Research Paper on:
Barriers to Assimilation: A Study of Black Urban Culture

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
at life during that time period in urban Illinois. The information provides a springboard for discussion on why black culture is what it is today. One has to wonder why  certain trends in society are distinct and uniquely African American. While applauded today, these same cultural anomalies once separated black and white America. While culture still acts as a divider,  black America has emerged unscathed and in fact has become quite attractive to suburban whites who envy urban lifestyles and listen to gangsta rap music. I would like to  delve into this subject by reading Aschenbrenners work and looking at other materials such as the photography and observations of John White. Other observations about the black community today, and  during the time period, will help to forge a discussion on why black culture remains unique. While original culture will be a part of the review, certainly the constructed culture  of black urban America will be a part of the investigation. When Joyce Aschenbrenner first had her ethnography published in the late seventies, black  sit-coms were already common fare. Black power was a statement spouted by many and suddenly, the African American was beginning to come into his own. Although racism persists today, it  is nowhere near the problem it was during the 1960s and 1970s of which Aschenbrenner wrote. Aschenbrenner tried to capture Chicago and the way in which African Americans became a  part of the community and how their lives differed from the majority. Indeed, black culture would become somewhat of a phenomena that only grew into new trends like rap and  hip hop and suddenly, being black became desirable. Today, white suburban kids imitate black adolescents and are deemed "wiggers," a somewhat derogatory term that rhymes with the taboo "N" word.