My Six-Hour Encounter with the African American Community

The world is rich and full of cultural diversities. Each part of the world has their unique way of life and how they conduct their affairs. Whether it gets other people’s approval or not, culture is a people’s way of life that cannot be altered in any way to fit into the description of what is considered normal and good. Cultures are wide and vary from simple ways of life to great extremes Culture shock refers to the change experienced by an individual due to the change in environments and the way of life. We are all used to certain ways of doing things, and that becomes our way of life. There are certain things we consider ‘normal’ and acceptable whereas in different parts of the world they are considered evil. Same cases with others, there are those things that other people engage themselves in that we consider evil and wrong.

My six-hour encounter with the African American community

            Late last week I had the privilege of attending a cultural night in the Hillside Township in New Jersey. This particular event was taking place in a nightclub set-up, and it was meant to celebrate the achievements of the African-American members. This particular group of persons has had quite a journey before ‘becoming’ Americans. There was a time in the American history that members of this community were white men’s possession. They would get sold in auctions in some markets.

             Rich white men would make bids to purchase them (Naysmith, J., and S. Corcoran, 86). Once sold they, would be condemned to slavery for the rest of their lives. So this particular event was quite important and significant in their lives. Today America boasts of being one of the most liberal societies in the world. Today Men and women are treated equally and are accorded equal rights. That notwithstanding, there are some few pockets of individuals who are still holed up in the ancient ways of life and are busy fueling racism and disregard of equal rights for all.

            In spite of there being such groups, efforts are being made to bring race wars to an end through rigorous integration programs. The event was well attended, and there was plenty of showcasing that was taking place. Some of the most notable African Americans included Kevin Hart, a highly successful comedian in America. This particular individual kept us moving and always made the mood lively. The night was full of great ambiance, and everyone was delighted to have been in attendance.

Cultural similarities

            In spite of us having the same nationality, there was a minimal cultural similarity. The cultural differences were quite profound, and there was a minimal similarity between what I am used to and the events that were taking place in this particular community. Their mode of dressing was quite different from what I am used to seeing. Men in their early twenties clad in some well-designed baggy jeans that were quite telling. Their choice of diction was quite harsh with most of them laying the blame on the state as some accused the government of frustrating them. There was this particular drunk guy whom I remember quite well. He was lamenting that the constitution had robbed him his only hope in life.

            Lost in his world of fantasy, grief, and misunderstanding he yelled “the American constitution is racist. Why on earth does it have a term limit on the number of years that a president can serve? Why was it that Franklin Roosevelt was allowed to be in office for twelve good years (Stauss, Bernd, and Paul Mang, 74) whereas my president Barrack Obama was only in office for eight years?

            Why has he not re-elected again for the third time? I know that other white presidents also serve for two terms, but they are not as popular as Obama was. For instance, president trump has been in office for over a hundred days now, and I have to use a microscope to see his achievements.” He yelled as his fellow African-American community members clapped back at him. At this moment I was feeling a little bit uneasy, but my host kept on holding my hand with unrelenting assurances that all was in control and that I was safe in his company. His comfort was a little bit relieving, but the fear kept on gripping me. Fortunately, there was no single altercation in my entire stay there. All went down well. My six-hour stay was quite enlightening.

What I understood correctly from the event

            That notwithstanding, I had the opportunity to clarify one particular way of life for the African American community. It is often said that this community is drowning in the culture of drugs and substance abuse as a way of life for them. Well, this is a misrepresentation of this particular group of persons. In life, everyone encounters some challenging scenarios that call for a solution to how we navigate through them. Often people will look for ways to try and forget about their tribulations as soon as possible.

            Unfortunately, instead of seeking guidance and counseling, most African Americans result to the use of drugs and substance abuse as an escape route. Although people from other races do abuse drugs, the prevalence rates differ quite substantially (Naysmith, J., and S. Corcoran 89). Being that a good number of people from this community feel discriminated against, they often take this precarious path to self-destruction. It has resulted in the creation of the image that this community abuses drugs as their way of life. That is far from the truth.

            What puzzled me the most was the way in which both the young and the old engaged one another as equals. This was one of the least discoveries I expected to find in this community that has its roots from the African continent where superiors are often held in high regard. In some African cultures, they are not even allowed to look their superiors on their face. They have to remain face down as long as they are addressing their older members of the society (Naysmith, J., and S. Corcoran 81). My response to this kind of a community was with a mixed up reaction. I had no clear cut line as to how to judge the community from the way in which the conducted their affairs.

            In Conclusion, my interaction with this particular community was more of an eye-opening encounter. I have learned so much from this encounter. I now appreciate their ways of life more than I did previously. I hold them with high regard more than I previously did. I have a reason to believe that these people have been misrepresented in the mainstream media for some time now. This I could tell from the way they articulated issues. Most importantly, I realized that people of color are as equally good as the white people (Laidlaw, Moira, 21).

Work cited

Laidlaw, Moira. ”Overcoming’Culture’Shocks: Learning to do things differently.” Educational Journal of Living Theories 5.2 (2012).

Naysmith, J., and S. Corcoran. ”Culture shocks: immersion education at the University College Chichester.” Language and cultural immersion: Perspectives on short term study and residence abroad (2011): 81-90.

Stauss, Bernd, and Paul Mang. ””Culture shocks” in inter-cultural service encounters?.” Journal of Services marketing 13.4/5 (2010): 39-46.