In a constantly changing world to new standards and customs, do you decide to hold onto traditions as old as time or do you decide to break free and set on a new path? Throughout the course of my Freshman Composition class this was often a question that would appear in my head and make me wonder what I would choose. Being an African-American with no collection of where his origins begin beyond America, the importance of tradition was always felt compared to those who understood where they came, giving respect to their cultural traditions. Despite that, I grew up in my life never seeing tradition as ‘essential’ but optional to letting it define you. The texts and interviews I read in the class would change my view however, it made me understand that tradition stood as a chance to distinguish yourself from others and to be proud of the culture and heritage that influences you everyday. It’s easy to lose yourself especially in a country like America that is culturally homogeneous but it doesn’t have to be that way. Often when people immigrate to a new country, they feel the urge to cleanse themselves of their original culture and shed their skin like a snake. However, people should be proud of their original traditions that shaped them to truly be.
Part of the beauty of language is shown through the hidden styles and techniques of an author rather than the obvious messages and themes that are depicted. The creativity in Language is conveyed through the style of the speaker, in just their style you can understand their POV, their background, their lifestyle and culture all in one go. ‘If Black English isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What is?’ by James Baldwin is a powerful essay that uses raw emotion of anger and disgust mixed with personal experience with white people to passionately defend his one point, why should black English be demonized while others are celebrated? Baldwin examines this point carefully going through key moments in history as he breaks down the ideal of what language is and compares it to the Black English African Americans were forced to make out of the necessity of slavery and racial tensions. Baldwin spins on the traditional use of essays and puts his personal emotion into it, taking it from an academic hypothesis but also an assertive claim that forces the reader to change their mind when it comes to languages. ‘Why I keep speaking up’ by Safwat Saleem is a video that also uses the author’s personal emotions to tell their story as a 1st generation immigrant from the middle east. Saleem uses lots of humor in order to lighten up the audience and carefully decides to contrast it with somber parts of unacceptance and being outcasted. Likewise he also uses analogies and his art to illustrate how it felt as younger he tried to find his footing in this world. Saleem, unlike Baldwin, depicts a more personal lifestyle he had and shares his struggles to find interpersonal community striving for empathy in his audience.
There’s an interview with a Griot, a West African Instrument player that talks about the griot and the power that Griots hold in that culture. The Griot is passionate about his instruments, using beautiful language about the instrument and its power to story tell about the past of West Africans. The Griot often stresses the importance of learning said stories and contrasts it between his Griot life and his business life. There’s a level of similarity between Baldwin and Saleem as there is still a level of passion that is talked about but it contrasts itself in how biased based on being an important instrument player for his culture. ‘Everyday Use’ by Alice Walker is a beautiful short story that talks about the minor conflict as Walker’s Daughter researches about her ancestral roots and begs her mom and sister to do the same. Walker demonstrates this with contrast between the body language of Maggie and her to Dee, as Dee radiates new confidence with her persona. Alongside, Walker also tends to callback to life experiences that were had in order to give more context for their experience as black people living in 60s America. The use of the short story elevates the story heavily, seeing the constant shift between three black women all collectively having different views on their identity and being comfortable with it.
While reading each text, they share a common theme of someone who either learns to be proud of their culture or urging those to respect their culture and traditions in the diverse world we live in. I believe Tradition is an important aspect, the part of us we can’t run away from as a part of ourselves will always default to these actions. Journalists Shawn Clarke and Ruth Wylie convey its importance in their article ‘Surviving a Cultural Genocide: Perspectives of Indigenous Elders on the Transfer of Traditional Values’. The elders in the article stress the importance of culture as Clarke and Wylie highlight a quote “When we talk about genocide the definition is to extinguish the culture through the children”. This resonates with me a lot as I personally think about the Holocaust and what’s going on in Gaza, often genocide kills tradition and culture as a side effect of its hatred. Another article ‘Cultural Traditions: Their Essence and Structure’ by Andijan Uzbekistan suggests the tradition is inherently beneficial “to introduce the activity of a new generation into the channel along which the activities of older generations have been developing”. The main point relating to these two texts is that passing down Traditions to its younger audience is integral to its survival, if outsiders oppose tradition like how Baldwin claims it can lead to devastating results as their identity is washed away. Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world and every tradition can’t be passed, or change becomes the new ideal in the world. In ‘Managing Traditions: A Critical Capability for Family Business Success’, it talks about the issues that come with managing business but traditions are allowed to serve both a purpose for bring old ideas while refreshing every generation, Roy Suddaby explains Traditions “makes them a useful device to actively mediate change by making radical, discontinuous change seem incremental, evolutionary, and consistent with the past”. Similarly, Calvin Harris Jr. the author of ‘Embracing Our Traditions while Thinking Beyond the Traditional’ highlights how accounting was a career widely built on traditions that have been around since its creation. Harris Jr however talks about the transformation that is awaiting the career with new technological changes and mindset changes. Instead of cowering in fear he says “The present-day CPA can have a meaningful career without a focus on our traditional paths or audit or taxation”. The overarching point throughout both texts are meant to show that although traditions can be threatened by the ideas of change, it isn’t to its detriment as people can help these ideas evolve through time and new inventions.
Concluding this essay, the overall point is to highlight how important traditions have to be for us as they must last long decades and centuries to stay alive. Additionally, traditions must be accepted from all people, to silence a group of peoples tradition is to destabilize their society and kill off their identity.
Works Cited
Harris, Calvin, Jr. “Embracing Our Traditions while Thinking Beyond the Traditional.” The CPA Journal, vol. 93, no. 11-12, Nov.-Dec. 2023, p. 5. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A780973889/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=3064ac3b. Accessed 1 May 2024.
Suddaby, R., & Jaskiewicz, P. (2020). Managing Traditions: A Critical Capability for Family Business Success. Family Business Review, 33(3), 234-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486520942611
Aripova Z.S.. “CULTURAL TRADITIONS: THEIR ESSENCE AND STRUCTURE” Экономика и социум, no. 5 (60), 2019, pp. 21-23.
Clark, Shawn, and Ruth Wylie. “Surviving a Cultural Genocide: Perspectives of Indigenous Elders on the Transfer of Traditional Values.” Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, vol. 8, no. 2, May 2021, pp. 316+. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/10.29333/ejecs/663. Accessed 1 May 2024.
Walker, Alice, and Barbara 1943- Christian. Everyday Use. Rutgers U Press, 1994.
“Why I Keep Speaking up, Even When People Mock My Accent.” Performance by Safwat Saleem , TED, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4a0NvLTebw. Accessed 2024.
Baldwin , James. “If Black English Isn’t English, Then Tell Me What Is?” The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-english.html?st=cse. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Interview with Griot (West African Storyteller) Alhaji Papa Susso.” Audible , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9wrTasaln8. Accessed 1 May 2024.
