Accepting the basic premise that Africa is the ancestral homeland of black Americans raises questions as to how much, if any, of African cultural heritage remains within that community. Some claim that the severity of the plantation system and the acculturation process of the slaves could not have left any Africanism in the New World, while others argue that African cultural heritage can still be seen today in many aspects of American life and thought. This volume revisits the debate, examining the ways in which this alleged cultural heritage manifests itself.