African American Cultural Norms

These are the cultural norms of African Americans…

The Extended Family

• Cousins, Aunts, Mother, Father, Uncle

Informal Adoption

• By blood relative and non-relatives… Play mom (Godmother, Godfather), play cousins, play nieces, play nephews, play grandmothers, play grandfathers)

Religious Orientation

• Involved in some type of church religious activity

High Value on Children

• Children come first

Respect for the Elderly

• Always respectful to adults and especially to the elderly

Flexible Family Roles

• Mother working and father taking care of kids

Respect

• For self and community

Restraint

• Not doing something that you know you should not do. Knowing right from wrong

Responsibility

• To self, family, and community

Reciprocity

• I keep the kids one day and you keep the kids the next.

 

Can you think of any examples of how these cultural values apply to you and your family?

Hill, Robert B. Ph. D 1999. The Strengths of African American Families- Twenty-five Years Later. University Press of America, Lanham, MD.

Sudarkasa, Niara. Ph. D “Interpreting the African Heritage in Afro-American Family Organization.” Pp 27-43 in Black Families, Ed. Harrielle, P. McAdoo, Newbury, Park, CA: Sage Publications, (1988).