical perspectives
- Promoting the value of freedom and equality
- Reflection of the way to equal rights
- Strong religious component in communities
- African national roots in artistic pieces
The worldview of the culture
- Concentration on African-centered worldview
- Comprises values, attitudes, beliefs, and relations
- Strong racial and dignity concerns
- Preservation of racial identity in the new society
- Significance of spiritual beliefs and practices (“The African American Worldview,” 2017).
Language and communication patterns of the cultural Group
- Emotionally bright and animated communication
- Facing the interlocutor directly while talking
- Direct eye contact and active gestures
- Frequent and lasting physical contact
- Diverse vocal patterns with a variation of pitch and volume (“Communication patterns and assumptions of different cultural groups in the United States,” 2016).
Language and communication patterns of the socio-cultural group (specific)
- Language heritage deriving from folktales
- Frequent use of colloquial language
- Application of oral communication patterns in writing
- Literature heritage about the history of race
- Emotional and powerful language patterns (Bailer, 2015).
Art and other expressive forms of the cultural Group
- Impact of slavery experience and African roots
- Strong ethical African component in the art
- Literature was influenced by slave stories and folktales.
- Music development from blues to hip-hop
- The ethnical component in movies and television (Bailer, 2015).
Art and other expressive forms of the socio-cultural group
- Specific features of early African-American architecture
- Active participation in performing arts
- Development of musicals and black dance
- The Cultural revolution is known as Harlem Renaissance.
- Visual arts from the colonial period (Smith, 2014).
Norms and rules
- Socio-economical, ethnical, and cultural diversity
- Influenced by religious norms and spiritual beliefs
- Strong community and family influence
- Respect for older members of the community
- More attention to a personal relationship (Komen, 2015).
Lifestyle characteristics
- Typical fatalistic acceptance of life events
- Frequent involvement in criminal cases
- Leisure styles were influenced by slavery.
- Active participation in feminist movement and emancipation
- Frequent cases of low income and poverty
Relationship patterns
- Traditional marriage and relations patterns
- The strong impact of historic African roots
- Redistribution of roles due to unemployment
- Impact of African American men shortage
- Examples of gender or racial discrimination (Dixon, 2017).
Common rituals
- Rituals based on the traditions of ancestors
- Kwanzaa is the ritual festival of harvest.
- Importance of common family rituals
- Family reunion as a common ritual
- Traditional religious and spiritual rituals
Degree of assimilation from mainstream society
- The forced character of African assimilation
- A moderate degree of African American assimilation
- Preservation of African values, beliefs, and behaviors
- Need for assimilation to gain acceptance
- The controversy between identity preservation and assimilation
Degree of marginalization from mainstream society
- Marginalization due to the historical oppression
- No trust in racial equality
- Need for the elimination of social and economic marginalization
- The strong impact of family traditions
- A long history of racial discrimination (Riphagen, n.d.).
Health behaviors and practices
- Lack of trust in the system of health care
- Fear of screenings and other examinations
- Conflict of medical and non-medical daily issues
- Preference for non-traditional treatment approaches
- Low-income and bad access to healthcare facilities (Komen, 2015).
Differential approaches needed by health care professionals for each group
- Provision of efficient patient education interventions
- Inform on the importance of prevention strategies
- Encouragement of examination and vaccination compliance
- Improvement of healthcare facilities network
- Enhancement of trust for healthcare professionals.
References
The African American Worldview. (2017). Brittaney Delsarte Chatman. Web.
Bailer, D. (2015). African-American Culture. Minneapolis, MN: Abdo Publishing.
Communication patterns and assumptions of different cultural groups in the United States. (2016). Web.
Dixon, P. (2017). African American relationships, marriages, and families: An introduction (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Komen, S.G. (2015). Applying culturally-responsible communication in Black and African-American communities. Web.
Riphagen, L. (n.d.). Marginalization of African-Americans in US society. Web.
Smith, J.C. (2014). The handy African American history answer book. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press.