African American Culture Research Paper

Abstract

The concept of Black culture arose as a result of prior experiences endured by African American people. This is exclusive to key historical events like slavery, colonization, and the civil rights movements, to name a few. Slavery played a critical role in the development of negative attitudes amongst African Americans regarding many aspects of life. Particularly the government, mortality rates, and health practices. Many ingredients used in African American dishes have African origins such as okra, peas, collard greens, sesame, and yams. Due to the lack of access to affordable nutritional options, poor eating practices heavily contributed to the deaths of many. Eating poorly has subjected African Americans to high rates of obesity, …show more content…
African Americans tend to put their health on the back burner due to financial and historical burdens. Due to the way that African Americans live, such as those that are a product of impoverished neighborhoods, they tend to not worry about their mental health and suffer from several diseases such as hypertension and high cholesterol. Several studies show that mental health is the most prevalent issue that African Americans deal with. In earlier years, parents of black youth assumed that their child didn't have anything to be depressed about or their mental health didn't matter. However, several studies have shown that black youth, especially younger men, tend to have the worst mental health simply because of the environment that they live in. Furthermore, mental health is not the only disease that runs rampant throughout the African American culture, high cholesterol and hypertension are also very prevalent in this culture. Health Care Practices People in the African American culture have different health practices that they use. For example, they associate their health with nature and try to cure illness through the environment. According to UMass Chan, “Health is viewed in harmony with nature. Illness is believed to be caused by natural causes, improper diet, and exposure to cold/wind. They may also view illness as a punishment from God or witchcraft. The sick individual expects attention from family and friends, but maintains independence. Teas, herbs, and warm medication for chest colds are some of the practiced home remedies” (Rossetti, 2020). This means that African Americans don’t rely on medication to fix sicknesses like other cultures might do, instead, they use things that are in nature, like different types of plants, to help cure them. I also learned that they are very spiritual people and believe that

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