<p>The issue I see in this discussion is that AA “culture” cannot be limited to a specific stereotype and yet be universally accurate. I’m AA through and through and have a lot of African friends, including former classmates, people I used to date, neighbors, and the families of my children’s friends. They are no more moral, conservative, or intelligent than my family or the people I grew up around. They are just people like anyone else. And just like AAs, their values, tastes, philosphies, natural and learned proclivities, ideals, choice of religion, etc. seem to run the full gamut of humanity, varying from one to another. Some good, some not so good. Some smart, some not so bright at all. </p>
<p>As far as I know, they have never looked at me or my family as being distinctive among AAs just as I have not seen them in such ways as Africans. I don’t suppose I would ever appreciate anyone lumping me together with the worst attributes of those who share my race. I also don’t think people from other cultures would appreciate it if I made similar assumptions about them. There are bad apples among every group. Africans have been terribly stereotyped and portrayed here in the U.S. And yet, although aware of such things, it never occurred to me once to address them individually or as a group on the basis of being anything other than equal. I’ve made some very good friends this way over the years. </p>
<p>Interestingly, my D is taking classes and traveling around various parts of China this Summer. She reports back that everywhere she’s gone so far she’s been treated like a rock star. Meeting an AA who is very fluent in Chinese seems to be a source of amazement for many. She says everyone wants to take pictures with her, she gets voluntary discounts when shopping even before she begins to haggle, people fawn over her hair, give her gifts, and a lot of the students are eager to try out their command of the english language in conversations. She told me about one student at a middle school she visited who literally threw herself in front of the van they were in to make sure she didn’t leave without getting her email address, lol. I pray that his is more of what the future holds for the world rather than where we’ve been. </p>
<p>So, if anything, I’d just admonish everyone to resist the tempation to generalize. You don’t know a person until you know them. There’s really no need to put them on the defensive right from the start with unproven assumptions of what they’re really about, especially if it’s something negative.</p>