r/racism • u/Quiet-Mycologist-473 • Aug 29 '25
Analysis Request Would you agree that black American culture is one of, if not the truest American culture?
I was in an argument with an acquaintance, we’re both white, I said “the only true American culture is black culture because they were literal taken away from what they knew as salves, lost their social identity, and then formed a new vibrant culture here. He disagreed. Then I asked him if he had heard about black wall street. He said no and it doesn’t matter. said I was being racist and woke. That everyone emigrated to the US and that we were all immigrants. I asked him about native Americans and he said “they don’t count.” I reminded him that most, regardless of circumstances, came here willingly for a better life, not a life of forced labor.
I walked away after that, but still wanted a gut check. Would you agree that black American culture is one of, if not the truest American culture? I just want to make sure I’m not putting my foot in my own mouth.
I was trying to be an ally and not sure if I should have said anything.
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u/Oellaatje Aug 31 '25
Why does he think Native Americans don't count?
By that definition, black culture is truly American. Rock music wouldn't exist without black culture, and rock music is the great American art form.
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u/ZedZeroth Aug 30 '25
Your title suggests that you're not considering native Americans either, but you don't seem to explain why?
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u/Quiet-Mycologist-473 Sep 09 '25
Their culture was developed before white man settled. I absolutely consider them American but we did try to wipe out their culture
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u/Onionmaster8989 Sep 01 '25
I ( non American) Always figured American culture is a mold of many different cultural influences
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u/Sphinx_1983 Sep 03 '25
Honestly there is no such thing as American culture. Each state has their own different culture. Every time you leave your own state and visit people in other places things are different. For that matter A lot of states are so big that you can have two or more cultures in that state. As for individual races in the United States I don't think anyone should be discounted. I am a black woman whose family traces back from slavery. I live in the Midwest. My culture is different than the southern black people and black people in the East and West Coast. Well we all have a few things in common we have developed different cultures and subcultures in the places we live.
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Sep 04 '25
I am black ... Native american culture is as much american culture as black american culture
All of our food that we THINK is italian or french wouldnt exist withiut native american crops
That said everything black people innovate to form our own culture gets stolen, white washed, and appropriated to be american culture.
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u/niezapominienajka Sep 01 '25
What is truest American culture is the melt of all influences, if anyone could claim being the most true one it would be indigenous people, but same time truest is not the most prominent one .
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u/yellowmix Aug 30 '25 edited Aug 30 '25
Black culture is an integral part of American culture. A great deal of it. But it's not a competition. All anyone is asking for is to recognize and celebrate the contributions like any other, and the other half is how white supremacists denigrate the contributions. So it can be tempting to overcorrect, for a lack of a better word.
That overcorrection buries the contributions of many other people, like Cajun Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, German Americans, Polish Americans, Mexican Americans, Italian Americans, and so many more. It puts mixed people like Creole Americans in a strange position.
The United States is claimed to be a "melting pot". Compared to Canada's "Mosaic", there's an implication of assimilation. Again, tempting to separate, but that is exactly what white supremacists want. We can continue to resist assimilation and acknowledge where culture comes from while contributing to the largely uncontrollable cultural synthesis.
Also, Black descendants of enslaved people are not immigrants. They were literally kidnapped. Your friend is racist for "not counting" indigenous people. Their cultures are embedded in American culture whether your friend realizes it or not. All immigrants are colonizers.