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.