Restructuring African American Families in the 1990s

Abstract

Many of today's families are hurting. Here are some reasons why. One reason is divorce. Divorce hurts children in many ways. Children of divorced parents must learn to cope with the loss of one parent, and sometimes they have to move away from friends and family. That's hard. Another reason is economics. Parents who lose their jobs and single mothers who don't make enough money to buy proper food may send their children to school hungry and may risk joining the ranks of the homeless. That's harder. Still another reason is socialization. Children reared in chaotic families develop serious behavior disorders. They lack structure, autonomy, and self-determination. They learn loneliness, rejection, and dysfunctional behavior. That's hardest. —Barker, speech, 1993

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Barker, N. (1991). Working with abused children. Journal of Child and Youth Care, 6(3), 1-18.

Barker, N. (1993). The self and the Black male: Implications for school and society. In F. Obiakor & S. Stile (Eds.), Self concept and exceptional learners: Theory and practice (pp. 168-184). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Beck, D. (1973). Progress on family problems. New York: Family Service Association of America.

Bennett, L. (1987). Before the Mayflower: A history of Black America . Chicago: Johnson.

Bowles, D. (1988). Development of an ethnic self-concept among Blacks . In C. Jacobs & D. Bowles (Eds.), Ethnicity and race: Critical concepts in social work (pp. 103-113). Baltimore: National Association of Social Workers.

Branch, T. (1988). Parting the waters: America in the king years . New York: Simon & Shuster .

Chinweizu, Q. (1987). Decolonizing the African mind. London: Pero.

Cruse, H. (1967). The crisis of the Negro intellectual. New York: William Morrow.

DuBois, W. (1972). The world and Africa: An inquiry into the part which Africa has played m world history. Chicago: Johnson.

10.

Fanon, F. (1967). Black skin, white masks. New York: Grove.

11.

Glasgow, D. (1981). The Black underclass. New York : Vintage.

12.

Harding, V. (1981). There is a river: The Black struggle for freedom in America. New York: Grove.

13.

Higginbotham, A. (1978). In the matter of color: Race and the American legal process. New York: Oxford University Press.

14.

Hilliard, A. , Payton-Stewart, L. , & Williams, L. (1990). The infusion of African and African American content in the school cumculum: First National Conference Proceedings. Princeton, NJ: Aaron.

15.

Lidz, T. (1976). The person. New York: Basic Books.

16.

Parks, G. (1968). The cycle of despair. In L. Ferman (Ed.), Poverty in America (pp. 513-518). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

17.

Perkins, U. (1985). Harvesting new generations. Chicago, IL: Third World.

18.

Scanzoni, J. (1972). The Black family in modem society. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

19.

Stein, S. (1979). On divorce. New York: Walker.

20.

Thorman, G. (1982). Helping troubled families: A social work perspective . New York: Aldine.

21.

Turner, J. , Singleton, R. , & Musick, D. (1986). Oppression: A socio-history of Black-White relations in America. Chicago: Nelson-Hall .

22.

Walker, A. (speaker). (1991, June 17). First light: Between the lines . Atlanta, GA: WBA/Channel 30.

23.

Wodarski, J. , & Bagarozzi, D. (1980) Behavioral social work. New York: Human Sciences Press.

24.

Zollar, A. ( 1985). A member of the family. Chicago : Nelson-Hall.