I don't think its right to say that pimps , drugs, and shooting people is "black culture" I don't think anyone would say cyrstal meth , satanism, singing about killing your parents ect, is white culture?
There is no Blackland, or Blackopotamia , or United Republic of Black, that says shooting is part of its culture.
Black as a skin colour?, naw i'd say the majority of the time its different variations of a brown copper tone
Black is a brand given to people of African decent by foreigners. Black is an adjective .
While what you say is mostly true, it's also not complete.
You're right that black is brand, and while it may once have been given to them by foreigners or non-blacks, "black" is also a brand in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle. This is what I'm talking about. There is a subculture that has tried to turn what was once negative into a positive. The N word used to be an insult, but has become a slang word reclaimed by blacks and used to describe themselves and others. Dealing drugs or being a pimp used be viewed negatively, but when people realized they could market that as a lifestyle of success, they profit from it at the expense of others who are negatively affected by the crimes and/or stereotypes they have successfully created and/or perpetuated. Ebonics used to be a sign of failed grammar and language, but has instead become cool, spawning all sorts of new slang and spelling that would never exist if it wasn't first tried to turn a negative into a positive.
I understand with the thinking that you turn your weaknesses into strengths - you take away the insult and turn it into something cool. The problem is that North American black culture is still very young. You're right that there is no Blackland or United Republic of Black. If there was, it would be far easier to follow an established history or culture rather than continually recreate one on the fly and sometimes going to extremes in doing so. You can look back over the past 50-100 years in North America and see the changes that "black culture" has gone through and it continues to evolve. We're experiencing something that I hope will pass, and I see prominent blacks consciously trying to change it. What used to be Allan Iverson in cornrows and baggy jerseys is morphing into Dwyane Wade with his vests and glasses. I don't think for a second it's accidental, but it won't happen fast enough and it won't reach everyone.
We use the term black, though "African American" is probably more accurate. I don't like using the term since blacks in Canada are different. They are a far more diverse mix of Caribbean and African backgrounds, along with some who entered Canada through the underground railroad. There may have been racism and slavery in Canada (like everywhere in the world), but not to the extent that it happened in the US and it didn't damage and stifle the integration and development of blacks like it has in the States. The problem is that we are a small country (population wise) living next to the world's largest exporter of culture - many kinds - from country to porn to blues to guns and yes - types of "African American" culture which some people - myself included - will sometimes just call "black culture" because we're not American and the people involved are often far removed from Africa. Part of this culture carries a very large chip on its shoulder because of the more difficult history blacks have had in the US. It's kind of ridiculous for black kids in Canada to talk like kids from South Central, but it's equally ridiculous that white kids would spraypaint anarchy symbols on their leather jackets - it happens. Culture spreads.
Toronto is a little unique in that we have a strong Jamaican population, which itself is an exporter of culture in terms of music, religion, food, drug use, crime, etc... some is positive, some is negative, but all of it comes into play when children without role models, goals or strong parents start to look for something to belong to, something to become. Instead of teaching them that hard work and education will get them somewhere in life, we teach them that they're incapable of overcoming their circumstances. Instead of teaching them - and expecting from them middle class values that built this country - we teach them how awful those middle class people are and guilt those same middle class people into subsidizing the poor decisions of those who become dependent on that help, thus taking away the very tools they need to overcome and change.
This applies to any race, background or culture that lives below what we consider comfortable standards in Canada. It happens among many immigrant groups - they learn to game the system and abuse the generosity of the majority of middle class Canadians who work hard to get somewhere in life and to build something for their children. it's not a black-specific thing at all, but it does not change the fact that gun crime in particular does seem to be a black thing, in recognizably higher percentages than other cultures. The combination of Jamaican and Somali criminality that is imported, along with subsets of "African American" culture that glorifies crime and guns and killing does play a role in this, so let's not simply dismiss is as "blaming rap music", which is not what I have done.
