When people think of Black British culture the first thing that comes to mind is their parents and their heritage, where they come from, food (chicken, rice and peas), black fashion/style and music. There is also a question of whether a person has to be black to be part of Black British culture?
Black British style was a way people back then shaped their identity by using clothes. This practice started back home in the West Indies because they had to look their best on Sundays but they put in more effort when they got to Britain because they wanted to look their best. The second generation of black people in Britain began a new way of living. They mixed everything together from the style of the Jackson 5 to batik and African prints worn with jeans, giant John Lennon sunglasses and an afro. The way some black kids have dressed over the years has influenced British culture. The impact of America on British was massive particularly during the hip-hop period through the baseball caps and puffer jackets.
Black style has now appealed to a lot of races across the world. People now wear their jeans baggy, skinny jeans and hats. Asians and white people have now started to dress the way black people dress they have taken on black culture. Those who borrow from black culture are often accused of acting black because of the way they dress, the way they speak and the way they act. Being loud, abrasive and rude wearing big earrings and those kind of stereotypes could also be said as borrowing black culture. In the 70s and 80s Jamaican culture was popular even to those who weren’t Jamaican particularly the religious movements of Rastafarianism and Reggae. Parts of the Jamaican language Patois are now been used as slang by Black British youths with phrases such as ‘you get me’.
When people think of Black British they also think of gangs and crime. Black British youths have not found a place for them to fulfil themselves so they turn to crime and gangs when other communities such as Asians have found a way to fulfil their instincts. In recent surveys it shows that black boys are underachieving than their other counterparts. The reasons for this is partly because a father figure is not there to help these kids so the mother is left on her own to cope. This is the view some people have of Black Britain because of the way Black Britain is constructed by the media and the only information in the media of Black Britain is mostly always negative. Some people argue that young black people feel alienated because there is a lack of positive stereotype and representation in the media. They are constantly hitting a barrier and slowly believe what the media has portrayed them to be. Music also influences them, images and words they are shown in music videos are also part of the problem.
The biggest achievement that black people have made in Britain is music. Black music such as hip hop, RnB, grime and garage are now listened to by every race around the world. The question raised is whether it is right to call it black music because it appeals to so many races not just black people. Young black people don’t have to decide whether they are black or British it’s no longer one or the other.
I think Black British culture consists of various things and when people think of Black British culture they think of the food, music style and lifestyle. I don’t think gang culture within black youths is part of Black British culture because every other culture has a negative side to it and the media has portrayed gang culture in black youths to be part of black British culture because it is something black youths do but it shouldn’t be part of Black British culture because it is not something that sets Black British culture from every other culture. I also do not think a person needs to be black to be part of Black British culture because, it provides an opportunity for different races to embrace each other but I think to an extent a person needs to be black to empathize with the collective identity of Black British people.
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