...of Two Texts Preserving Cultural Heritage- Only the Truth Can Set Them Free Individual heritage can and does shape generations to come. Americans, for the most part, accept this as an important and necessary ingredient in the fabric which sets us apart from other cultures in the world. It is a heritage that is uniquely ours. Cultural traditions and stories provide a basis upon which generations to come can connect to all the factors that have shaped how they are living today. The next generation learns from the last and ancestral stories are repeated, passed down and incorporated into the fabric of the uniqueness of individuals within a culture. Within the vast boundaries of our nation there are unique and geographical cultures that have succeeded in surviving despite the odds and then there are the stories of those who didn’t succeed. Both cultures build upon bonding born from the hardship of working the soil in rural America, but only one of these cultures has found a way to liberate its people and share the truths associated with those struggles. Maya Angelou speaks to the African American Culture in her work “Reclaiming our Home Place”. She captures the tragic yet rich history of the America’s south and how celebrating this history as a culture has set the once enslaved African American free. (Angelou) Further to the northwest, based in the rural by-ways of America is the story of the people who claimed the plains as their heritage as told by Kathleen Norris in “Can...
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...The Journal of Ashanti Bankole I have so much to be thankful for and I am so proud. I sit here and think about my heritage and what my people before me went through getting to America. Today, I am a free woman because of what they endured. I have so many liberties but they were not so lucky. Many of my ancestors were brought here against their will. They were brought here as slaves to serve the European white families. Too many Africans were taken from their homes to be sold into slavery. For many years, my people were beaten and treated very cruelly working in the fields and serving others. These slave trades allowed America to prosper and expand but ruined our villages in Africa. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, slavery was the law in every one of the 13 colonies, North and South alike, and was employed by its most prominent citizens, including many of the founders of the new United States. The importation of slaves was provided for in the U.S. Constitution, and continued to take place on a large scale even after it was made illegal in 1808 (Learning Page, 2005). Even after slavery was illegal, many Americans challenged and resisted the civilization of my people. To think that so many African Americans were just trying to have something of their own, land and a family, and others were just trying to belittle them. My ancestors worked hard to make a living but were still not seen as an equal to the white man. The Underground Railroad was the saving...
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...The first article is written in support of the Japanese internments, that were made my President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the country of Japan. The author describes the removal of Japanese-Americans, from their homes and communities, as a demonstration of their loyalty to the United States. At that time, that internment camps were made in the United States, there was a growing anti-Japanese sentiment throughout the country. Americans were afraid and angered by Japanese, subsequently they decided to put them into camps, so they would not cause them any harm. The author does his best to try and pursue Japanese-Americans to just leave their homes not even try to fight it. The author mentions that yes, it might be an “inconvenient” and maybe “even work serious hardships”, but overall...
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...10 years of my life I was happy with the traditions and customs of the U.S but my parents made sure that I would learn about my heritage. I wasn’t open to the idea of learning about what people used to do in Lebanon and how they used to live their life because i was living my own comfortably here in the U.S. Even though I was taught a lot about what my ancestors dressed and how they acted by lectures from my parents and Saturday school at a center nearby I never tied my heritage to my everyday life at school or in my social life with my friends even though many of them had the same heritage as mine. i thought it would not matter because I lived in the U.S and that I should act as I liked not how my ancestors did. When I was 10, my father received an enticing job...
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...film, they think it's not a tub-thumping movie.” He has stated that he wanted to make this movie to connect more with his heritage and to highlight a few struggles that immigrants have to face in America today. The film shows what is familiar to me in a few ways because like Luis, I find it hard to relate to my culture. My parents came over to America with nothing, trying to escape a war-torn country still recovering and adapting to a new government. Carlos to me represents a parallel to my parents and Luis is a parallel to me and my brother. I'm the kid that never bothered to really learn Vietnamese as a child. I feel that Luis is the same as me. We are both 'Americanized' and felt no need to learn or remember our cultures until some event or thought opens our eyes to it. In the movie, “Luis sees the culture of his father's part of Mexico.” when Luis says he does not remember his mom singing the song from the rodeo as his dad says she did. It hit home with how Luis did not remember his father singing him songs to put him to sleep as a child because it...
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...Bardach provides us with personal information regarding how his Jewish heritage made him feel unwelcome among the locals in Poland. He felt as if they weren’t as trusting, always referred to him as a “nice Jewish boy” when he was young various other activities. (Bardach 19) He was an outsider from the beginning due to his heritage, even among his townspeople. Levi does provide us with accounts of anti-sematic actions taken against the Jewish population in the camp, but it’s largely unknown if he had to deal with it in his personal life before being sent away to Auschwitz. Another important factor in contrast was how Hitler and Stalin organized these camps. Stalin saw a huge benefit in slave labor. He careful organized many gulags around the USSR with the purpose of using this free resource of slave labor to build the Soviet infrastructure. This is seen in the sentencing of Bardach, when given ten years of penal service in a gulag to atone...
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...In the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry. Raya’s essay...
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...disconnected, people just move to get a job and leave their roots and extended family behind. I spent nights crying in my room because of how alone and empty I felt over having the simplest past and no sense of culture. During those pity parties I would listen to rain softly falling on the evergreens and ferns as they lovingly take in everything that gives them life. The only thing I have ever felt connected to is the culture of the Pacific Northwest. Being in those wet, rainy forests makes me feel at home. Hiking over mountain ridges to watch the trail unravel in front of you is something magical. Mama Nature helps you along the way and somehow the birds and squirrels that stop and greet you...
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...understanding my family background and facilitating a focal point in the century fueling Italian immigration. My grandmother’s perspective is a firsthand account that reveals the methods in which Italian immigrants assimilated and even influenced American culture. Their initial reaction along with the hardships of being new in a strange new world is a fascinating piece of American History. This presentation serves as a small piece of historical content revealing how foreigners relied on this country as a catalyst in building a life one could only dream of. Genetically, my background consists of an array of European influences. However, my family majorly identifies and honors our bloodline of Sicilian descent. My mother comes from a very strong German, Italian upbringing while my father is primarily and predominantly most associated with Italian; specifically speaking, Sicilian. The idea of having to record this information proved to be extremely important in historical value and delivered a sense of pride in my understanding of family foundation. The influx of Italian heritage and culture defined American lifestyle from the mid1800’s all the way until the late 1900’s. It is one of the most abundantly and culturally enriching populations to hit American soil, primarily the East coast. My earliest American relatives date back to 1905 in the midst of Italian Influx to American Eastern coastal suburbs and city areas. One of these individuals was my grandmother, Carmella. My grandmother...
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...together? That question haunts me in my everyday life. How good are you really? “Good” is a relative term; I like to think of the tale of Robin Hood. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor; we’ve been taught stealing is bad from a young age, but giving to people in need is good. So, in that context, is Robin Hood good? Or bad? In the event of a natural disaster, do you donate? If you’re tight on money, you’re likely not to give to other people. As humans, we put our needs in front of anyone else’s. If you see a man in need of help sitting on the side of the sidewalk, do you give him money? Most people think they would, but you’re put in a situation where you are not used to the stimulus... so do you keep your Robin Hood qualities? Or, do you hang your head and keep walking? Throughout my life I have experienced many...
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...Cultural Assessment Being culturally competent means more than having an awareness for a culture different than your own for the majority culture. Cultural competency involves having an open mind-set and respect for the unique cultures, values and principles of all diverse ethnicities. I had very little interaction with the Haitian culture until I started working at a very culturally diverse facility. While completing my nightshift rotation, I had the pleasure of befriending someone from Haiti. After many years of friendship, I still feel that I know very little about her heritage. This diversity course gave me the perfect opportunity to interview and conduct research on the Haitian culture. Exploring this culture was a true revelation...
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..."Family" plays a significant role in Hispanic culture. It helps us spread and maintain our Spanish heritage through each generation. The importance of the unique language and deep love towards each other, makes the Latino culture such a caring and vibrant background. Nevertheless, when my parents got divorced, these traditional ideas became ironic. I am Puerto Rican and Dominican, my moms’ side is Puerto Rican and my dads’ side is Dominican. Therefore being and growing up Hispanic was inevitable. In 6th grade, though, when my mom told me that her and my dad were getting a divorce; being Hispanic and tying in the concept of "family" was separated as well. Ever since then, I have watched my single mom struggle through jobs, whether she likes...
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...Characters in “Everyday Use” Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” examines the conflict between family members that are debating over whether to use or to preserve pieces of their family’s heritage. Mama, the mother of Maggie and Dee, is a self-reliant and hardworking woman who can perform any task that a man can. She lives at home with Maggie, who is rather shy and is embarrassed by the burn scars covering her arms and legs. Both Maggie and Mama are awaiting a visit from Maggie’s educated sister, Dee. Upon Dee and her male companion’s arrival, Mama and Maggie stand in awe while gazing at Dee’s exquisite dress and golden earrings. Shortly after her arrival, Dee announces...
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...coming to America in hope for their fulfillment in the American Dream. “America and I" is Anzia Yezierska's short essay about her struggles with assimilation into her new country. Anzia hopes to be able to create a life much different from the one experienced by her parents. She wants to create and love her work instead of being driven only by hunger and basic needs. Anzia quickly realizes that although she is in America, she is not of America, separated by her heritage and language barriers. The story begins with Anzia arriving s in america “ to find work that was denied me in the sterile village of my forefathers”. She finds work as a servant and comes to realize that her hard work is not paid off with wages but with a comfortable place to sleep and food to eat. Upset she decides to get a new job sewing on buttons. She gained very little money to pay for food and rent but “felt myself better off than working in the “American” family where I had three good meals a day and a bed to myself ’. Even though the hardships are one that cannot be accomplished in a day’s work, she tries to change herself for the better such as learning English. Throughout the story, she gradually comprehends that the dream is not just obtained but achieved through hard work and...
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...bloodline once and for all. Although Bettina lives an extremely secluded lifestyle and only relies on rain for water, her and her husband often invite friends over to celebrate their German heritage and culture. After hearing Bettina’s story, I was amazed at her and her brother’s choice to willingly sterilize themselves to ensure know else could be born into a world where so much guilt and family shame is present. I found the fact that she still enjoys German culture to be interesting since other survivors of Nazi commanders go through great lengths to suppress their heritage. She made a fantastic point that German culture has been around for thousands of years, and the she will not let the 12-13-year reign of the Nazi party ruin that for future generations. Continuing with the topic of German heritage and learning how the descendants deal with their situation, I was surprised the length that the daughter of Heinrich Himmler (most senior Nazi under Hitler, commanded the SS and Gestapo as well as created the extermination camps) went to as a way to conceal her true German identity. Unlike Bettina Goering, Katrin Himmler obsessed over learning foreign languages, specifically with the intent to hide her German accent. Katrin seemed to distance herself as much as possible from her German heritage and her parents so she would not have to think about the atrocities they committed. Her reasoning resignated with me as she went on to explain how Himmler is an incredibly well-known name...
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