African American Grandmothers
Grandmothers have always played an important role in the lives of African Americans. The culture respects, even reveres, old people for their experience and wisdom. Traditionally, grandmothers have been essential to the economic survival of their families. They also were the primary source of family stories and oral histories that helped children to survive racism (Jimenez, 2002). In recent years a growing number of African American grandmothers have become "new parents again" by taking on sole parenting responsibility for their grandchildren. In this essay, we will explore their reasons for taking on this work in their old age, their roles historically, and some of the effects on them physically, mentally, and emotionally. The number of grandmothers raising their grandchildren nearly doubled between 1970 and 2000-from 2.2million to 4.5 million. During the 1990s the biggest increase was among families with no parent present, usually because of social problems such as the mother's alcohol or drug abuse. Death from AIDS, long-term incarceration, and mental illness are other reasons (Jimenez, 2002; Ruiz & Zhu, 2004). The trend has become a "dominant theme" for social work research, and the term skipped generation caregiver h
During slavery grandmothers socialized the children into work and survival strategies, and afterwards they continued in this role. After slavery ended, grandmothers continued to care for children. African American grandmothers are at a higher risk for health problems that shorten life expectancy (Whitley, Kelley, & Sipe, 2001). The respect given to elderly women came from Africa where veneration of the old was a cultural norm. Twentieth century social changes have forced them to redefine their roles in the 21st century, however. Of all the children living with grandparents in the U. They found social, physical health and psychological issues for the grandmothers, which included lack of support, lack of respite, lack of affordable housing, and inadequate access to medical care. Some have been forced to return to work in order to support their grandchildren. Grandmothers during the 1930s carried on the traditional roles of their grandmothers. The fastest growing type of foster care is "kinship care," arranged by the child welfare system (Gibson, 2002). Increased emotional distress is common in grandparents that assume full-time parenting responsibilities. In a study of African American grandmothers, Gibson (2002) found that as primary caregivers they are often marginalized by the greater society as a result of gender, race, age, and income.
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Acceptance Essays
