Blog # 9

The article that was most meaningful to me was Billie Ochberg's "When Fathers and Sons spend time together." I really enjoyed this article because I got to learn about ways in which a broken relationship can become strong and the powerful impact the fixing of this relationship would have on sons and their fathers. Through teaching parenting skills to the fathers and communication skills, the father and son get an opportunity to improve their relationship through different activities. The article seems to portray this method as a positive technique and mentions that it is effective in changing the relationship between fathers and sons.

A significant strength of the Black family is the support system established within the family structure through the extended family. Along with this support network that has been established, the idea that parents prepare their children to deal with racism according to Nobles. This is definitely a strength of the Black family, being aware of these issues and trying to educate their children while they're young to set them up to survive in this harsh world shows that established support system. According to Franklin and Boyd-Franklin, something that I consider another strength of the Black family is based on the idea that it takes a village to raise a children - the writers discuss that childrearing is a "communal task to be shared by all members of a community." This idea differs from the traditional Western view on raising children, where the model of a nuclear family is used.

These strengths can be leveraged to address some of the current challenges facing the Black family by empowering Blacks to rely on their support systems and use the resources they have to get through their hardships. Some of the current challenges facing the Black family include racism and not having the same opportunities as their White counterparts may have. Having a strong support network, especially if it is within one's family will provide what an individual may need to help move through any problems.

One program that is focused on making a positive difference for Black families is called the African-American Strengthening Families Program. This program was established in Alabama and is apart of a Mental Health Center, that aims to help mothers who are battling mental disorders or participating in drug abuse. This program placed the mothers in supportive programs to help battle their drug addiction and provided support to overcome their mental disorders. This program also focused on children of Black families who had emotional or behavioral problems. This program was effective in bringing change to struggling families, by the end of the program, mothers reported that their children had significantly reduced their depression, conduct disorders, and conduct disorders.

Blog # 6

Issues that are important to know about the counseling and mental health needs of African American women and men include Black men and Black women view and internalize racism differently from each other. Another important issue to note is that women view self concept as relational or communal and men view it as independence. As well, it is important to realize that male and female relationships tend to be egalitarian with role flexibility, there are instances where women are shown to be important contributors to community life and other societies they're leaders and rulers, according to Freemen. Also, the Black male masculinity has been influenced by what has happened historically within slavery. They are seen as unable to fill the traditional masculine role. Another important issue that should be considered when thinking about counseling and the mental health needs of African Americans is that there a different approaches of counseling that individuals would rather have, such as reality therapy over other techniques. There are many other issues that professionals should keep in mind when working with African Americans as well. 

Based on what was mentioned in the Found: 85,000 Black Gay Households essay, what Black heterosexual and Black same-sex couples have in common is that they can manage to create and sustain stable families with children. 

According to the Pitts article, being gay is not a choice.I found Pitt's response back to the conservative Christian woman interesting. He explains that if it was a choice to be gay, would people choose it freely, knowing that you'd be criticized by your preachers, rejected by family, and have to live with the fear that someone may take your career or your child away from you. Essentially, arguing that it is not a choice, and people are born this way from God. The Strange Bedfellows refers to the conservative, white, right wing, anti-gay activists and the religious leaders of the Black church that joined together during the anti-gay movement. 

Blog # 5

There are many issues discussed in the Chapman article regarding relationships. The issue of stereotypes that Black men and Black women have about each other is a major issue mentioned. These men and women need to have a dialogue about their concerns and the stereotypes that they have, possibly organizing a seminar class for the Black community, where these stereotypes can be addressed and talked about. Another issue that was mentioned in the article was the high divorce rate among Black couples. One way we can reduce the divorce rate is implement programs that educate people on healthy relationships and teach people how to communicate with their spouse or significant other. I believe that bad communication is one of the main reasons relationships end. Another issue that was discussed in the article was the low number of Black males compared to Black females due to high incarceration rates for males. Many of the challenges Blacks face need to be addressed on a societal level with early intervention, programs designed to aid Blacks specifically, and the acceptable of larger society. To help lower the number of Black males that are incarcerated, early intervention and prevention is essential. By educating young children about the important things in life, like school, family, getting a higher education, this could help reduce these high rates. It seems like there is still cause for concern.

The stereotypes discussed in the Bethea article have had a negative impact on the Black families and relationships. Black men hold the stereotypes that Black women are "undesirable and domineering." Black women believe that African men are "unreliable and preoccupied with sexual exploitation." People have internalized these negative stereotypes and it has influenced their perspective on the opposite gender. Due to these stereotypes and a multitude of issues, Blacks don't pursue Blacks from their culture for marriage or as a suitable companion. They don't believe that relationships between each other will work out.

The Anti-intimacy beliefs:
I'll lose anyone who gets close to me: During the times of slavery, slaves were not guaranteed to stay with their families or that they wouldn't get separated from their loved ones. As slaves, they knew they had no control of where they got to go, or who they got to stay with, due to this many slaves did not get attached to other people, because they often were not allowed to stay with those they wanted to.
My body is not my own: Due to the fact that slaves were considered property of their masters and they were controlled by their owners, their bodies were not their own. The enslaved women were taken advantage of by their male masters sexually and the men were overworked and also taken advantage of. They had little control over their lives, especially not their bodies.

The two themes emerging as most prominent for the men interviewed in the study were responsibility-accountability and autonomy. These are the themes I expected to see that being accountable was a big thing for males. Taking accountability for your actions and being responsible for your actions and for taking care of your family is very important.

Blog # 4

I found it interesting that the author in the "What's love got to do with it?" article stated "Nationally, college women outnumber men among all racial groups." It seems like Black women are advancing so far beyond Black men due to the different initiatives set up to empower women as a whole, especially Black women. I know many more programs set up to empower women than to empower men. Although men have an upper hand in our society in most areas, the fact that more and more women are earning their power through education and successful careers, is giving women the opportunities to get to those "levels." Specifically, for Black men, on a societal level it seems like they weren't encouraged to the same degree as women were to pursue an education, especially excel in higher education. Also many Black men face the challenges put on them by society of being more likely than their White counterparts to go to jail or to be discriminated against, because they're simply a Black male. The amount of stereotypes imposed on Black males also contributes to why they're not advancing as much as their female counterparts.

According to Raspberry in the “Successful women who are childless” article, only 29 % of African American women between 28-55 years old and earning over $55,000 are married. The ratio of black men to black women college students at Harvard used to be close to even, and now it is 9 women to 1 man. When you look at Franklin's article, Franklin describes the Black family over time. It was mentioned that there has been a decrease in the number of marriages and now if you look at present day African American families, the trend has held true. Around 40% of African American families are still intact. 

The plight deepened for black men in the last 2 decades due to their disconnect from mainstream society and the high probability of them getting an education or finishing high school. According to Eckholm, there is a high rate of incarceration of Black males, although rates of urban crime have declined. The two factors cited by Holzer and colleagues for keeping black employment rates down are the high rate of incarceration and attendant flood of former offenders into neighborhoods and the stricter enforcement of child support. Fathers feel overwhelmed with debt due to this specific factor.  

The term “annihilation through initiation” is referring to the weakening of culture and economic resources of the Black community, which is caused by the “increasing numbers of interracial unions, according to Grant. This is considered a low Black marriageability index today. The implications for the marriageability index among African Americans is that in order for this concept to disappear, there must be an increase of marriages between Black males and Black females. In the McLarin and Evans articles, there is a discussion of how politics and positive media could possibly increase the marriageability index among Blacks.

Overall, in regards to the prospects of marriage among African Americans in the future, I’d like to say that it will get better and things will improve. Based on new initiatives that have been implemented like Black Marriage Day and others that aim to promote healthy relationships between African Americans, there is a possibility things will improve. Unfortunately, from what I know, it seems like people are less likely to marry these days due to many different factors, so these can also apply to the African American community, and may also be of hindrance to Blacks pursuing marriage.

The 7 Principles

The three events from the African American History Timeline I chose were the Atlanta Daily World publication in 1928, John S. Rock's argument of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1865, and Professor Bartolome de Albornoz of the University of Mexico's writing against enslavement in 1573. The publication of the Atlanta Daily World in 1928 was a prominent event in history due to the fact that this newspaper covered black owned businesses and major issues occurring at the time- including police brutality and lynchings. The achievement of William Scott encompasses the principles of Kujichagulia (self determination) and kuumba (creativity). His determination to establish this newspaper involved hard work, dedication, and creativity. He made a name for himself through this accomplishment. John S. Rock, the first African American to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1865, portrayed the principle of Ujima of collective work and responsibility because of his efforts to work towards solving a major problem within the community. When Professor Bartolome de Albornoz of the University of Mexico wrote against the enslavement and sale of Africans in 1573, this act encompassed the principle of Ujima, of collective work and responsibility, due to the fact that this act worked to solve problems of community members. 

I believe that the Nguzo Saba did matter in the success stories of African Americans and with the progression of the African American community. These principles have empowered African Americans and have allowed for growth and success in their lives. This seems to have increased over time. The Nguzo Saba principles of umoja and ujima are used today in actual interventions with youth and families which is evident in the Harvey & Hill article about individual and family interventions. The interventions for at risk youth, which included mentoring and career development, was used to empower youth and improve self esteem. 

      Tyler Perry's work is often criticized for portraying a negative perception of African Americans, although its through comedic work. Personally, I believe that there should be a balance in this type of work. In a way, it does not reflect progress for Black Americans, because he portrays African American characters in his films that take on the stereotypes given to Blacks. A few examples from the article that take on the negative portrayal of Black Americans are "In Why Did I Get Married, four professional couples embark on their annual weekend retreat, where secrets and lies threaten the couples’ relationships." The characters and the storyline of this film do not provide a positive image of African Americans. As well, mentioned in the Tyler Perry article, "in Madea Goes to Jail, Josh must choose between his lawyer girlfriend and the real love of his life, Candace, a prostitute who befriends pistol-toting matriarch Madea while both are in jail." These different issues and problems these characters are facing in each of Tyler Perry's films are presented in a humorous manner, yet to those who do not have much knowledge of the African American culture, can get mistaken as the actual way African Americans behave, which is not necessarily the truth. 

Race

Some of the facts that stood out to me were "race justified social inequalities as natural," "race is not biological, but racism is still real," and "race and freedom were born together." These facts discussed the idea that early in the U.S., the economy was based on slavery, and this allowed for the denial of certain freedoms to nonwhites. Race made it possible for this occurrence to take place, and only lead to worse treatment of certain groups in the U.S., particularly African Americans. In "How white people became white," the authors discussed the definition of being 'white,' and explained how race was used to dominate over groups, giving the example of the "new immigrant' population of Southern and East Europeans. This relates to the facts that the activity website showed of how race justified social inequalities as a normal thing. In the "Roots of Racial Classification" article, the authors discussed the evolution of racial categories throughout the centuries. They mentioned how racial classifications turned into a race theory, which justified the expansion and colonization by Whites. Later, it was discussed how slavery of African Americans was institutionalized and this became the group that suffered most in this time. These points relate to the fact of race justifying social inequalities that occur. When slavery was institutionalized by the majority group, this took away more power and freedoms of the people of color. 

The Time Wise film was very insightful and informative. I loved the perspective he brought to explaining privilege and how certain groups experience privilege. I learned that white privilege allowed White individuals to not have to be aware of the problems that other groups, especially Blacks, face. I found it interesting that White individuals were less likely to believe the experiences and struggles of their Black counterparts. Many Whites in the U.S. do not claim that there is a problem of race, yet most people of color believe the opposite. My favorite line that Wise stated in this speech is "those of us who are white have the luxury of not knowing black and brown truth." This powerful statement sums up the problem of race and the problems people of color are experiencing, and the fact that the majority group does not have to even worry about the struggles of the other groups. I recently watched a video where Tim Wise spoke about how "White America" does not understand the racial realities of America. He discussed how Whites in America see life in a different reality than minority groups in the U.S. I found it interesting that he said that there is a group of White Americans who actually understand what the Blacks in America are experiencing and are standing in solidarity with them. 

Black America

Mr. Herbert discusses slavery, incarceration, and poverty as critical problems many blacks deal with. Mr. Herbert describes that the problems Black America is facing are self-inflicted by the blacks of the community. He believes that many of the reasons blacks are not successful and face harsh situations is due to their own doings, and not necessarily the fault of society or the government. I do not necessarily agree with his perspective. I believe that blacks in America have faced difficult challenges in the past which has limited the opportunities available to them. I believe that the current system that is in place today is one of the main reasons to why blacks in this country face more difficulties in society. 

Dr. Martin Luther King differs in his thoughts from Mr. Herbert because he recognizes that the problems blacks are facing are due to societal influences, and not necessarily because of their own doings. In his speech, he speaks about how the Emancipation Proclamation did not achieve the goal of freeing the slaves and giving them the rights and freedoms they deserve. He believes that the cause of the problems of poverty and injustice exist due to the system not giving blacks the rights and freedoms they are entitled to. Dr. Martin Luther King believes that when people from all backgrounds come together and stand up for injustice, then there will be a solution to alleviating the suffering of blacks in America.