Ukweli Kujitoa
~means "truth" in Swahili, describes how community input is crucial to research in determining what is accurate.
-Colorism is a practice of discrimination by those with lighter skin are treated more favorably than those with darker skin. -Historically, colorism has been imbedded in the black community. -It causes division and holds us back as a people. |
Kujitoa : Requires that the researcher emphasizes consideration of how the knowledge is structured and used over the need for dispassion objectivity.
. Kujitoa is where this culturally diminishing and poisonous assembling came from it is the root. The structure of cultural assimilation derived from European settlers and slave owners that caused us to assemble as heirs of oppression. Taking away our language , taking away our religion and taking away our identity counting as three fourths of a human. Europeans subjected us to their laws , their history of who we were and the life they designed for us to be a slave forever. Even though physically we are not in bondage we are still in bondage mentally with the chains of cultural assimilation that drift us further apart from our heritage. In my life cultural assimilation to me is dark skinned vs light skinned straight hair vs nappy hair, what society finds beauty vs what society views as ugly. However In it's entirety cultural assimilation is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group. Whether it be socially , religiously , mentally or physically. |
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In order for me to give you the history of cultural assimilation as it concerns these aspects I have to inform you about His Story" see they give us a hint when they say history. Just know he is not pro African American that's one hint. Personally cultural simulation means a lot to me since I am an African American woman of a darker skin tone that constantly has either received back lash for my color or half compliments "you're pretty for a dark skinned girl" . It means something to me because when I wear my natural hair it is referred to as nappy? It means something to me because I don't know if I believe in God because I was told to do so or if it's full heartedly my religion? Cultural assimilation is crab in a barrel syndrome that will forever keep us from progressing if we don't get to the root of the problem ;cultural assimilation.
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Sources
http://racerelations.about.com/od/understandingrac1/g/definitionofcolorism.htm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdSfK0DVKY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ_MEjAWTP8 Michele Facey |
Cultural assimilation has affected African Americans as a whole by creating an era of conformity where we do everything in our power to alter our identity , such as wear weave that is straighter and longer than our hair , use skin bleachers or filters on Instagram to make us lighter than we are. Using products that reconstruct our beautiful thick hair and tame them to be similar to that of European ethnicity. It has effected our mentalities by causing us to even believe that there is even a such thing as light skinned , dark skinned and brown skinned.
- In 2010 the government census proved that the black population is more highly concentrated in the South. The south was always known for being a strong pro slavery region especially Georgia which is why this cultural assimilation is still prevalent here. -Many scholars estimate that approximately 31% of slaves imported were Muslims before their masters made them convert .http://blackdemographics.com/culture/religion/ Racial Identity- According to a culture-specific model of racial consciousness development in Black Americans, Cross (I 995) hypothesized a cognitive developmental model of racial identity in which it is proposed that as racial identity evolves, Blacks progress through a sequence of five stages (pre-encounter, encounter, Immersion- emersion,internalization,and internalization ommitment). Cross suggested that Blacks begin their development at a stage called pre-encounter. This characterized by dependency on White (not Black) society for definition and approval. http://blackdemographics.com/culture/religion/ For more information on where the structure of this information comes from . http://www.virginia.edu/woodson/people/darity-et-al-from-dark-to-light.pdf |