You are so right. I guarantee you know more of American culture than many of us know of yours. In the 70s, I still recall having to drive miles, criss crossing Los Angeles, going to libraries chasing books. Today, billions walk around with a library, newspaper, telegraph, radio, telly, cinema, the post, photo/vid capture studio etc device in their pockets! You are a resource! Look forward to more
the U.S. is so large that people in the east coast states have a completely different culture from the west coast states, and then there's the huge area in the center. As a result, we don't even understand each other.
I came to say the same, agree completely, even people in America don’t know all of America, they only know their microclimate, micro politics, micro culture. Also learning from TV, be it drama, documentary, or news, can be very misleading. Come visit the US, but don’t stay in the big cities, unless that is all you want to understand.
It's sometimes easier to learn about a country you don't live in than the one you live in because you haven't been seeped in the national mythology from the time you start school if not earlier. Looking in from the outside gives one a clearer view.
Sometimes you have to live OUTSIDE of an area to know about that area because it is only from the outside that overarching perspectives are possible. Those who never leave the US can never know what America is, as seen from a distance.
I think with the internet we’re now having a chance to dialogue and learn about one another. What I am finding is that we have more in common “as a whole” than we do differences. There are differences in the varieties of black people born in and out of Africa. We’re not all the same, but we’re not that different. I suspected that blacks in Europe experienced hardships and racism but I wasn’t sure until I’ve heard of personal experiences. I always thought that black people were treated better in European countries. But I’m still learning.
This video needs a part 2.You might want to explain to our Afro American brothers and sister that many Black people in England are descendants of Caribbean people who share the "same slave" history as our African Americans. Love the video's.Great work!
Looking forward to more videos! Should I say I like your accent or lack there of.. as being American.. who has the accent anyway. I can drive two hours away in the US and find a different accent so there is that as well.
We have to start somewhere. More often than not, those books are extremely inaccurate. We have been fed so many lies. The most popular history book was tampered with and the information in it is questionable. The Bible. Anyway, I think I get what that You Tuber was trying to say. I think the point there is, who feels it knows it. And then, my experience and your experience will result in two(or more) extremely different responses. So, again I say, we have to start somewhere. Reading and the media on a whole is just a beginning. I enjoy your discussions. Thanks.
I'm an American that's been living in the UK for the past 8 years. Firstly, I disagree with your position about understanding America through the lens of the books you've read and the television shows you may have seen. Blacks in the UK are quite different than those in the UK. In the UK, you're separated by where your family originates and by religion. Black Brits don't see other Black Brits as belonging to one common family as we do in the United States. Additionally, most people of African descent that I've come across have assimilated into British society quite well. In the US, you have to have lived through being pulled over by a white police officer for doing something as simple as, I don't know, breathing on a Tuesday and wondering during the altercation whether you're going to be beaten up, handcuffed. and arrested for getting blood on the officer's uniform. I can name about 50 similar examples that, unless you've lived it and experienced it, neither James Baldwin nor Manning Marable can give you a true understanding of life in America as a descendant of enslaved Africans. Secondly, contrary to what's shown on television and film, Black folk do not all live in impoverished neighborhoods. We live on farms, by both coastlines, in the mountains, the midwest, northeast, northwest, suburbs, in towns, etc. Some of us have never been to a junkyard as was seen in Sanford and Son. Some of us have never personally seen projects like Cabrini-Green as was seen in Good Times. If those shows had Black writers, the essence of who we are may be there; but, we have many many complex aspects of who we developed into as a distinct tribe of African. Finally, I can tell you about fried catfish, baked macaroni and Velveeta cheese, shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, and the smell of honey-baked ham, but unless you experience it yourself you just don't know.
I need to answer this, in short most of my black British friend see Africans American as family that why a lot of of can't even watch movies about black suffering in America most of know most things that happen. All you have said I have known..I feel it's so much I dear not drive in America..I could say a lot of trust me though bro you not talking to some guy who hasn't don't feel the pain of my brothers in the states. I will do video on this to add more
@@historyonthego Understood. Life anywhere can be complex to navigate. Personally, I wouldn’t want to live in an overtly religious country, but that’s just me.
@Gavin Walcott This May be so, but the same can be said about all Africans. I’ve had conversations with brothers and sisters from all around the continent and I know for a fact that I can tell how much exposure they’ve had outside of their own countries just from a 10-15 conversation with them. Many have little knowledge of other African nations much less other parts of the globe. It’s not their fault. Ignorance is a result of lack of exposure and sometimes not caring to know.
@@historyonthego that’s just it. You can drive in “America”. You can live and thrive in “America”. I know plenty of Africans that have immigrated there, completed their degrees, married, and are now professionals in the medical industry with beautiful material possessions. Many Africans and Afro-Caribbean’s have taken advantage of the 400+ years of struggles we African Americans have overcome. Living in the United States is nuanced, and all foreign born eventually learn how to navigate the mine field that is racism. It’s more implicit than it is explicit in many areas because the same element of white xenophobia, ethnocentrism, and bigotry that existed during slavery evolved into the white evangelical and bigoted Republican of today. Finally, I think you misunderstood my point about Black Brits. In the UK, Eritreans don’t roll with Jamaicans, and Dominicans don’t get down with Somalians as if they are a part of one family. Moss Side in Manchester is a perfect example. Within a few blocks there exists about 4 barber shops and about 5 restaurants all serving the same food all because one owner may be from a different country or is of a different religion. I’ve patronised most of these establishments for about 7 years and I have never seen a person from the Caribbean in an African restaurant nor an African in a Caribbean restaurant. In the United States, from Maine to California, Washington State to Florida, when we see a Black man or woman, bright complexion to crispy black we we all acknowledge that we’re family. We may not unify as family, but we acknowledge it just the same.
You seem very intelligent and handsome as well. It is possible to be knowledgeable about any place through media, docs, books etc but it will be from your perspective or that of the author. Even us americans know america differently, from each persons own perspective. Id like to know your thoughts on usa, uk, etc if you're planning on doing more videos.
Yes I hear what you say? It's is about perspective. I strongly believe that a collective knowledge can give you some idea of the past and present situations. Eg of that would be current affairs in America in regards to Trump. I'm not fully into the Politics but I find by listening to both Democrats and Republicans viewpoints I gain a more balanced understanding. For eg I know Republicans were the Party to support ending slavery and Democrats were well in favour of keeping it. Etc. But over time Politics change. I also rely on personal biographies. Frederick Douglas being one of many. But for person experiences of living in American I don't have any but when I went there it's wasn't strange to me. That because we are saturated with American TV from birth. I will do more videos on this topic.
I agree with you. That's how you learn. Before you become a doctor, you will read and study many books before you are ever allowed near a person to advise them of health issues. However, no matter how much you read in a book, experiencial knowledge is something thing different. Knowing facts and figures, dates and times is a type of knowledge, certainly. But having that experience brings a depth to knowledge that can't be substituted. But I do agree whole heartedly with what your saying.
America is so diverse that it can be a challenge to understand it. There are so many regional variations in America as well as variations within regions. What is presented on fictional television shows has always been and continues to be a distortion. Yes you can get a fundamental understanding about America without living in America but a more complete understanding certainly requires being in America and traveling throughout the country.
Yes I get that point, but the media I refer to is a mixture of things that actually come from America, So for eg various biographies from people who lived in America from different regions. My son did a good job telling me how we in England experience the life of American from all regions . Because we are saturated with content from all regions. I don’t think American really understand that America permeates its lifestyle in England through every type of media. So even if some of it is distorted the bulk represents your nation. but I fully agree you learn a lot through being in a place. I have seen many programs of British presenters travelling through America from coast to coast and they often take part in certain things. . I think Black America is misrepresented, because they focus a lot on crime, entertainment and sports. Hip hop culture over represents real African American life.But we have magazines like Ebony and Bet channel that give a wider perspective of African America achievement and life. From my perspective America seems more divided from region to region. My brother said while in Brooklyn about 15 years ago he saw not one whites person. I know this is a bit different now because as far as I know it’s had become more gentrified. Anyway it hard to explain in words that most of us know more about America than England itself lol. Now we have the internet. TH-cam is a window in many nations. Really people talking about their life’s. We also can speak to American like I do from time to time. This is a new age. Funny thing is even your traditions are more in our faces than English traditions. eg Thanksgiving , I must have seen different scenes of that a million times I’m my life time lol. How you guys do Halloween and Christmas.
Believe it or not a few African Americans have confronted me on my knowledge of the USA. I don’t thing I even explain it properly on this video lol. Anyway thanks for your comment.
To be honest, I really don't think I even need to watch this video to know the answer to your question. I'm born and raised in the US (black American). I did spend 25 years outside the US. That said, I don't know American history as well as I think I should. I would not be surprised to find foreigners who know US history more than me. If they have a passion for American history and have been reading / studying up on it a lot, sure, they could no more than me. Example, I've lived 'at least' a year in 5 different countries and visited many more for less time than that. I've traveled in the US but not that much. I've met foreigners who have visited more of the US than I have.
Respect what you're saying, brother, but ai think a big part of it is not that you don't know about America, but maybe more a since of know that there are boundaries. There's nothing wrong with setting some boundaries, people do it was African Americans all the time. Myself and a Haitian may speak on issues on Haiti, and I may be very well read on Haitian history and current events, but if I overstep my boundaries I'll quickly get told I'm not Haitian, that I don't know what I'm talking about. The same thing happens with people of different classes in the same country, the same thing happens across gender, the same thing happens with Africans who live in the west when they speak to their own family members who live back in their home country. Respect that there are intricacies that may only make sense or you may only know about if you're on the ground, if you've lived in the communities, if you have lineage stretching back in a particular nation. I People tend to seem a little too comfortable speaking on African American issues, communities, culture and history as though their opinions should hold as much or more weight than our own. We've been dealing with that from white Americans, immigrants and people who still live in countries an ocean away. Respect the boundaries. That said, I think some African Americans overstep their boundaries when it comes to Afro Latinos and how they identify and sometimes speaking on what African nations should and shouldn't be doing.
I think I always respect people views on the ground. My main point is it easy to learn about a lot of things on any nation. But knowledge is limitless on anything. I think when I went to America I did feel like I was in some strange place.
I remember Americans started telling people from around the world "you don't know us" back during 2012-2017 when bots were trolling the internet in ungodly numbers to stop the myth facilitated back from the 1990's that people could consume propaganda about us from media and they knew more about us than we do about ourselves. I once got into a conversation online where an individual was describing America to an audience of Americans and he didn't realize he was describing the cultural characteristics of southern California; specifically Los Angeles. Just like people from different areas of England, Scotland, and Wales are slightly different from one another, it would be nice not to be lumped into molds ourselves. America is dealing with a culture war, but we're a big and diverse place with a lot of history of our own.
I would like to add that U.S. American maintream culture is derived from the British empire. Our first colonizers were from your country. And even beyond the advent of the internet, there has been much cross pollination between the two countries in the forms of literature, education, science, technology, music, entertainment and so much more. Our current world views just didn't fall out of the sky.
Very familiar with that history, but like most things it's a on going learning. I have been to Plymouth where the Mayflower set sail. I also seen the monument with the listing for the first settlers who set of to America. I'm quite rounded on history, it important to know all aspects to bring context I guess.
You are so right. I guarantee you know more of American culture than many of us know of yours. In the 70s, I still recall having to drive miles, criss crossing Los Angeles, going to libraries chasing books. Today, billions walk around with a library, newspaper, telegraph, radio, telly, cinema, the post, photo/vid capture studio etc device in their pockets! You are a resource! Look forward to more
the U.S. is so large that people in the east coast states have a completely different culture from the west coast states, and then there's the huge area in the center. As a result, we don't even understand each other.
I came to say the same, agree completely, even people in America don’t know all of America, they only know their microclimate, micro politics, micro culture. Also learning from TV, be it drama, documentary, or news, can be very misleading.
Come visit the US, but don’t stay in the big cities, unless that is all you want to understand.
Huge area in the south where it all started
It's sometimes easier to learn about a country you don't live in than the one you live in because you haven't been seeped in the national mythology from the time you start school if not earlier. Looking in from the outside gives one a clearer view.
You hit nail on the head.
Sometimes you have to live OUTSIDE of an area to know about that area because it is only from the outside that overarching perspectives are possible. Those who never leave the US can never know what America is, as seen from a distance.
Now with social media, Skype, Zoom and all that we can get aquatinted with people on the other side of the planet easily enough.
I think with the internet we’re now having a chance to dialogue and learn about one another. What I am finding is that we have more in common “as a whole” than we do differences. There are differences in the varieties of black people born in and out of Africa. We’re not all the same, but we’re not that different. I suspected that blacks in Europe experienced hardships and racism but I wasn’t sure until I’ve heard of personal experiences. I always thought that black people were treated better in European countries. But I’m still learning.
This video needs a part 2.You might want to explain to our Afro American brothers and sister that many Black people in England are descendants of Caribbean people who share the "same slave" history as our African Americans.
Love the video's.Great work!
Yes very true, I will add do more on this theme.
Another great little chat.
Looking forward to more videos! Should I say I like your accent or lack there of.. as being American.. who has the accent anyway. I can drive two hours away in the US and find a different accent so there is that as well.
We have to start somewhere. More often than not, those books are extremely inaccurate. We have been fed so many lies. The most popular history book was tampered with and the information in it is questionable. The Bible. Anyway, I think I get what that You Tuber was trying to say. I think the point there is, who feels it knows it. And then, my experience and your experience will result in two(or more) extremely different responses. So, again I say, we have to start somewhere. Reading and the media on a whole is just a beginning. I enjoy your discussions. Thanks.
I'm an American that's been living in the UK for the past 8 years. Firstly, I disagree with your position about understanding America through the lens of the books you've read and the television shows you may have seen. Blacks in the UK are quite different than those in the UK. In the UK, you're separated by where your family originates and by religion. Black Brits don't see other Black Brits as belonging to one common family as we do in the United States. Additionally, most people of African descent that I've come across have assimilated into British society quite well. In the US, you have to have lived through being pulled over by a white police officer for doing something as simple as, I don't know, breathing on a Tuesday and wondering during the altercation whether you're going to be beaten up, handcuffed. and arrested for getting blood on the officer's uniform. I can name about 50 similar examples that, unless you've lived it and experienced it, neither James Baldwin nor Manning Marable can give you a true understanding of life in America as a descendant of enslaved Africans. Secondly, contrary to what's shown on television and film, Black folk do not all live in impoverished neighborhoods. We live on farms, by both coastlines, in the mountains, the midwest, northeast, northwest, suburbs, in towns, etc. Some of us have never been to a junkyard as was seen in Sanford and Son. Some of us have never personally seen projects like Cabrini-Green as was seen in Good Times. If those shows had Black writers, the essence of who we are may be there; but, we have many many complex aspects of who we developed into as a distinct tribe of African. Finally, I can tell you about fried catfish, baked macaroni and Velveeta cheese, shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, and the smell of honey-baked ham, but unless you experience it yourself you just don't know.
I need to answer this, in short most of my black British friend see Africans American as family that why a lot of of can't even watch movies about black suffering in America most of know most things that happen. All you have said I have known..I feel it's so much I dear not drive in America..I could say a lot of trust me though bro you not talking to some guy who hasn't don't feel the pain of my brothers in the states. I will do video on this to add more
Gavin Walcott I hear that, I hope I can make a difference.
@@historyonthego Understood. Life anywhere can be complex to navigate. Personally, I wouldn’t want to live in an overtly religious country, but that’s just me.
@Gavin Walcott This May be so, but the same can be said about all Africans. I’ve had conversations with brothers and sisters from all around the continent and I know for a fact that I can tell how much exposure they’ve had outside of their own countries just from a 10-15 conversation with them. Many have little knowledge of other African nations much less other parts of the globe. It’s not their fault. Ignorance is a result of lack of exposure and sometimes not caring to know.
@@historyonthego that’s just it. You can drive in “America”. You can live and thrive in “America”. I know plenty of Africans that have immigrated there, completed their degrees, married, and are now professionals in the medical industry with beautiful material possessions. Many Africans and Afro-Caribbean’s have taken advantage of the 400+ years of struggles we African Americans have overcome. Living in the United States is nuanced, and all foreign born eventually learn how to navigate the mine field that is racism. It’s more implicit than it is explicit in many areas because the same element of white xenophobia, ethnocentrism, and bigotry that existed during slavery evolved into the white evangelical and bigoted Republican of today.
Finally, I think you misunderstood my point about Black Brits. In the UK, Eritreans don’t roll with Jamaicans, and Dominicans don’t get down with Somalians as if they are a part of one family. Moss Side in Manchester is a perfect example. Within a few blocks there exists about 4 barber shops and about 5 restaurants all serving the same food all because one owner may be from a different country or is of a different religion. I’ve patronised most of these establishments for about 7 years and I have never seen a person from the Caribbean in an African restaurant nor an African in a Caribbean restaurant. In the United States, from Maine to California, Washington State to Florida, when we see a Black man or woman, bright complexion to crispy black we we all acknowledge that we’re family. We may not unify as family, but we acknowledge it just the same.
You seem very intelligent and handsome as well. It is possible to be knowledgeable about any place through media, docs, books etc but it will be from your perspective or that of the author. Even us americans know america differently, from each persons own perspective. Id like to know your thoughts on usa, uk, etc if you're planning on doing more videos.
Yes I hear what you say? It's is about perspective. I strongly believe that a collective knowledge can give you some idea of the past and present situations. Eg of that would be current affairs in America in regards to Trump. I'm not fully into the Politics but I find by listening to both Democrats and Republicans viewpoints I gain a more balanced understanding. For eg I know Republicans were the Party to support ending slavery and Democrats were well in favour of keeping it. Etc. But over time Politics change. I also rely on personal biographies. Frederick Douglas being one of many. But for person experiences of living in American I don't have any but when I went there it's wasn't strange to me. That because we are saturated with American TV from birth. I will do more videos on this topic.
When it come to US Uk relations I think Britain's know more about America then American know about us. I will explore this matter. In a video.
I agree with you. That's how you learn. Before you become a doctor, you will read and study many books before you are ever allowed near a person to advise them of health issues. However, no matter how much you read in a book, experiencial knowledge is something thing different. Knowing facts and figures, dates and times is a type of knowledge, certainly. But having that experience brings a depth to knowledge that can't be substituted. But I do agree whole heartedly with what your saying.
Ironically, few Americans read books & a significant number are illiterate.
America is so diverse that it can be a challenge to understand it. There are so many regional variations in America as well as variations within regions. What is presented on fictional television shows has always been and continues to be a distortion. Yes you can get a fundamental understanding about America without living in America but a more complete understanding certainly requires being in America and traveling throughout the country.
Yes I get that point, but the media I refer to is a mixture of things that actually come from America, So for eg various biographies from people who lived in America from different regions. My son did a good job telling me how we in England experience the life of American from all regions . Because we are saturated with content from all regions. I don’t think American really understand that America permeates its lifestyle in England through every type of media. So even if some of it is distorted the bulk represents your nation. but I fully agree you learn a lot through being in a place. I have seen many programs of British presenters travelling through America from coast to coast and they often take part in certain things.
. I think Black America is misrepresented, because they focus a lot on crime, entertainment and sports. Hip hop culture over represents real African American life.But we have magazines like Ebony and Bet channel that give a wider perspective of African America achievement and life. From my perspective America seems more divided from region to region. My brother said while in Brooklyn about 15 years ago he saw not one whites person. I know this is a bit different now because as far as I know it’s had become more gentrified. Anyway it hard to explain in words that most of us know more about America than England itself lol. Now we have the internet. TH-cam is a window in many nations. Really people talking about their life’s. We also can speak to American like I do from time to time. This is a new age. Funny thing is even your traditions are more in our faces than English traditions. eg Thanksgiving , I must have seen different scenes of that a million times I’m my life time lol. How you guys do Halloween and Christmas.
That is nonsense. That's like saying that people in America can't know anything about world history. Simply foolish.
Believe it or not a few African Americans have confronted me on my knowledge of the USA. I don’t thing I even explain it properly on this video lol. Anyway thanks for your comment.
th-cam.com/video/Gu1TDgMSYd0/w-d-xo.html
Good Stuff ! Keep making more of it.
To be honest, I really don't think I even need to watch this video to know the answer to your question. I'm born and raised in the US (black American). I did spend 25 years outside the US. That said, I don't know American history as well as I think I should. I would not be surprised to find foreigners who know US history more than me. If they have a passion for American history and have been reading / studying up on it a lot, sure, they could no more than me. Example, I've lived 'at least' a year in 5 different countries and visited many more for less time than that. I've traveled in the US but not that much. I've met foreigners who have visited more of the US than I have.
Respect what you're saying, brother, but ai think a big part of it is not that you don't know about America, but maybe more a since of know that there are boundaries.
There's nothing wrong with setting some boundaries, people do it was African Americans all the time. Myself and a Haitian may speak on issues on Haiti, and I may be very well read on Haitian history and current events, but if I overstep my boundaries I'll quickly get told I'm not Haitian, that I don't know what I'm talking about. The same thing happens with people of different classes in the same country, the same thing happens across gender, the same thing happens with Africans who live in the west when they speak to their own family members who live back in their home country. Respect that there are intricacies that may only make sense or you may only know about if you're on the ground, if you've lived in the communities, if you have lineage stretching back in a particular nation. I
People tend to seem a little too comfortable speaking on African American issues, communities, culture and history as though their opinions should hold as much or more weight than our own. We've been dealing with that from white Americans, immigrants and people who still live in countries an ocean away. Respect the boundaries.
That said, I think some African Americans overstep their boundaries when it comes to Afro Latinos and how they identify and sometimes speaking on what African nations should and shouldn't be doing.
I think I always respect people views on the ground. My main point is it easy to learn about a lot of things on any nation. But knowledge is limitless on anything. I think when I went to America I did feel like I was in some strange place.
I remember Americans started telling people from around the world "you don't know us" back during 2012-2017 when bots were trolling the internet in ungodly numbers to stop the myth facilitated back from the 1990's that people could consume propaganda about us from media and they knew more about us than we do about ourselves. I once got into a conversation online where an individual was describing America to an audience of Americans and he didn't realize he was describing the cultural characteristics of southern California; specifically Los Angeles. Just like people from different areas of England, Scotland, and Wales are slightly different from one another, it would be nice not to be lumped into molds ourselves. America is dealing with a culture war, but we're a big and diverse place with a lot of history of our own.
I would like to add that U.S. American maintream culture is derived from the British empire. Our first colonizers were from your country. And even beyond the advent of the internet, there has been much cross pollination between the two countries in the forms of literature, education, science, technology, music, entertainment and so much more. Our current world views just didn't fall out of the sky.
Very familiar with that history, but like most things it's a on going learning. I have been to Plymouth where the Mayflower set sail. I also seen the monument with the listing for the first settlers who set of to America. I'm quite rounded on history, it important to know all aspects to bring context I guess.
Gary Motley World view didn't fall out of the sky is powerful. That is powerful.
@@historyonthego Nuance is sometimes very subtle, so context is essential. I'm looking forward to the adventure. Thanks!
Come visit America, you can stay with me in NC.
Do you need to live at your best friends house to know everything about his life? Not at all lol.
Just watch American television...That is all you need to know about the culture.