Strengthening the black family unit must be of highest priority if there is hope for a better future. As we come to a close of Black History month, one of the most worthwhile things we can do for the future legacy of African Americans is to refocus efforts to build strong family units with strong family values.
Sociologists proclaim that many forces bombard the family unit in contemporary society. Many also readily acknowledge that whatever plagues society generally, whether economic problems, educational problems, divorce, single parenting, poor housing, unemployment, etc., the impact on African-American families is much more severe and the ramifications more far-reaching and long-lasting.
In many ways, the black family unit still suffers from the ravages of history. There are many strong black families, headed by one or both parents. There are many others reeling from some indelible scars which originated with the institution of slavery – an institution that did everything in its power to rape and destroy the family unit, separating mother and father, mother and child.
Even though it has been over a hundred and fifty years since that wretched institution was deemed illegal, immoral and abolished, the many negative effects are still seen today.
The black family has been imperiled by one destructive force after the other. The impact can be seen throughout communities across the country. You need only to review a few grim statistics: the vicious cycle of black on black crime, higher rates of unemployment during economic prosperity, poor health and limited or no access to the best health care available.
By comparison, the black family still, disproportionately, lives in poor housing and blighted neighborhoods. And the feelings of helplessness, complacency, apathy and general lethargy, is much too high.
Perhaps, the greatest and long-lasting impact of these destructive forces is on the children. Many find it difficult to have vision, to see beyond their immediate living environment. Many are more vulnerable, more likely to succumb to drugs and a life of crime to escape their deprived and disheartening condition.
They are the children having children, in part out of ignorance and a lack of direction, in part out of hope and the need to feel important to someone, to show love, to receive love. The result is double jeopardy, double loss. A young girl may never reach her potential; and the child she brings into the world starts out at a disadvantage. For a family unit that is already frail and weak, this can only make it weaker, more vulnerable.
Where do the answers lie? How do we stop the destructive forces?
First we must refuse to believe these forces are beyond our control. We must commit ourselves to do whatever we can to strengthen the family unit. The answers are neither simple nor easy. Nor can they be achieved overnight. We must tackle, and we are to some extent, some very tough problems.
As we continue to work for better housing, better education, better access to health care, equal access to jobs and other economic opportunities, we should invest a substantial amount of time with our young people. We must help them overcome many hurdles and misconceptions that can destroy their future – even before they have any idea of what that future can be.
Some basics we need to convey: For starters, to our young men, we must tell them that there is nothing to be proud of or boast about when they father children that they cannot take care of. Our boys need to be told plainly that it does not make them men. We must tell them that the drug trade, gangs and guns, and a life of crime is not the answer.
Our girls need to be told that becoming pregnant is not proof or guarantee of love from the father who was not ready to be, or the child who could easily grow to be resentful for bringing them into the world under such wretched and stigmatized conditions – conditions which neither parent is prepared to change.
We must continue to emphasize the absolute need to get an education. Without an education in today's society, the odds of improving your living conditions are firmly stacked against you. We cannot continue to let our children indulge in the rap and "crap" on the radio and spend hours playing video games and ignore the lessons and messages in the classroom.
To achieve appreciation for the value of a strong family unit, and address those needs to build and preserve it, like any positive outcomes must be taught, learned, and practiced.
While we cannot undo the past conditions that have left destruction and feelings of hopelessness, we CAN stop them and continue to build a stronger family unit for future generations.
Strengthening the black family unit should be of the highest priority for the sake of our children.
Comments
I agree with this article a
I agree with this article a lot. But not only do black families need to be strengthened but so do every other families. Each family probably has something different to work on but they all need to be strengthened because at the end of the day all you have is family.