What are the biggest cultural differences between West Indians and African Americans (cost, safe)
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No, the "thrust" of your post did not miss me. You said you didn't like the comparison because it compares an ethnic group (African Americans) to a cultural group (West Indians). It was then explained to you that the comparison does make sense (even to West Indians posting on sites such as IslandMix) because the majority of West Indians don't look much different from black people. It's that simple.
It did miss you based on your response about "the comparison has already been made." That's very clear, isn't it? Additionally, nowhere in my post did was there anything about liking or disliking. The so-called explanation is foolish. Similar looks do not mean similar culture and such thought is very simplistic and limited. Period.
History professor Dr. Frederick Opie has written on the similarities between various black cuisines of the Western Hemisphere. He also shows there are major links between cooking styles and ingredients used on many West African dishes and traditional African American dishes. His book Hog and Hominy is an excellent read.
SN: Due to the great migration a lot of traditional Southern dishes are cooked through out the country now. Gumbo can be found all over. That is especially true for places like California where the vast majority of blacks here trace their families to back to Louisiana and Texas.
The ones from Louisiana probably have some Caribbean roots too, especially with Haiti. This connection between Louisiana and Haiti goes back from the days when the two places were part of the French Empire and there was plenty of back and forth migration.
It did miss you based on your response about "the comparison has already been made." That's very clear, isn't it? Additionally, nowhere in my post did was there anything about liking or disliking. The so-called explanation is foolish. Similar looks do not mean similar culture and such thought is very simplistic and limited. Period.
Nobody said "similar looks mean similar culture." Who even came close to saying that in this thread?
The ones from Louisiana probably have some Caribbean roots too, especially with Haiti. This connection between Louisiana and Haiti goes back from the days when the two places were part of the French Empire and there was plenty of back and forth migration.
You're right. There is a great book about the Haitian Revolution called Avengers of the New World. One of the many things it touches on is that connection. Most blacks from Southern Louisiana probably have some ancestral connection to Haiti. Those of us with family from Louisiana are very familiar with certain traditions like Voodoo (or Vodou). To this day my grandmother still has certain beliefs that were born out of Haitian/Carribbean Voodoo (which was born out of indigenous West African beliefs systems).
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The Caribbean/West Indies were majority black so blacks had more power in government, were more represented at all tiers of society. I think they retained a bit more of their African culture. They're obviously more influenced by British culture, like cricket and their accent.
The Caribbean/West Indies were majority black so blacks had more power in government, were more represented at all tiers of society. I think they retained a bit more of their African culture. They're obviously more influenced by British culture, like cricket and their accent.
The ones from Louisiana probably have some Caribbean roots too, especially with Haiti. This connection between Louisiana and Haiti goes back from the days when the two places were part of the French Empire and there was plenty of back and forth migration.
The claims of Haitian connection to Louisiana are largely distorted and exaggerated. Most Louisiana Territory Creoles don't have ties to Haiti. Also there was no Haiti officially until the 1820s. Many ppl from St Domingue fled to Eastern Cuba and then in the 1810s went to Louisiana but then many moved on for elsewhere or left for elsewhere.
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