African American Culture Essay

On February 5th of 2008, President Obama said “change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time... we are the change that we seek.” Certainly, there were many changes that were made since the post-racial era. Many African-American athletes, authors, and musicians emerged, transforming the landscape of black culture in the United States. In addition, the late-twentieth century was a time of radical change in African-Americans’ political status. Nevertheless, Obama’s presidency owes its existence to post-racial era’s achievements. The fact that a black individual today can seriously contend for prestigious status like presidency can never be thought of before the post-racial era. In the blackness/post-racial era, the

Sports figures like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and the sisters Venus and Serena Williams dominated American sports scene. Musicians like Tina Turner and Michael Jackson broke sales records. In addition, black figures like Huey P. Newton, Bill Cosby, and Oprah Winfrey became television’s most popular personalities. Above all, a popular black phenomenon rose from the impoverished “ghetto” city where crime and police brutality was a commonplace. The “hood” bore the hip-hop culture that incorporated ethnicity, art, and politics, and encompassed more than just music; it was a way of expressing the issues of the racist society. The rap music, sharing its root with other forms of traditional African-American music, bore artists like N.W.A. who documented these secular problems through their records. “They wanted to talk about what they were going through, seeing” and have transformed the way of delivering messages (NPR).

In conclusion, the post-black era bred improved diversity and complex identity in African-American culture. Many African-American figures even today are changing the landscape of black identity in the United States. People today can relate to the post-racial era with African-American monuments, commemorations, and popular culture. These all represent important outgrowths of the black nationalism that flowered in the late-twentieth