Respond to each prompt

Prompt 1

This question is a tricky one to answer. There are examples of how the definition of a groups heritage changes over time. Looking at Christianity, the meaning of heritage was very different in 126 CE than it was in 1026 CE, and even more different that it is in 2026 CE. Through this lens, I would have to say that the concept of a lost heritage does not resonate with me. I see African heritage in the invention of Blues, Rock n Roll and Hip-Hop. I see African heritage in the Creole and Voodoo cultures of the Gulf Coast. I also see African heritage expressed in clothing and fashion and the presence of Soul Food.

Since the origin of the Atlantic Slave Trade, African heritage has developed. American of African descent invented the lawn mower, dishwasher and the traffic light. Americans of African descent like George Washington Carver pioneered advancements in farming, and African Americans like Robert Smalls redefined courage, not only to escape from slavery, but to run for political office in South Carolina…and win! Despite having no known lineage that traces back to Africa, I have learned a from experience that ingenuity, courage and colorfulness in terms on music, clothing and cuisine are all part of African heritage, and none of those aspects appear to be lost.

While the fact that enslaved Africans were abused and brutalized, I do not believe that even a punishment for reading could cause them to lose their heritage. If Africans lost anything as a result of slavery, it is the ability to trace their lineage across the Atlantic. There are not many pre-industrial records of African family lineage like there are in Europe, and slave traders certainly did not want to humanize their newfound captives by drafting family trees for them, so it is easy to see how the tracing of family lineage has been lost.

While it was undoubtably changed, I see African heritage as something far too big to be lost at the hands of slave traders, and I believe that the aforementioned exampled justify that claim.

Prompt 2

“Lost Heritage” is not nothing that I really identify with. Beyond who I know, I cannot really identify. Now I have lost genealogy. Heritage wise, my ancestors may have really coped and been traumatized by lost heritage.

My grandmother was born in 1930, right into the sharecropping era in the Mississippi-Louisiana area. I can count on one both my hands how many different pictures I have of her from her entire life.

“The West doesnt just occupy space and knowledge about itself. The biggest collections of African material culture are in museums in the UK, Europe, and North America.” (Blankenberg, 2025)

To me, this is the same thing with holding back advancements and good furnishings for people like my grandmother and her relatives before her. African material culture was not of essence to a slave turned sharecropper.

When I think about those days and how poor people were. Even when cameras were around, no one was taking photos. I wish I knew what half my deceased elders and ancestors looked like. I often wonder who begat who. Who begat my grandmother? Who begat her grandmother?

My grandmother really made me love Christianity more. As stated in the question, Africans developed and inherited a poor way of thinking as Christians seeing themselves as the oppressed people of the text. Whether my ancestors were Native American, European (in obvious ways), Caribbean, or 100% African, I resonate in ways that most people would say they would. I can’t lose what I ever had. My heritage. My grandmother’s heritage was forgotten and never relayed to her.

Leroy