Friday, March 28, 2008

Links in a Cultural Chain


In my "culture-from-the-inside-out" theory, I believe that we have to understand the psychological factors that make up a people more than we imitate what they do. Here are 10 things that I find repeated in stories about the Ethiopian community that mirror the values that were the core of my own African American upbringing.

  1. Faith
  2. Love of family
  3. Respect for elders
  4. Perseverance
  5. Determination
  6. Commitment to community
  7. The spirit of giving back
  8. Resilience
  9. Humor
  10. Pride

1 comment:

Shrijnana said...

Thanks for this list-what wonderful values to grow up with. When we were in Addis we bought a bunch of children's books in Amharic and English for this very reason. Children's stories are such an important way of teaching the values of a culture.

Original Court Date: April 18, 2009
Final Court Date: May 18, 2009
[607 total days & 165 days w/IAN]