African American Culture and History

The influence of African American culture on world culture is undeniable. The world has enjoyed our music from Jazz to Soul. Our musicians have traveled the world for more than seventy years. From Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington to Lena Horne in years past. More recently from the Temptations to James Brown to Whitney Houston and on and on. Now Hip Hop is changing the planet. Our music is beloved!!!

Other areas of our culture are less known but just as brilliant. A few of our actors have achieved fame and they help to symbolize African Americans in the public mind. Our traditional cuisine, "soul food", has clashed with the health food movement for some legitimate reasons and is also less known worldwide. Nevertheless, to sit down to a meal of Fried Chicken or Fish, potato salad, collard greens, and cornbread has spiritual and historical meaning. We commune with our ancestors and our heritage on those special days when we eat "soul food". Those interested in learning more about this aspect of African American culture or if you just want to get a few good recipes please go to Big Mama's Recipes and enjoy in moderation. All things occur in their own time. Thanks to the Internet, African American artists can now bypass the "system" and go directly to the world. Modern digital printing technology has also contributed mightily to making affordable art more readily available. So now is the time for the world to be exposed to and taught about African American culture, history and art.

The painting above is titled "JB's Jukejoint", and is one of the Artist Saint's most recent works. In this one painting we can see many of the elements of African American culture discussed on this site. As the painting is set circa 1940, it shows the influence of the Harlem Renaissance yet it is set in the rural south. It demonstrates something about our style, movement, even the diversity of our skin color; and close examination will even give clues to our culinary tastes. This is what one proud owner of the limited edition of "JB's Jukejoint" had to say:"I saw....Juke Joint and I had to have one. Every time I look at this painting, I see something different. The colors, the distinct features of the people and all the small details of their clothing, hair, and facial features. Where/how do you come up with such real life characters? When I look at these people I see someone that I knew in the past." Cheryl J. This is what art can do.

Under this cultural umbrella we will explore and pay tribute to African American contributions in Jazz, Blues, Dance,and History A good site to learn more about African American history is the Charles H. Wright Museum . Even more specifically, we will focus on the period of our history known as the Harlem Renaissance (1919-1940). a truly special period in Black History.

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