African American Family Structure

By Eliot Somers

“Tribal”

Large family groups

Sophisticated lifestyle

Marked the beginning of family disruption

Destroyed hundreds of years of African culture

Resulted in fewer young blacks in the New World

Tore families apart even more Created distanced yet strong

relationships• Reflected in today’s African American

population

Notion of strong yet distanced relationships• Each member of the Charles family has a

different connection with the piano

• Typical black family of the 1930’s Extended – Charles Family Interdependent

Generation Gap• Bernice and Maretha• Hard to relate, Maretha is alienated

Family members spread throughout the United States, via the Great Migration

Included 3 generations of Charles’

Not uncommon for the time period

Provided a stable family unit for children

Thanks to MLK Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans no longer face fears of being separated from their loved ones

African Americans are still more likely to live in “non-taditional” family units, but less so than before.