Parenting In African American Culture

Society has always forced women and men into gender roles that dictate what types of behaviors are acceptable, desirable, and appropriate for them despite their actual or perceived sex. Gender is a socially constructed form of identity but it is also racially constructed as well. Gender can be displayed through intersectional perspectives, you can discover many ways to display gender specifically in the culture of African Americans and how they differ from the dominate white culture. I am a Haitian American female and I found that through the pictures I captured of my friends, family members and I were of us inexplicably participating in gender and displaying femininity. I also observed my friends and family especially the men participating

Abstract: This paper provides an introduction to the social impact of the collateral consequences (the families left behind) of mass incarceration. The reading will include thoughts from sociological perspectives and empirical studies that focus on the consequences incarceration and re-entry have on the striving family left behind. Partners and families of felons suffer from the system in place that punishes, rather than “corrects,” criminal behavior. Collateral Consequences Patience Kabwasa Prof. Laura Howe Soc 231-C21 May 1, 2014 Collateral Consequences The effects of incarceration are many. In fact as defined by Badger Lawyer a website dedicated to answer legal questions for the general public, “Collateral consequences are the effects of

Compare and contrast the family values and traditions of three different cultures. How do the values, communication and spirituality resemble or differ from yours? What impact might these values have on the definition of child abuse/neglect? (1-2 pages)

There is a systematic erosion of black families. All too often, black male fathers are absent from the home, leaving black mothers to raise young black children in single parent households. This absence of black male fathers in America originated during the days of slavery. Dick Gregory penned the autobiography depicting his struggles for acceptance and equality in a country that resented him based on the color of his skin. Unfortunately, like many African American children, Dick grew up without a father in his household.

The video “Tale of Two Schools: Race and Education on Long Island” presents David and Owen, two African-American students with similar backgrounds and grades who attend two different high schools in separate districts that have drastically different access to resources, community support, income, etc. Wyandanch Memorial High School is located in a poor district, while South Side High School is located in Rockville Center which is a more affluent and diverse district. The effects of the districts having varying levels of access to quality resources and diversity is exemplified throughout the video with regards to the way the students interact with each other, their grades, and their careers after high school.

Values: The chapter highlights that there is not one uniform African American community, rather a collection of diverse communities within the population and culture, thus there is not a single set of value systems, however there are main reoccurring themes that represent the group’s values, being a high importance of family – including immediate, extended and close friends, tradition and respect for elders, racial and ethic identity, religion and spirituality and the Importance of education. These African American value systems “have been shaped by a history of people formed out of many African peoples forced to become unified under the societal devaluation represented by slavery, discrimination, and prejudice while at the same time wooed

During this time period, fathers were the “breadwinners” and expected to work and provide for their families. However, black fathers in the 1950’s particular had to work long hours because the only jobs available to them were often low paying. This directly correlates with African-American’s low place on the social ladder during this pre-Civil Rights era. It was also extremely difficult for African-American women to find work during this time, placing the financial buren solely on the father. They took great pride in their earnings, and sometimes abused their power as head of the household. Many lacked a good relationship with their children because to show emotion besides pride, aggression, or anger would make them weak.

The culture I identify is African American. The African American culture have several traditions that my family and I practice. The traditions of the African American culture that are practices among my family are maintaining family relationships, practicing Christianity, maintain hospitality, gaining education, and cooking.

Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender, as well as the influence of family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role.

One of the biggest dilemmas that they face is the redirection of familistic living. Asian and Mexican Americans have traditionally lived in homes with generational members all under one roof. Family members did not live in separate homes neither did they practice “living the nest” manners as native Americans do. Children are encouraged to live at home until they found a spouse and were ready to marry. And even then, mother and father in-laws lived with the newly weds and sustain a household compromise of many generations with traditional cultural norms.

There are many open wounds in the African-American community that have not healed what so ever. Disintegration of family structures in the African-American community has been a persistent problem for far too long. High out of wedlock birth rates, absent fathers, and the lack of a family support network for many young African-Americans have led to serious problems in America's urban areas. The persistence of serious social problems in inner-city areas has led to a tragic perpetuation of racial prejudice as well. African Americans still face a litany of problems in the 21st century today. Some of those problems consist of, unemployment, education, police brutality, single parent households, drugs, gang violence, and the high rate of incarceration

Please find a person of African American descent to interview. The person needs to at least 21 years of age. Please inform the person that this interview is for an assignment in class (educational purposes only) and the information provided will remain confidential. Please try to obtain more than “sound bites” yes/no answers. Asked follow up questions if the interviewee’s answers are too brief (ex: Can you please provide an example or elaborate, tell me more etc..). You want to get this person’s family story.

Unequal Childhoods is an ethnography outlining the study done by Annette Lareau which researched how socioeconomic classes impact parenting among both white and African American families. She used both participant observation and interviewing. 12 families participated in this study where she came to conclusions on whether they displayed parenting styles of concerted cultivation or natural growth based of their socioeconomic status.

The source of the difference is no secret. African Americans have been subject to a long history of social and economic oppression and disadvantage; they have experienced higher levels of poverty and lower levels of education than white Americans. After the Brown decision in 1954, the federal government and many states adopted policies to redress the past inequities, but those systems were insufficient to overcome generations of racism, which limited access to jobs and education. Despite significant progress in expanding educational access, education attainment, and economic opportunities for black citizens in the past half century, blacks continue to agonize. African Americans face many trials such as being disproportionately poor and attending racially isolated communities, where children are likely to be exposed to violence, gangs, and drug

The people from Africa were generally part of early American history; however, Africans had experience slavery under better conditions compared to the conditions imposed by other civilized society. From the Egyptian Empire to the Empire of Songhai, slavery was practice for the betterment of their society, however, foreigners invaded these regions and took their slave, their ports and impose these people to a life of servitude in the Caribbean islands and in the English’s colonies. Furthermore, the African American slaves were an active agent of society in the earliest period of American history; they have brought new religious practices to their community; for instance, they constructed networks of communities; they had fought in war alongside