Long Memory: The Black Experience in America

Intersectional blackness matters: Why family science should care about the College Board's A.P. African American Studies course controversy

“…The "second wave" of research on Black families provided important scholarly interventions in research published during the first wave. Some scholars focused on challenging the argument that enslaved Blacks failed to retain vestiges of their West African communal formations, with family formation being central (Berry & Blassingame, 1982;Du Bois, 1908;Foster, 1983;Genovese, 1974;Herskovits, 1941;Karenga, 1981;King, 1976;Nobles, 1974;Thompson, 1983). Nobles (1974) argued: Essentially, our argument suggests or pre-supposes that the African cultural heritage or philosophical worldview was not severed by the "horrors of the middle passage" nor the cruelty of the West Indian seasoning camps and New World plantation life.…”

“…It is rather suggested that the continuance of the traditional African worldview has and still does define the basic structures and functions of black family units. (p. 12) Berry and Blassingame (1982) concluded: "The Black family grew out of a complex combination of African traditions, Christian beliefs, and adjustments made to slavery" (p. 71). Sudakarsa (1980), while agreeing with scholars who argue that African familial patterns were retained across the Atlantic, nevertheless argued that in illustrating these retentions, researchers must compare specific components of African and African American family formations.…”

“…The “second wave” of research on Black families provided important scholarly interventions in research published during the first wave. Some scholars focused on challenging the argument that enslaved Blacks failed to retain vestiges of their West African communal formations, with family formation being central (Berry & Blassingame, 1982; Du Bois, 1908; Foster, 1983; Genovese, 1974; Herskovits, 1941; Karenga, 1981; King, 1976; Nobles, 1974; Thompson, 1983). Nobles (1974) argued:…”

How do peace psychologists address the violent assaults on Black people’s lives? A review of studies published in the Peace and Conflict journal.

“…For nearly 400 years, Europeans "scattered" African people in the Americas and the Caribbean. From various accounts, the abduction of adults and children from their homelands in Africa occurred under inhumane conditions in which the enslaved Africans were forced into dungeons and later onto slave ships (e.g., Berry & Blassingame, 1982;Franklin & Higginbotham, 2011). For the enslaved Africans who survived these conditions, more brutality awaited them on new land.…”

Racial Differences in Self‐Appraisal, Religious Coping, and Psychological Well‐being in Later Life During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

“…Studies have also shown that historically, the Black church has been a place of protection and escape from negative environmental conditions (Nguyen, 2020). Researchers have referred to the bond between Black families and the church as an “enduring institution” (Berry & Blassingame, 1982; Stephanson & West, 1989). Cornell West (1989) called the contemporary African American church “one of the few institutions within a shattered Black civil society that could attempt to project some kind of hope and some kind of meaning” in the face of present and more pervasive “walking nihilism.” Despite restrictions on gathering due to the pandemic, Black Churches operating in a new normal (e.g., online worship services) are continuing to be a source of support for Blacks (Garcia et al, 2020; Barber & Kim, 2021).…”