F O U R T H E D I T I O N Black Families 2 This book is dedicated to the great historian John Hope Franklin, Ph.D. His writings, actions, and speeches have helped formulate the experiences of Black families. 3 F O U R T H E D I T I O N Black Families Harriette Pipes McAdooo Michigan State University 4 Copyright © 2007 by Sage Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: Sage Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: [email protected] Sage Publications Ltd. 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd. B-42, Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 110 017 India Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Black families / Harriette Pipes McAdoo, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-4129-3637-3 or 978-1-4129-3637-8 (cloth) — ISBN 1-4129-3638-1 or 978-1-4129-3638-5 (pbk.) 1. African American families. 2. African Americans—Social conditions.3. Family—United States. I. McAdoo, Harriette Pipes. II. Title. E185.86.B525 2007 306.85089′96073—dc22 2006007435 Printed on acid-free paper 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acquiring Editor: Cheri Dellelo Production Editor:Libby Larson Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd. Proofreader: Scott Oney Indexer: Kathleen Paparchontis Cover Designer: Bryan Fishman 5 Contents Preface to the Fourth Edition Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Historical Conceptualizations of Black Families 1. African American Families: A Historical Note John Hope Franklin 2. The Nguzo Saba and the Black Family: Principles and Practices of Well-Being and Flourishing Maulana Karenga and Tiamoyo Karenga 3. Interpreting the African Heritage in African American Family Organization Niara Sudarkasa Part II. Theoretical Conceptualizations of African American Families 4. Conceptualizations and Research of African American Family Life in the United States: Some Thoughts Jualynne Elizabeth Dodson 5. African American Family Life: An Instrument of Culture Wade W. Nobles 6. African American Education: A Cultural-Ecological Perspective John U. Ogbu Part III. Spirituality and Religion in Black Families 7. Religion in African American Families Harriette Pipes McAdoo 8. Old-Time Religion: Benches Can’t Say “Amen” William Harrison Pipes 9. Sources of Racial Socialization: Theological Orientation of African American Churches and Parents Pamela P. Martin and Harriette Pipes McAdoo 10. Death in the Family: Historical Descriptions and Funerary Display of African American Families LaTrese Evette Adkins 6 Part IV. Family Patterns 11. African American Demographic Images Harriette Pipes McAdoo 12. African American Female-Headed Households: Some Neglected Dimensions Niara Sudarkasa 13. The Significant Other: Type and Mode of Influence in the Lives of Black Families Wilhelmina Manns Part V. Socialization Within African American Families 14. Parenting of Young Children in Black Families: A Historical Note Marie Ferguson Peters 15. The Roles of African American Fathers in the Socialization of Their Children Jonathan N. Livingston and John L. McAdoo 16. Family First, Then the World: The “Know-It-All” Aunt and Her Three Nephews Darlene Clark Hine 17. Kin KeepersSM: Breast Cancer Prevention for African American Women Karen Patricia Williams 18. Family Therapy: A Help-Seeking Option Among Middle-Class African Americans Monica Mouton Sanders Part VI. African American Gender Relations 19. An Overview of Race and Marital Status Robert Staples 20. In Search of Love and Commitment: Dealing With the Challenging Odds of Finding Romance Audrey B. Chapman 21. Practices and Attitudes Toward Contraception in the Black Community Algea Othella Hale Part VII. Family Policies and Advocacy 22. A Portrait of Inequality Marian Wright Edelman 23. The Impact of Welfare Reform on Black Families Robert B. Hill Index About the Editor 7 About the Contributors 8 Preface to the Fourth Edition S ince the first edition of Black Families in 1981, many of the contributors to the book have spent 25 years presenting images of Black families to scholars, students, and laypersons. Although some of those whose work appears here have passed on, and some have joined us for the first time, those of us who have produced this fourth edition have joined together to become as family. All of these have formed a circle of writers who have become friends as well as contributors to Black Families. We are many years older and, we hope, wiser than we were at the time of the first edition. During the years in between, babies have been born, marriages have ended, spouses have passed, children have married, Ph.D. degrees have been completed, tenure and professorships have been earned, important awards have been received, jobs have ended, and important professional positions have been assumed. These significant life changes are often reflected in the work of the authors. There has been the loss to us of our peers: William Harrison Pipes, John Lewis McAdoo, Marie Ferguson Peters, and John Ogbu. There also has been a great infusion of new authors: Darlene Clark Hine, Maulana Karenga and Tiamoyo Karenga, Pamela Martin, LaTrese Adkins, Jonathan Livingston, Karen Williams, and Monica Mouton Sanders. The work of these scholars who join us in exploring our Black families is described below. Maulana Karenga and Tiamoyo Karenga, one of the most influential couples in America today, founded Kwanzaa over 45 years ago. Tens of thousands of Americans celebrate the holiday every year, and it has spread all over the world. Their chapter goes into the value of extended families as they detail the components of Kwanzaa. Darlene Clark Hine is considered one of the greatest historians in this country. Her work on Black women has been celebrated throughout the world of historians. She shares with us an intimate glimpse of her extended family. Pamela Martin and I explore how the Black churches are dynamic institutions within the community. The churches and parents of youth interact to provide racial socialization for these youth. The churches have an important role in providing an orientation for parents looking to learn how to help their children to develop successfully. LaTrese Adkins has entered a new field for historians by looking at the funeral practices of Black families over the years. Usually authors of books on Black families only look at children and parents, but we also need to look at rituals and funeral patterns because they are very important family traditions. Jonathan Livingston explores how the roles of Black fathers are an important element of Black family life. Few of us are familiar with these interactions because they have not often been written about in the literature. Jonathan has taken John McAdoo’s original presentation of Black fathers and presented new dimensions of these fathers’ roles. Karen Williams shows the importance of extended families in providing support for Black women who are facing breast cancer. Black women are diagnosed later than others, and in less 9 treatable stages, because they are underserved in the health care system. This chapter takes on an important role in the preservation of our families. Monica Mouton Sanders explores the openness of Southern middle-class Black families to family therapy. This image of families is one that is almost never seen in the literature, and the author finds that these Black families are open to therapy. All of these scholars have joined the older collaborators to produce this edition, of which we are proud. 10