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Culture is Everybody’s Business


Sometimes I close my eyes and still hear the drumbeats: still see the colors of the costumes and feel the vibrations of the powerful but graceful movements of dancers. I love to bear witness to the array of foods, music, stories and traditions of different cultures, and I often reminisce on my adventures. Culture is one of the things that distinguishes people from each other, and yet it is the one thing that threads us all together, expanding our knowledge base and bringing a deeper understanding to the human experience. Culture is beautiful.  Human behavior peaks our curiosity, whether we want to admit it or not, and we become completely intrigued with how others live, how they dress, what they eat. Just think about it, we travel the world to experience the culture of others. As soon as we touch down into another city or country we immediately begin to seek out where to go, who to see, and ask the questions of the happenings of the place. We buy memorabilia of where we have visited as a reminder of the place. We crave culture, as we should, because culture is a great wonder of life. As, African Americans we have an exceptional history that has birth an ever evolving deeply entrenched pattern of realities intricately woven together to create a culture that no other can compare. Our realities and ways of life are intertwined with sadness and pain, joy and excitement, positivity and negativity, but it is all ours and what makes us distinctive from any other.  Unfortunately, many times the African American culture is splattered by negative images and presented with a skewed actualization of our lifestyle, but our culture should be highlighted, celebrated, and supported. No one else can lay claim to our human experience. It pleases me so to see entrepreneurs embrace what is ours and create enterprises that commemorate who we are as a people. It is my hope that this trend continues and I shall continue to do my part in continuing to love our culture, teach our culture and financially support our culture. After all, culture is everybody’s business. 

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