History and Intercultural Communication Reflection Paper

Valencia Gomes

Department of Communication, Baruch College

COM 3069: Intercultural Communication

Dr. Val Biwa

February 19, 2025

As many of us know history plays a crucial role in shaping one’s cultural identity,

providing context when trying to understand where we come from. I’m grateful that I can trace

my family’s background from the southern United States to the islands of Cape Verde in Africa.

From the stories to the traditions and values passed down from generation to generation, it has all

helped shape me as a person as I navigate through life. These same values have also influenced

how I interact with others, especially those from different cultures. In this reflection, I will share

how my family’s history and cultural background have impacted my own sense of identity.

Growing up in a multicultural household with my father’s immigration from Cape Verde and my

great grandmother’s move from Georgia to Boston, I always had personal family stories to share.

By looking at the connection between history and my identity, I’ve gained a deeper

understanding of who I am and where I come from.

Growing up in a multicultural household could be challenging at times as I often felt like

I was navigating between two very different cultures. My parents coming from completely

different backgrounds had their own distinct traditions and values. On my dad’s side, Cape

Verdeans value independence and resilience, and these values were strongly emphasized in my

upbringing, especially when it came to my role as a student. On the other hand, my mom raised

with traditional southern roots, was a lot warmer and relied more on community to help get

through things. My mom is also a teacher which influenced how she believed school should be

handled. My dad felt that I should be able to learn and do things on my own when it came to

schoolwork, and he compared my mom’s helping assistance to “handholding” which he thought

could have negative effects in adulthood. These differences remind me of the personal–

contextual dialect. Because my father was stricter, I felt like I had to adjust the way I approach
certain things like school to meet his expectations. My behaviors were influenced by my father’s

cultural expectations and background. That tension between personal and cultural expectations

taught me how to balance my identity depending on which parent I was engaging with.

The histories of my cultural groups have also significantly influenced how I view myself

and how I communicate with others. The Cape Verdean community is known for having a strong

sense of connection, especially in the northeast. Many Cape Verdeans when immigrating to the

U.S. tend to settle in Massachusetts or Rhode Island. It is very important in Cape Verdean

tradition to have a community around you that shares similar language, traditions, music, food,

and much more. Cape Verdeans only assimilate to a certain extent when moving to the U.S.

While some things change and are shaped by American culture many things remain the same.

This reflects the static–dynamic dialect, where some cultural aspects remain constant while

others shift overtime.

The static aspect in this scenario for example would be the importance of family

gatherings, and the traditional dishes made during these occasions, such as Cachupa. This dish is

closely tied to the Cape Verdean identity no matter where you live. It’s passed down through

generations and it’s almost expected for first, second, and third generation Cape Verdean

Americans to know how to make it. I just learned how to make it myself about a year or two ago.

From the dynamic point of view over time Cape Verdeans begin to incorporate American

traditions into their daily lives. For example, celebrating Thanksgiving has become a major

tradition for Cape Verdean Americans. While the holiday is based on American elements it still

includes the important aspects of Cape Verdean culture which is why I believe it has become a

tradition we embrace.
 My mom’s southern roots helped shape not only my values but how I communicate with

others. Growing up I was surrounded by the warmth and unconditional love of my parents but

specifically mom and grandmother. Southern culture is known for these kinds of nurturing

characteristics. My mom instilled in me the importance of family, kindness, good manners. These

values have become a core part of me and how I interact with people today. One of my most

favorite southern traditions that my mother and my siblings and I share is the love for cooking

large meals for family gatherings. It has always been an essential part of our family life. These

gatherings are almost mandatory and are used to hold the family together.

I think growing up with two parents from different backgrounds and interacting with

family members from both sides led to a deeper understanding and appreciation of other people’s

cultural values. This reminds me a lot of the Contact Hypothesis theory, because when two

different cultures come together, it helps break down the prejudices each culture may have

toward the other. My parents did this by throwing huge barbecues every summer for my brothers

and I’s birthdays, where both sides of my family were brought together and “forced” to engage

with one another. Due to Cape Verde’s colonization by Portugal, there were several prejudices

placed on Black Americans that weren’t always accurate. Seeing both sides of my family interact

with each other and overcome these prejudices they may have had toward one another made me

realize that sometimes being immersed in another culture is all you need to better understand it.

Reflecting on my family’s cultural history and considering both of my parents’

backgrounds separately has helped me gain a deeper understanding of my own identity and how

it’s been shaped. I don’t think either of my parents fully understood how the histories of each of

their cultural backgrounds impacted my life until I reached out to them regarding this Reflection

Paper. Doing this reflection and having conversations about their own cultural histories not only
opened my eyes, but it did the same for them. I feel like we all learned the importance of

balancing different cultural values and perspectives. Now both of my parents have a new level of

respect for me as they recognize how much effort it took for me to navigate and balance both

cultural influences from a young age. I’m proud to say that these influences and lessons learned

have helped me become more open-minded, empathetic, and a better communicator when

engaging with someone from a different culture. Recognizing how much power history has in

shaping one’s culture identity help helps give a better appreciation for the diverse world around

us.