OKRA GUMBO AND RICE

摘要

Most Americans are unaware of African cultural heritage as a component of the American way of life. We are far from fully recognizing the role that Africa played in the creation of the United States and continues to play in its people's daily lives. They may have Cuff, Cuffy, Coffey, or Coffee as a family name, or Ouida(h) or Weda as a female first name. Their children love Bambi. They say "Wow!" when impressed or surprised. Many eat okra gumbo with rice. They listen to jazz. They are American, and would deny African influence on their culture. Africa is just not seen as a possible component of the American Way of Life. The name Koffi that the world knows thanks to United Nations Secretary General Koffi Annan comes from the Akan-speaking people of West Africa. Ouidah is a coastal town in Benin from which many Africans were deported to the Americas during the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans. Wow means "yes" in the Wolof language of Senegal and the Gambia. And Bambi is a Central African Bantu word for antelope.