Contesting the Rhetoric of ‘Black Family Breakdown’ from Barbados

Abstract

The paper contests the persistent rhetoric of “black family breakdown”, defined in contemporary Barbadian discourse as the fragmentation of both the Afro-Caribbean extended family, and also the Euro-centred nuclear unit based on marriage and co-residence which has been consistently and for generations promoted as the model to which the black population should aspire. Separating myth from reality on selected issues which are highlighted as evidence of “family breakdown”, namely child discipline and abuse, adolescent sexuality and pregnancy, divorce and the so-called “abandonment” of the elderly, the paper recommends a greater appreciation of family structure and change as a process of reconfiguration in alternative ideological and cultural patterns within the historical and socioeconomic environment of Barbados, and the rejection of the deficit model of black families in social and moral crisis.

Maternal Conjugal Multiplicity and Child Development in Rural Jamaica

“…Although very early studies (Roberts & Sinclair, 1978; Wright, 1989) have provided evidence for decades that these three forms of conjugal relationships are not necessarily sequential, Jamaican women have continued to believe that a visiting relationship will lead to a consensual union and perhaps eventually to wedlock (Handwerker, 1989; Powell, 1986). This flexible family structure is not peculiar to Jamaica; it also has been reported for many years throughout the Caribbean and Latin America (Barrow, 1996, 2001; Martin, 2002; Massiah, 1986; Safa, 2005; Solein).…”

Marital Satisfaction Among African Americans and Black Caribbeans: Findings From the National Survey of American Life*

“…Despite a general lack of information about marriage among Black Caribbeans residing in the United States, there is a limited amount of research on marriage in various Caribbean countries. For instance, in Barbados, marriage rates had been historically low; from 1891 to 1994, the marriage rate has averaged about 5.4 per 1,000 (Barrow, 2001). Common law unions tend to be preferred over marriage in both Barbados and Trinidad (Barrow, 2001), reflecting a historical pattern of family structure for Barbadians.…”

“…For instance, in Barbados, marriage rates had been historically low; from 1891 to 1994, the marriage rate has averaged about 5.4 per 1,000 (Barrow, 2001). Common law unions tend to be preferred over marriage in both Barbados and Trinidad (Barrow, 2001), reflecting a historical pattern of family structure for Barbadians. Beginning with the immediate post‐Emancipation era, marriage rates were low among Barbadians.…”

“…Further, patterns of family structure among Barbadian former slaves were markedly different from African American former slaves. During that time, African American slaves married in record numbers (Barrow, 2001; Staples, 1993), such that 90% of African American children were born to married parents (Barrow, 2001). In subsequent years, marriage has become more popular among Barbadians; in 1995, the marriage rate increased to 13.4 and the number of remarriages increased from 316 in 1985 to 1,470 in 1995.…”

“…Furthermore, from 1980 through 1995, about 15.5% of the petitions filed for divorce involved couples who had been married less than 5 years. However, the majority of petitions (more than 57%) involved couples who had been married for a decade or longer, suggesting that these couples are not ending their marriages upon the first sign of trouble (Barrow, 2001). In contrast, Hamon (2003) reported that marriage is expected in the Bahamas and that people believe that something is wrong if an individual is not married.…”