Strengthening Families in the Black Community

Strengthening Families in the Black Community

Rhonda Nwosu

    

Families are the foundation of communities. When families are strong, communities are strong. I was fortunate to grow up in a two-parent household in central Virginia, surrounded by stable Black two-parent families. My community was not perfect, but it was inspiring. I remember spending much of my childhood outdoors, playing in the yard with friends while neighbors looked out for one another. You could depend on your neighbor to watch your children when you had to work late or to look after your house when you went on vacation. Growing up in such a household and community shaped my openness to God and gave me confidence as I became an adult.

    However, when I left for college, I discovered that not everyone had grown up like me. In fact, very few of my new friends shared that same experience of stability. Many of them carried deep issues stemming from broken households and family dysfunction. At the time, I did not have the vocabulary to pinpoint what it was.

    This led me to wonder: What would happen if every Black child grew up in a family rooted in love, stability, and faith? Our communities would be transformed; and, by extension, the entire world. We would be restored to an honorable place in society, and the reproach often cast on us through stereotypes in the media would lose its power.

Family Strength Matters

    Before we ever set foot inside a school, our first classroom is the home. Families are our first teachers. Family Systems Theory (Bowen, 1978) views the family as an emotional unit where each member’s behavior influences the whole system. For example, if a child grows up in a home with a high degree of conflict, they may either struggle with conflict or avoid it altogether as an adult. Similarly, Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) proposes that children learn by observing and imitating family members. Values, habits, coping strategies, and even one’s career path are often first modeled within the family.

    If our communities can promote and support stable households, we can help protect children from cycles of poverty, violence, and hopelessness. Historically, this was our strength. Directly after slavery, Black Americans had some of the highest marriage rates in the nation (Hymowitz, 2005). Today, however, those rates have declined, and single-parent households have become far more common (Raley, Sweeney, & Wondra, 2015). To succeed, we must once again establish and uplift marriage as a cornerstone of stability.

    We cannot afford to normalize “situationships” or casual parenting arrangements with no intention of permanence. Our community must encourage sexual discipline, avoid unplanned pregnancies, and prioritize raising children in households where both parents are present and committed. Research consistently shows that children without stability struggle more academically, emotionally, and even spiritually (Amato, 2005).

Challenges Facing Black Families Today

• High rates of single-parent households.
• Generational cycles of trauma, poverty, and broken relationships.
• Cultural narratives (especially in some streams of hip-hop) that devalue marriage and family unity (Pough, 2004).

Keys to Strengthening Black Families

• Promote Marriage & Commitment – Restore the value of lifelong marital relationships.
• Parent with Purpose – Teach values, discipline, and faith intentionally at home.
• Heal Generational Wounds – Break cycles of abuse, neglect, and fatherlessness.
• Extended Family Support – Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors should play a role.
• Faith as an Anchor – Keep God at the center of family life.

Reflect With Me

    What’s one thing you can do to strengthen your family today? For me, it’s visiting relatives more often and spending time fellowshipping with them. That simple step strengthens bonds and reinforces love across generations.

“When we strengthen our families, we are rebuilding the Black community one household at a time.”

References

1. Amato, P. R. (2005). The impact of family formation change on the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the next generation. The Future of Children, 15(2), 75–96.
2. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
3. Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson.
4. Hymowitz, K. (2005). Marriage and caste in America: Separate and unequal families in a post-marital age. New York: Ivan R. Dee.
5. Pough, G. D. (2004). Check it while I wreck it: Black womanhood, hip-hop culture, and the public sphere. Northeastern University Press.
6. Raley, R. K., Sweeney, M. M., & Wondra, D. (2015). The growing racial and ethnic divide in U.S. marriage patterns. The Future of Children, 25(2), 89–109.