Family Diversity among the African Americans - Essay Example

Family diversity Among the African Americans Family diversity Among the African Americans Introduction When studying the blacks’ society in American, people commonly perceive such studies to be rooted in racism, stratification and social inequalities. On the contrary, this paper is a detailed study of the African American families. Family diversity will be the focus of this discussion with emphasis made on family interaction and integration among the African American societies. Various researchers have been involved in explaining patterns in family relations among the African Americans. Most of them are seeking to establish why most of the African American neighborhoods exhibit solidarity. A study into the African American families has indicated that these families are characterized by close relations owing to the fact that they live around immediate family members and extended family. The African American family organization is believed to have been affected greatly by slavery as most of the cues held by the family members were lost. Some family trends may have been picked from the other communities but the basic family organization was not lost; for instance, children living with their parents until they were able to provide for themselves. This is one of the native traditions practiced by this society that lived along with slavery. Family solidarity among the African American societies is observed during slavery when the free Africans could buy back their family members who were still in bondage (Hattery & Smith, 2007). Compared to whites and other races, African Americans families have been identified to depict unique family characteristics. For instance, one can opt to remain a single parent and still live among the extended family. African American societies attach more value to kin relations and family closeness. Family members have been observed to live near each other and offer continued support to their kin at all times. Analysis of census reports over time can show the family structure in the black societies. According to these reports, approximately 90% of the households with single parents or parentless children were extended families (USA Census Bureau , 2006). This is expected because the African American families depict close nuclear ties hence they can easily accommodate parentless children and single parents within the family (Demo, Allen, & Fine, 2000). During the earlier periods of the new millennium, statistical data showed that young black women preferred to remain unmarried compared to their white counterparts. During this time, close to 47% of the households in the black neighborhoods were headed by women. The child-bearing rate among the black women was on the decline due to economic hardships and family breakages. Fertility rate among the black women was on the decline as many of the women opted to remain single and unmarried. Educational levels were rising among the black communities alongside with their income. This depicts the improved life in the African American families (McAdoo, 2008). In any society, family forms the basic unit of organization. The African American societies have demonstrated the importance of family organization through marriage. For instance, a kin is considered of great importance in the family relations. Married people from these societies list close family members, like their children as their kin. Those that are not married have been observed to rely on non-kin. Family, in the African American societies plays an important role both socially and economically. Research has shown that there is high concern among the family members in the African American societies when it comes to care of the elderly and sick. A study into the family patterns revealed that African American daughters depicted a great sense of responsibility when it came to family care. This made them prefer home care for the elderly compared to the use of medical and social facilities offered by the government. In the African American societies, the elderly were given the necessary care by close family members. The values of these societies are in favor of family care and support as opposed to institutional placement. Analysis of the response receive from an in-depth interview reveal that a considerable number of elderly in the African American neighborhoods were being taken care of by their nephews, nieces and members of their extended family. This shows the close ties between family members. The family structure in the African American societies has since changed with civilization and globalization. In the ancient times, one could not choose their own family, that is, family was rather pre-assigned to an individual. This has changed as people are now beginning to choose their fictive kin; that is, people can choose the family to which they belong whether or not they are related. This has been a major disruption to family organization as some new behavior patterns have cropped up as a result of this. For instance, family morality has been lost in the new structure of voluntary families. Homosexuality, for instance, has been observed to be increased among the families constituted by choice. Due to the importance attached t morality in the African American societies, black children are always reluctant to reveal their sexual orientation in the case where they are gay or lesbian. This is because they feel going a stray from the moral held by their original families. They therefore opt to remain silent about it, if they are staying with their extended family or move away from their family to practice homosexuality. These views are supported by various research works by sociologists who sought to determine the importance of family in relations to disclosure of one’s sexual orientation. Data revealed that 28% of the respondents from the African American societies were not willing to disclose their sexual orientation to their family (USA Census Bureau , 2006). This is as a result of the fear of rejection they perceived if they revealed that they were gay or lesbians. This factor in details can show the relevance of morality in African American families compared to the white families. According to this research, African American families persist on morality and other generally accepted cues. Those who hold views contrary to these issues are considered outcasts. It is for this reason that family members could rather conceal their bad behavior from the family than being outcast from their kin. Being outcast denies one the opportunity of enjoying family and extended family benefits like care and family closeness. Sociological theorists have come up with the concentric theories to explain the organization and solidarity in the African American societies. The concentric theory is rooted in family organization. In the inner circle, rests an individual. The individual is in a family and the family is in the community. Without families, the community will not have organization. Similarly, without community organization, the society at large will not be organized. These are the tenants on which the back communities are built. Since the families are held to be of great significance to the society, there is societal concern when it comes to individual problems. One who dissociates themselves from the family organization cannot be shown the societal concern shown to others. Current studies have revealed an increased number of family disruptions among the black communities. Some have attributed this to the modernization and biological deficiencies whereas others claim it is due to the historical experiences held by the back people. The historical experience of black men, more so from slavery denied them an opportunity to be economically viable. Their roles as family heads were not realizable hence women took over these roles. Education to women and other women empowerment programs have been a major cause of the increase single female headed households in African American families. Research from latest census reports show that at least half of the black families are headed by a single parent. Intermarriages between the African Americans and other races have also contributed to the family diversity among the African Americans. Some indigenous traits of the black origin have been dropped in the process whole others have been cultivated. Some new traits from the other cultures have also been picked up in the process. All these factors have contributed to a whole new family life for the African Americans societies. Conclusion The African American families have gone through a lot of evolution due to the various social, economic and political issues they have been faced with. Most of the original tenants on which the indigenous African families were built have been lost due the conditions these families have faced. Although some of the family traditions are still traditions are still practiced, the new families represent change in family structure and organization. This trend is observed to continue as time and conditions change. References Demo, D. H., Allen, K. R., & Fine, M. A. (2000). Handbook of family diversity. New York: Oxford University Press. Hattery, A., & Smith, E. (2007). African American families. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. McAdoo, H. P. (2008). Family ethnicity : strength in diversity. Journal For Socialogy . USA Census Bureau . (2006). The Black Population in USA . Current Population Reports , 30-110. Read More