Slave Culture & the Foundations of Black America

Sterling Stuckey in his book Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America examines the folklore of Black America and how the Black American experience developed through the slave era as African cultural elements were reshaped and adapted to slave society in America. How these cultural elements then developed after slavery is also considered. In particular, much attention is paid to the development of religion in the Black community in America and how the early African American religion was adapted into Black Christianity.

In the past, it was often assumed by historians that African culture, skills, and religion were so unimportant that they disappeared when Africans were brought to America as slaves. The current view is that the earlier view was racist in nature and that in fact African culture was stronger than that and survived in modified form, often modified so it could be continued while also being hidden from the slavemasters who might want to stamp it out. African religious practices came under this heading. Religion was important in the society of the slaves, and Christianity would also become an important element in their liv

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Category: History - S