i realise that the word i used to describe the gangsta kids at my school
could be construed as being offensive, and i didn't make it clear that what
i meant was that these kids actually referred to themselves by that name,
and were proud of it. this means that they have hi-jacked an aspect of black
culture and yet don't understand the historical aspects of it.
i think it's very interesting how several youth cults have risen from black
culture, like rock'n'roll (Mark Lammarr's Radio 2 rock'n'roll show is great
- the 50's r'n'r is really raw and sounds to me like prototype r'n'b), mod
(with US soul, r'n'b and jazz and Caribbean ska), disco, the Northern Soul
scene, etc.
i don't want to get into a debate about black culture, as a chap i know in
the US gets people saying, 'hey, you're black, that's cool', whereas he
feels proud to have ancestory that is African, European and Native American,
and my aunt is from Trinidad and has ancestors from all over the world. Even
Queen Elizabeth II has black ancestory! bet you didn't know that!
even somewhere like the iow, where the only people who live there are
Anglo-Saxon, kids still get into black culture, which has to say something
for its appeal at least.
by the way, i've just finished reading 'the color purple' and it's really
good, as well as being very moving. if you want to know why there are all
those soul songs about women getting cross with two-timing lovers, read this
book! it might be about Afro-Americans, but at its heart, like all books, it
is about human beings.
from Helen
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