As an African American (Black) female, growing up and living in America hasn’t been much of a challenge for me as it was for those before me, my ancestors. I am sure that my family heritage goes back to slavery times. Because I am an African American, I know that many of my ancestors suffered during slavery because of the color of their skin. I haven’t had the pleasure to learn about my family history, but I have heard many stories about those before me from my late great grandmother.
My great grandmother was a beautiful and humbled person. She had the resemblance of a Native American or Caucasian woman. She was about 5 feet tall with long wavy jet black hair. She claimed to be black even though her dad was a Caucasian man and her mom was African American. People often confused her with being a Caucasian lady. Before her passing, she would tell us stories about her mom living on a plantation and her dad being her mom’s slave owner. She also shared a lot of medical remedies with my grandmother that is being used today. For example, my eight week old son has been really congested and just stuffy. I called my grandmother and she advised me to get some castor oil, rub a little in the middle of his head and under his feet and he will begin to feel better. Yes, I did just that and a day later he pooped out all the bad toxins and was feeling much better. Another remedy that was passed down from my great grandmother to my grandmother was if a baby has gas them a little catnip tea and it helps to move gas and relieve cramping. No, I haven’t tried this yet but I am sure I will in the near future.
Culturally as an adult I have developed my own way of living. My religion and beliefs has been culturally formed since being a child. I was taught, religiously, to believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior. To this day, I still believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior. I was also taught to always bless your foods before eating and pray for those that need healing. Those are my religious ways of living. My grandmother is a very head strong woman. She raised us to work hard; never one hundred percent depend on a man unless it’s Jesus Christ, and always have your own.
These things I do live by. Because I live by these customs doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Common family practices and customs can also be a down fall in some people lives. For example, I am so independent that’s hard to find a man on my level and if he is on my level, it’s hard for me to let him be in charge.
When it comes to foods we eat as a traditional African American family, we