Securing the Weakest Links: Making the Traditional African-American Family the Norm
The function and structure of a minority of the traditional African-American families are declining in comparison to the statistics of the past 40-45 years. This research will provide a concise definition of the traditional African-American families, and provide intervention strategies to restore families to a traditional majority status. Therefore, the research questions can be stated as: What intervention strategies can be used to restore the traditional Black family as the prototypical family structure in African-American communities? More specifically, what can we learn from the existing research on Black families?
Such factors as migrations, welfare, welfare reform, spirituality, technology, and education is explored as interrelated factors contributing to the strengths and weaknesses of African American family structure. This research explores whether the 1960's migration to the north separated, and caused deterioration of the traditional African American family structure as that structure was formed in the South from the eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. It also determines the positive and negative impact of welfare and welfare reform in relation to the nuclear family as opposed to the traditional or extended family. It examines the role of religion and spirituality as sources of strength to maintain African American families through centuries of slavery and racial subordination. Research also suggests the positive attributes in restoring the traditional African-American family. Finally, it explores how educational issues including opportunity, disparity, and concepts influence the structure of African American family.
The existing scholarly literature on the development of Black families revealing reasonable interventionist strategies that can be utilized in restoring the prototypical traditional African-American family structure. Both my examination of the current state of the Black family and recommendations for restoring the traditional or extended family are based on a careful examination of the published scholarship and its implications for appropriate interventionist strategies.
The researched literature discloses reasonable concepts that can be utilized in restoring the prototypical traditional African-American family structure. In providing support to the hypothesis of this research, relevant books and articles were examined. An example of supportive literature that addresses the development and current state of the African-American family includes Andrew Billingsley's (1992) book, Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The Enduring Legacy of African-American Families, articles by Robert Staples (1985), Changes in Black Family Structure: The Conflict Between Family Ideology Structural Conditions; and H. A. Rhodes (1990), The African American Family in Crisis. The books and articles also give insight to the hypothesis of this research, that education, migration patterns, proposed changes in welfare and welfare reform, and re-establishing spirituality practices will assist in strengthening the traditional African-American family in contemporary society.
Such factors as migrations, welfare, welfare reform, spirituality, technology, and education is explored as interrelated factors contributing to the strengths and weaknesses of African American family structure. This research explores whether the 1960's migration to the north separated, and caused deterioration of the traditional African American family structure as that structure was formed in the South from the eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. It also determines the positive and negative impact of welfare and welfare reform in relation to the nuclear family as opposed to the traditional or extended family. It examines the role of religion and spirituality as sources of strength to maintain African American families through centuries of slavery and racial subordination. Research also suggests the positive attributes in restoring the traditional African-American family. Finally, it explores how educational issues including opportunity, disparity, and concepts influence the structure of African American family.
The existing scholarly literature on the development of Black families revealing reasonable interventionist strategies that can be utilized in restoring the prototypical traditional African-American family structure. Both my examination of the current state of the Black family and recommendations for restoring the traditional or extended family are based on a careful examination of the published scholarship and its implications for appropriate interventionist strategies.
The researched literature discloses reasonable concepts that can be utilized in restoring the prototypical traditional African-American family structure. In providing support to the hypothesis of this research, relevant books and articles were examined. An example of supportive literature that addresses the development and current state of the African-American family includes Andrew Billingsley's (1992) book, Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The Enduring Legacy of African-American Families, articles by Robert Staples (1985), Changes in Black Family Structure: The Conflict Between Family Ideology Structural Conditions; and H. A. Rhodes (1990), The African American Family in Crisis. The books and articles also give insight to the hypothesis of this research, that education, migration patterns, proposed changes in welfare and welfare reform, and re-establishing spirituality practices will assist in strengthening the traditional African-American family in contemporary society.
School:
University of Illinois at Springfield
Department:
Social Work
Research Advisor:
James Anderson
Department of Research Advisor:
Educational Policy Studies
Year of Publication:
2003