How 18th Century British Culture Harms the Black Community
How 18th Century British Culture Harms the Black Community
It's tea time, homie.
Can I ax you a question? Does you still got any Cadbury’s Eggs from Easter?
Many people incorrectly label this form of speaking as “talking black.”
Of course, blacks in the US have different accents just like everyone else.
But the terms “black English,” “ghetto talk,” or “Ebonics” are more acceptable to describe this dialect found in African-American sub-cultures today.
Still, we see the same lingo in groups outside the black community, mostly in lower-class neighborhoods.
For example, Latinos in South Central Los Angeles or whites in trailer parks in Illinois speak fluent “black English.”
If you asked someone where the jargon originated, they’d likely tell you it’s leftover from days of slavery.
Which is partly true.
But where did white southerners get their accents and lifestyles?
The United States is but a baby compared to the lifespans of other countries.
How did European settlers quickly turn into rednecks?
We’ve heard a lot about “cultural appropriation” in recent years.
For example, some accuse Eminem of appropriating black culture to make money.
But black history encompasses many things, and countless black minds helped shape the country.
Still, how did we get the modern black sub-culture associated with crime and poverty?
One might assume it’s a function of racism and systematic discrimination through laws found in the Jim Crow south.
And that’s part of it.
But what if the negative stereotypical behavior in black communities today is a cultural appropriation of poor whites from yesterday?
What if black sub-culture such as those found in South Central LA is not exclusively a result of slavery but rather a surviving sub-culture from Europe?
Have no idea what I’m talking about?
Neither did I, until I read the first essay in Thomas Sowell’s 2006 book Black Rednecks and White Liberals-which is where most of the info in this post comes from.
I’m sure people have arguments against what you’re about to read, but I encourage you to take a look and see what you think.
You can find Black Rednecks on Amazon and Audible.
And just like I said after reading Woke Racism by John McWhorter, I’ll mention the author is black.
Cultural Differences
Americans have many stereotypes of British people.
For example, it’s common for Americans to dislike British food and assume all Brits are polite and anti-social.
Another one is that all British people speak with posh accents. As if they all sound like Benedict Cumberbatch.
Mystique is rare now, isn't it? There aren't that many enigmas in this modern world. -Benedict Cumberbatch
In reality, if an American with such expectations visited a working-class portion of London, they might be surprised to find they can’t understand a word uttered by a bellhop or cab driver.
Think of Sacha Baron-Cohen’s “Ali G” character.
Wot was dey doin’ business’s in back-in-a-day? -Ali G
Like Americans, Brits have northern and southern accents
And we often stereotype American southerners as uneducated and poor.
Jeff Foxworthy had a joke (among many others) about Southern American accents among medical professions.
"People hear me talk, they automatically want to deduct a hundred I.Q. points. Because apparently the Southern accent is not the world's most intelligent sounding accent. You know, and to be honest, none of us would want to hear our brain surgeon say, 'Aw right, now what we're going to do is, saw the top of your head off, root around in there with a stick and see if we can't find that dadburn clot.' It'd be like, 'No thanks, I'll just die, O.K.? -Jeff Foxworthy
Yet today, the south employs many world-class physicians and other highly educated professionals.
When I worked on the road, I frequently visited southern cities.
And to my surprise, I found many people didn’t have accents, as many Americans move from the north to the south for school or work.
While Americans still poke fun at southerners, we know the days of southern cities practicing official discrimination are over, and most southerners are not racist.
Today, our southern American cities are beacons of equal education, business, and culinary expertise.
But violent white redneck culture still thrives across the US. Only now, much of it survives in black communities.
If I, as a white person, were to use the term “y’all” in Seattle, a stranger might ask me where in the south I grew up.
This would be perfectly acceptable.
But if that same Washingtonian heard a black stranger say “y’all,” it likely wouldn’t cross their mind to ask if they were born in the south.
But there’s more to it.
Negative behaviors in black communities such as crime, drug use, and fatherless homes aren’t 100% due to slavery or discrimination.
And the white supremacists are wrong as well, as these immoral behaviors are not biological.
Negative behaviors found in black communities are leftover practices from poor whites that lived many years ago, according to Sowell.
To understand how we must talk to the Romans.
British History
Specifically, we have to go back to 43AD when the Romans invaded what is now England.
When the Romans conquered the British island, they mainly occupied the south, at least at first.
Take a look at the map, and you can see why.
While the Romans pushed north, they were far more influential in the south since that was the original settlement.
Those in the south were more likely to assimilate to Roman rule by living in cities and attending schools.
People living in the northern borderlands and Scotland were more likely to remain in their rural homes and tend to their farms.
Naturally, these northerners were generally less educated and civilized than their southern counterparts.
Even after the Romans left, their influence and cultural divide remained.
American Divide
These people are creating a terrible problem in our cities. They can’t or won’t hold a job, they flout the law constantly and neglect their children, they drink too much and their moral standards would shame an alley cat. For some reason or other, they absolutely refuse to accommodate themselves to any kind of decent, civilized life. -Unknown
You might assume this is a bigoted statement from a white person about blacks, as I did.
But you’d be wrong, as I was.
This was said by a white person talking about white southerners in Indianapolis during the 1950s, according to Black Rednecks.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, when more Europeans migrated to The New World, many northern and southern Brits settled with them.
Educated and civilized southern Brits settled in parts of New England, where the less sophisticated northerners set up shop in what is now the American south.
Southern Brits in the North appreciated hard work, Christian values, and clean living.
Those in the south brought less desirable ways from the old country.
Many of these new white southerners (previously northerners) drank heavily, lacked the motivation to work, were sexually promiscuous, had boastful dispositions, were sensitive to their pride, and were overly animated, according to Black Rednecks.
Due to this, employers and landlords regularly turned southern whites away after hearing their southern accents.
Wealthy white landowners living near poor whites went as far as to buy their neighbor’s land far above market value just to be rid of them.
Much of these harmful attitudes faded away in modern-day England, as they mostly did in the American south.
But this culture found a way to survive in modern-day lower-class communities, particularly in the black sub-culture.
In today’s lower-class black neighborhoods, such as the southside of Chicago, we see many similarities with whites from northern England.
Language
The term “black English” or “Ebonics” often describes the dialect found in lower-class black communities.
But those 18th century northern Brits spoke similarly hundreds of years ago, such as using:
“I is” instead of “I am”
“Ain’t” instead of “Am not”
“Do’” instead of “door”
“Axe” instead of “ask”
“She be” instead of “she is”
“They is” instead of “They are”
This culture came to the American South, where blacks and whites used it, but it is now almost exclusively in poor communities.
And this happened in other countries throughout history.
For example, at a time, if a native French speaker from Canada went to France, the natives would pick up on outdated words and phrases.
French-Canadian settlers took the French language with them as it was, but the language evolved differently in France.
The same thing happened with Spanish speakers in Mexico and German settlers in the US.
Social Similarities
The card game Whist was historically common in Britain. While the game evolved into Bridge among wealthy whites, another version is commonly known today as "Spades” is almost exclusively played in black sub-culture.
While this isn’t a detriment to society, it is another example of how northern British culture changed through the years and ended up in lower-class black communities.
On another note, while British settlers in New England worked hard on their farms and trades, southern whites were more likely to sleep in and leave it for another day.
Or never.
For example, northern farmers treated their land to make the most of their yields.
Yet southern whites were more likely to plow around tree stumps, minimizing harvest quality and profits.
Also, southern farmers left their cattle outside year-round. The climate may be warmer in the south, but it’s not fair-weather 24/7.
Less healthy cows meant less milk and lower quality butter if they could make any at all.
As southern whites made less money due to poor work ethic, they didn’t prosper as those in the north did.
With that came qualities found in any lower-class society.
As mentioned in the quote above, whites settling in the southern parts of the US brought scandalous behavior from the old country.
And like language, we still see this behavior alive and well in lower-class communities.
Rampant alcoholism, broken homes, and violence plague lower-class black communities just as they did with those from the northern borderlands.
Not only did common folk kill each other over frivolous disputes, but the courts were not likely to prosecute them as white judges and prosecutors were of the same cultural beliefs as those tussling in the streets.
Due to these southern whites’ overly prideful personalities, the slightest insult could lead to violence or death.
Poor whites killed each other indiscriminately over pride and ego.
It was customary for southerners to engage in “rough and tumble” fighting, which meant no rules, often resulting in missing ears, eyes, or a fight to the death.
Southern white clans regularly engaged in long-term feuds over pride or ego.
Perhaps the most famous example of this is the dispute between the Hatfields and McCoys, a long-term feud that resulted in the deaths of many on both sides, over a pig dispute.
Today, we have the Bloods and Crips, who regularly kill each other over insignificant matters such as public disrespect or turf violations.
What Does This Mean?
Has racism and slavery affected the black community? Absolutely.
But how did redneck culture survive in black communities?
Many, including Sowell, argue liberal politicians not only allowed but encouraged the decline of the black community.
While blacks were held back by law through segregation and restricted rights, evidence suggests that leftist programs hurt blacks.
As mentioned in Black Rednecks, many liberal whites encouraged blacks to take advantage of government benefits when they didn’t need them.
Just to “stick it to the man.”
Many of these welfare recipients would go on to become dependent on government assistance.
Sowell offers evidence that many blacks were also better off in some ways such as family structure, and substance abuse before the civil rights movement.
IQ research shows modern blacks don’t fall behind exclusively due to racism but because of this black redneck culture.
So the question is, how does this negative sub-culture continue to survive?
Is it because many young blacks equate success with whiteness?
Do they feel if they get an education, get a job, and start a family they are “acting white,” and somehow abandoning their black identity?
That’s for another post.
But what do you think?
Does it change your view on the constant racial divide pushed by extreme Leftists, celebrities, and our education system?
It appears the answer to my earlier question of how some European settlers became rednecks so fast was simple.
They already were.
