Impact of Slavery on the Modern African-American Culture (Essay Sample)

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Slavery and the African-American Culture
In the early slavery days in the 17th century, when slaveholders had to control their slaves, African slaves were segregated, isolated from the American society and marginalized in a concerted effort to erode the African cultural beliefs. They were denied basic education via legislations that were passed by law making bodies since they felt that educating them would empower them to fulfill their ambitions to emancipate (Dunaway 12). Dunaway further asserts that the African slaves were deprived of their right to worship, or be politically independent or even hold cultural events, resulting in massive rebellion and resistance from the slaves (p. 16).
However, strength and resistance, the culture, created a civil rights movements and slave values which have shaped the African-Americans way of worship, family ties, governance and politics, and even economic behavior (Benderly 37). In America, African culture is evident and clearly seen in management, politics, hair-dos, music, sports, economics, dance, language, food and nutrition, fashion, worship and how they view the world. According to Jewett and Allen, the African culture has resonated to the whole world let alone America only (48). Their music and dance have taken the world by storm, they are the sports powerhouse, and have shaped the world politics (Jewett and Allen 48).
Since the slaves could not go to school, and they were isolated, they had a better chance to educate the African way. They did it through story-telling, dancing, singing and acting, which is the only way of passing the cultural beliefs from one generation to the other without writing as they were illiterate. Through story-telling, they inspired and educated each other (Jewett and Allen 48).
Today, the African culture in America is manifested mainly in the churches, through preachi...