Note: IYKYK

Foreword:

This post is just to address a few things that will be important for my posts going forward. I may have more of these in the future.

African American or Black?

African American and black mean something similar, but they are not synonyms. In this blog, I will use the term black, both because it is easier to write and because it is more inclusive. Not all black people are African American.

Although, to be fair, not all African American people are black either (IYKYK).

I may spend some time in the future specifiying who is considered “black” if it ever becomes an issue, but for now, I generally mean those who are a part of African American culture. Speaking of which…

Culture and The Culture

There is a difference between “culture,” and “The Culture,” capital T, capital C. Culture means what you think it means, like the beliefs and customs of a social group. The Culture usually means the Black community, which is generally restricted to black americans, from my knowledge. It is used as a way of differentiating the “in group” and the “out group.” You may hear a black person say about a black influencer, “He’s not for The Culture.” In this case, it means that the influencer is not a part of black culture, or has forsaken black culture for personal gain. A simple but important distinction to make note of going forward, as I will be using both terms quite frequently.