African American families and socialization

Significance: The family is an important social unit that can greatly influence ethnic identity and individual experience. In addition to facilitating the development of values, beliefs, and behaviors in children that will lead to competence as an adult, the African American family unit often functions to buffer its members from prejudice and discrimination. Further, it must provide the skills needed to deal with the sometimes conflicting expectations of African American culture and of Euro-American society.

African American families are far from homogeneous in terms of structure, values emphasized, and the means of socialization. In the early twenty-first century, traditional family structures continue to undergo change, and new structures evolve—in particular, more African American children are now born to unwed mothers than to married women. This article, however, will primarily discuss research on the African American nuclear family.

Kinship Bonds

In Black Families (edited by Harriette Pipes McAdoo), Niara Sudarkasa, a scholar in African American family organization, contends that commitment to the family is the most important factor in the socialization of African American children. The existence of and reliance on the extended family for emotional, social, and financial support have been well documented and, to some extent, reflect the lasting influences of African tribal culture and the experience of slavery on the modern African American family. The familiar saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” exemplifies this concept of shared family and community responsibility for the well-being of African American children.

Sudarkasa argues that to understand household organization among African American families, one must consider the differential use of the terms “household” and “family.” Although these terms are used somewhat interchangeably among Euro-Americans, African Americans often employ “household” to describe people living in the same dwelling and use “family” to designate extended family members living within and outside the home. Thus, family stability and marriage stability are not perceived to be synonymous, and family ties are maintained even after the dissolution of a marriage. Unfortunately, trends toward a reduction in multigenerational households may signal a decline in the availability of immediate support for single parents.

Socialization Patterns

African American families have traditionally advocated a strong commitment to educational achievement and see higher education as the most important avenue to success in the larger American society. Evidence of this commitment can be seen in families across all economic levels who spend time talking to their children about school, college, and homework. Children, however, are more likely to model what they see rather than what they hear, making it less likely that children of non-college-educated parents will actually view college as a realistic option for advancement.

There is strong evidence that patterns of authority in two-parent African American households are more frequently egalitarian with flexible rather than traditional family gender roles. Similarly, the responsibilities of children within the family have long been driven by age and birth order rather than gender. First-born and older children, regardless of gender, are expected to help around the house and provide additional care for younger household members.

Respect and appreciation for elders within and outside one’s family are also often important values among African Americans. African American grandparents, especially grandmothers, often play an active role in teaching, disciplining, and otherwise raising grandchildren. This favorable attitude toward the elderly, coupled with their continued involvement in the extended kin network, seems to give African American seniors a higher status in the family, and they report greater happiness compared with their white counterparts.

A belief common among African Americans, especially in middle-class families, is that each individual, in return for the emotional and financial support that enabled his or her success, should give something back to extended family members and to the African American community in general.

The church has traditionally played a pivotal role in the African American community and in the socialization of children. Robert Staples, in Black Families at the Crossroads (1993), argues that “the church is the modern-day tribe” serving to unite community and unrelated families. Being largely independent of the white authority structure, the black church has served to provide moral training, feelings of self-worth, and role models to black children. In addition, black churches operate a multitude of family-related programs, including schools, recreation groups, and family welfare and adoption services.

Family Structure and Poverty

Although the percentage of children raised in two-parent households has been declining overall, US Census figures indicate that the number of African American children being raised in single-parent households (typically mother-only households) is disproportionately high. According to a National Vital Statistics Report (based on census data) released by the Centers for Disease Control, in 2014, 70.4 percent of African American women who gave birth were unmarried—the highest proportion for any racial group. The percentage of all women giving birth in 2014 who were unmarried was 40.2. These findings are also closely linked to factors such as age and income.

Because African American households in general are significantly more likely to live below the poverty line, African American children are more likely to experience poverty and to be chronically poor than are white children. Being raised in severe and persistent poverty is related to lower scores on standardized tests of verbal ability and other measures of intellectual function. The interpretation and meaning of these lower test scores continue to be hotly debated, and the social elements at play are often seen as a form of bias. What is less controversial, however, are the relatively low levels of educational attainment and constrained employment opportunities associated with African American youth and adults.

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