220-Ch3-RG-AA-1.doc

Group: African Americans (AA) Pages: 72-73, 74-75, 96-99 The first Africans in what has become the U.S. were Isabella and Antony. How did they come to be here? They were captured by a Portuguese slaver in 1619. The first AA child born here was William Tucker. This birth marked the beginning of the AA family, a unique family system that largely grew out of the African adjustment to slavery in America. Why was it difficult for enslaved Africans and their descendants to form and maintain families? It was difficult because they would be sent to different plantations; slave marriages were not to be recognized. What aspects of African family tradition were more successfully preserved, despite the hardships and lack of autonomy of enslaved Africans? The Africans emphasis on the extended family, despite the hardships and lack of autonomy of enslaved Africans. About how many free AA were there prior to the Civil War? 250,000 What two factors that provide family stability were lacking for enslaved AA? List some consequences of these. Autonomy and economic importance are two factors. Slave marriages were not recognized as legal and final authority rested with the owner in all decisions about the lives of slaves. Separation of families was common occurrence, spreading grief and despair among slaves. Slavery did not destroy all aspects of slave families. How did they adapt? Many slaves displayed resilience and survived by relying on their families by adapting their family system to conditions. What is meant by ?traveling time?? ?Traveling time? is when the African American slaves travel to the South looking for lost family members that were sold. After emancipation, what was the typical condition of AA families? Strong emotional ties and traditions forged from slavery, but they remained poor, tied to their land and segregated. According to the 2000 census, what percentage of the U.S. population identified as AA? 13% If those who identified as biracial, the population increases to 1% percent. List some patterns (general, not specific numbers for everything) found in the AA population when compared with the overall U.S. population. African Americans are less likely to have completed college. Black women are slightly more likely than black men to have completed college. Some African Americans live below the poverty line. African Americans are less likely than the general population to be employed, male patterns are different. List six ?noteworthy features? of AA families. African Americans have a history of being dual earn families. Marital relations show signs of greater distress, kinship bonds are very important, African Americans have a strong tradition of families, they value their children, and they are more likely than Caucasian to live in extended families. Many of the characteristics identified for AA are associated with poverty. When divorce rates are adjusted by SES, racial differences are minimal. This makes comparing black and white families difficult. Much of what we may assume to be race differences are confounded by economic differences or may be social class differences masquerading as race ones. Blacks? ?marital prospects? have shifted dramatically, esp. among the poor. What factor most effects the ?male marriageable pool index?? downward shifts in employment The danger of interpreting race differences as only/largely class differences minimizes or ignores what? Such expressions of racism and discrimination and fails to acknowledge patterns that may have cultural origins to them.