Working With African American Clients

Abstract

The chapter describes working with African American clients. The term African Americans subsumes a diverse array of people, including African Americans born in this country, Africans, and individual from west indies and Central and south America. The African American population is growing drastically each year. African Americans make up about 15% of the population which is about 40,000,000 people. Slavery has played such a major factor into the lives of African American people. From slavery has brought African American family values and different cultural activities. Slavery has passed on many different traditions that the African American culture follows. Black people are labeled as being hard and strong. From generation to generation that strongness has been passed on. From the way you are treated within the family or how society proceed you. Having kinship bonds and religion in the African culture is major also. By slavery and racism African Americans has been very private within their lives. Looking at one another for help is the way black people coupe because of past history. Slavery has truly shaped the African American culture. Not having anyone to protect them, instead they look towards one another for help. Churches in the African American community also play a major role in the lives of African American people. When someone is going through something in life they tend to turn towards the church. People say if you don’t have some type of religion in your life you don’t have anything. African American churches understand what the average African American person goes through. In the chapter it has an interview with Veronique Thompson and she discuss pre-enslavement, middle passage and post-enslavement. She touches on how African Americans wasn’t always slaves and how African Americans became slaves. She also discusses people not knowing our culture and not being to treat them properly. She discussed that African Americans doesn’t like to seek professional help because of a trust issue. She further explains why providers need to know the African American community to be able to treat them properly and for them to start trusting in outside professional help.

African Americans

Who are African Americans? African Americans are people that are born in this country with descendants of enslaved black people, Africans, West Indians and people from Central and South America also known as (Black folks). The 2000 Census numbered African Americans in the United States at 34,658,190, or 12.3 percent of the population. Since The time of slavery, they have been this country largest minority-until 2000 census when they were passed by Latinos at 12,5 percent. African Americans has increased to 38,929,319, or 12.6 percent of the population. By 2010 it will increase to 13 percent by mid-century. Diller, J (2013). Cultural Diversity. A Primer for the Human Services. African Americans as of today the population has grown to 14.1 percent as of 2017. African Americans are the most Ethnic group because of the life they have experience due to slavery and segregation. Throughout the years African Americans population has grown also with mixture races beside the African descent. From African and British colonies bring a mixture and also with Spanish and the French. African Americans has been the main population for years and has experience the hardest living in life due to the color of our skin and the ignorance of this country we live in. From slavery to segregation African Americans has had to fight for survival as living as African American. Growing up as a child I’ve always wonder why my people was picked out to be slaves or to be look down towards due to our color. In the bible God says to love everyone like your sister or brother. Such diversity with the culture has led to assuming being “typical” is being a negative thing as being a black a person. African Americans are misunderstood and not learning the culture or the way we think can lead to someone not knowing how to treat or care for that person.

Family and cultural values are factors in the African American culture that has shaped “black people”. Black (1996) points out four factors that have shaped African American experience and culture. 1. African American legacy which is rich in the culture, customs and achievements. 2. History of slavery and deliberate attempt to destroy the core and the soul of the people. 3. Racism and discrimination and ongoing efforts to continue the psychological and economic subjugation started during slavery and 4. A victim system and process by which the individual and communities are denied access to the instruments of development and advancement. Due to slavery it has taught black people a deep religious and spiritually independence to the cultural from surviving. Pointing out these four major factors in African American will help a non- African American understand their thinking and behavior. According to Marshall (2002) “enslavement added a complex of core values and attitudes- emphases on resistance, freedom, self-determination and education. African culture also contributed a tradition of strong family structure, in which extended families and close-knit kinship system were basis for larger tribal groupings.”

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Throughout the years it has been difficult to understand the black home. Slavery has played the biggest part in African American culture. Having limited resources black people has taught themselves the everyday survival. From teaching themselves to read, write, cook or even raising their own children. Before working with an African American it is best to understand the culture. It would give you a sense of understanding, also understanding the adaptive mechanisms and strength within the culture and to learn the dynamic style. Black and white families have different family values. In the African American community, we have built relationships within our own culture due to slavery. Most African American families build factors to understand one another. Most African Americans families build on kinship relationships. The person can be a relative or friend. Going through slavery that is how they survived. The basic of survival with the African American family comes generation to generation. White (1980) points out a series of “uncles, aunts, big mamas, boyfriends, older brothers and sisters, deacons, preachers and others who operate in and out of the black home”. Naming all of these different people play such major roles in the African American community. Once again this takes you back to slavery. Having to survive without getting caught by your slave masters having to trust in one another. Having such a title as being an aunt or uncle gives you some type of authority in the African American household. Having to hear what is being said by that individual will hold a factor to your decision making. It has the same respect as obeying your mother or father.

Having a family tree of generations of family members shows the pattern of authority within the black family. Black families also have a wall around authority within the communities. If an African American doesn’t trust you it will be very hard to understand that individual. Knowing our history African Americans tend to stay private. The community has a negative outlook on professionalism. We are a very private race when it comes to family situations and once again that to comes from our family history slavery. By us staying private it can be hard to understand the race with some professionalism help from the outside. The African American race has many different roles in the race. Society has a perception that all families are unstable due to the lack of presence from a Male figure which is usually the father. For many years African American women has played the role as mother and father. Role flexibility plays a major factor. When an African American household only has one parent which 90% of the time is the Mother playing both roles. Society feels the children will grow up to be dysfunctional. I the African American community role playing comes from different form of the absence of the father role. Many black families have uncles which usually play the role as the father to either their niece or nephew. Reading n article stated that many health care providers don’t know how to treat African Americans families due to the lack of education. Reading an article and it explained that African Americans are not being cared for properly due to the fast food chains being built within the communities. Due to the restaurant it is causing high diabetes, high blood pressure and many more other diseases found within the African American culture. I believe the lack of education is the reason why providers don’t have a clear since of treating African Americans properly. Sometimes you can’t blame the provider of lack of education. Religion plays a very major part in the African American culture. In the “black church” deacons, deaconess and preachers can play a role as a provider to that person. When someone in the community is not doing well in health. The church is a sanction for healing. Religion can play the role of healing or as a therapy session. Religion started with African Americans enslavement. When the slaves would get beat or raped prayer was a healing mechanism for them. As we call it “calling on the lord” as healing our body and soul. Reading an article, it stated that an African American person who is not connected to a religion has more problems than the average African American who do has some religion background. The person without the religion background tends to speak to health care providers. By religion playing such a role in our lives, we tend to keep our problems within our community instead of seeking professional help due to lack of education of the culture and of the community. The church is a safe mechanism to the African culture. We look to prayer for everything. Prayer within our community we feel will help us with any problem within our lives. That’s including, Health, financial status, School and parenting. Without religion I feel the African American community would be lost. If the average black person didn’t have religion belief, I believe they will have a hard time exception the “African American life” which includes racism, due to the color of the skin instead of the person mental state. African American can be tough to help due to lack of trust we have in people. That is the reason why health care providers don’t really know how to treat the community.

Conclusion

In today society African Americans are the number one race that has it on dealing with society due to the color of their skin. I’ve read many articles stating the society including providers don’t know how to treat African Americans even in the health care system. African Americans have survived during racism. In today world black people still have challenge’s with society accepting them. 70% of African Americans households does have one responsible parent. Even with one parent a black person can survive and became something successful in life. They say African Americans are treated equally to any general race. I believe that isn’t a true statement. African Americans have to work ten times harder than the average person due to how society look at us. From slavery to now African Americans has had it hard. When president Barack Obama came in office. The African race had hope. It showed that with education and prayer anything is possible. Throughout so many years we have never seen a “black face “in office. Seeing that a black person can become president of the United States gives us even bigger hope and dreams of being successful in this world. The saying is it takes a village to raise a family is so true. People in the African American culture has a lack of a full household meaning having two parents might have some difficulties in life. Aunts, unless, friends, preachers etc. plays a major role in the community. Having religion in the household and kinship bonds with other African Americans is very important. African Americans really doesn’t trust to many people due to the history we have experience and even in today times the racism that the culture is experiencing due to the color of their skin. If I had to raise a child in today worlds, I believe it would be a challenge because of all the negative outlook black people have to go through just to survive in this world. Without prayer, family and education it would be very hard to survive in this world.

References

1. https://books.google.com/books/about/Cultural_Diversity_A_Primer_for_the_Huma.html?id=2ISpAwAAQBAJ
2. Marshall, P.L. (2002). Cultural diversity in our schools. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth
3. White, J. (1980). “Towards a black psychology.” In Jones (ED), Black psychology. New York: Harper & Row
4. https://www.euromedinfo.eu/how-culture-influences-health-beliefs.html/
5. http://www.cibhs.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/how_do_mh_concerns_impact_af_am_community.pdf
6. http://www.dimensionsofculture.com/2011/05/health-care-for-african-american-patientsfamilieS