A lot of blacks in the U.S. have the feeling and notion that, because some of their distant ancestors were brought to this continent against their will by force, they "don't really belong here" and, as such, don't feel any deep-down loyalty to the U.S..
Couple that with the attitudes a lot of those outside the "black culture" have towards them, alongside the behaviors that accompany those attitudes, and their deep-down feelings toward "America" is one of contempt and alienation.
But singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield, in this late-1968 hit by his group The Impressions, strongly states that, in fact, those dilemmas are EXACTLY WHY "black America" has earned the right to also claim this land as their own as well.
That what happened to blacks in America (and still continues to happen) is but "the price THEY paid" to have the right to claim this land.
That blacks also had their own version of "sacrifices made in the name of 'assimilating into this culture'" just as much so as the Anglo European and Latin European settler/colonist ancestors of most "white Americans" (who came to this continent voluntarily).
That it's not a matter of any kind of "takeover" or "revolution" to do so, but, rather, a justified claim of simple co-existence.
Couple that with the attitudes a lot of those outside the "black culture" have towards them, alongside the behaviors that accompany those attitudes, and their deep-down feelings toward "America" is one of contempt and alienation.
But singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield, in this late-1968 hit by his group The Impressions, strongly states that, in fact, those dilemmas are EXACTLY WHY "black America" has earned the right to also claim this land as their own as well.
That what happened to blacks in America (and still continues to happen) is but "the price THEY paid" to have the right to claim this land.
That blacks also had their own version of "sacrifices made in the name of 'assimilating into this culture'" just as much so as the Anglo European and Latin European settler/colonist ancestors of most "white Americans" (who came to this continent voluntarily).
That it's not a matter of any kind of "takeover" or "revolution" to do so, but, rather, a justified claim of simple co-existence.
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