How many people here actually know any African-Americans?

Cryophilia@lemmy.world to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 13 points –

Not like "I went to school with one" but have had an actual friendship?

I've had a couple of conversations recently where people have confidently said things about the Black community that are ridiculously incorrect. The kind of shit where you can tell they grew up in a very white community and learned about Black history as a college freshman.

Disclaimer: I am white, but I grew up in a Black neighborhood. I was one of 3 white kids in my elementary school lol, including my brother.

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Well that's a ridiculous take. So it becomes impossible to discuss culture?

Black people from Chicago, St Louis, and Oakland have cultural similarities. If you refuse to acknowledge that, you've taken "I don't see race" so far you've looped back around to racism. This is exactly what I was getting at with the question.

It's perfectly possible to discuss culture. Race is a small part of their culture, and you talking about "you must not know black people if the black people you know are different than the ones from my neighborhood" is racist as fuck. You're disqualifying a hell of a lot of black people from "really being black" with that shit.

Black people from Chicago, St Louis, and Oakland have cultural similarities.

Of course they do. Those are all urban environments. Most white people from the same neighborhoods will have mostly similar cultures, because, like I said, race is a small part of that culture.

Is it an important part? Absolutely. There are systemic issues that they are exposed to because of their minority status that white people in the same environment are not. But there are plenty of black people who aren't from urban environments, and many of them are as different from black urban culture as they are from white urban culture.

Wikipedia has an entire article on African-American Culture.

African-American culture,[1][2] also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English,[3][4][5][6][7] refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American culture has been influential on American and global worldwide culture as a whole.[8][9][10]

Is Wikipedia claiming that your black friends aren't really black if they don't match some arbitrary bullshit?

Descriptions of groups of people are not 100% binding to all members of that group. They are broad generalities.

Most white people from the same neighborhoods will have mostly similar cultures

Absolutely not true!