I believe that we must revisit history as we examine the family structure of Blacks in America. An absentee father was the norm for the African-American family. Families were separated by force! Slavery severely impacted the lives of the Black family. Considering the fact that our physical exodus from slavery has only been 140 years, that's not a long time, and we are still experiencing its effects. Blacks were forced to produce offsprings, not for themselves, but for their master's economic gain. Today, Blacks are not forced to produce babies; however, because of the residual effect of slavery on the Black family, their offsprings continue to be an economic product for the modern-day master called "PRISON." Today, in 2008, Black males in prison are paid less for their labor than they were paid 140 years ago. Black men were not socialized as other men, that is, to be accountable or responsible for his family.

In order to understand why the Black man and Black woman are having such challenges in their relationships, you must understand how their experience and living conditions in America have impacted their lives and the lives of their family. When a Black family needed assistance from Social Services' programs, the father had to remove himself from the family in order for his wife and children to get assistance. Black men have a long way to go to get back to their African roots of being a provider and protector.

Black men have come a long way, and they will get back to their God-Created-Nature, with the help of God, Almighty, and with the understanding of their past. The Black man, his wife, and his children all had to look to the white man for food, clothing, and shelter. In essence, the wife and children provided for themselves, they worked side by side with the Black man in the field from sun up to sun down. The Black man could not protect his family. The white man pregnated his wife and daughters and there was nothing that the Black man could do about it, if he wanted a place to live and if he wanted to live. The white man positioned himself as the surrogate parents for Blacks giving them the illusion that he was their caretaker, while he abused them, molested their children and raped their women. He, the white man, was in charge. If the Black man did something to his wife and she felt he was out of order or which she considered was not proper treatment, she would tell the white man on her husband and he would talk to, punish or beat the Black man.

As you can see the Black man could neither provide for nor protect his family. When Blacks were so-called freed from slavery, there was no economical provisions made for him to provide for his family. Therefore, many of them had to continue to be beholding to their masters under the same harsh conditions. Some families were able to leave the plantations and move up North with family members to start a new life. Many men left their families behind; they left to secure a job and then sent back for their families. The Black man had to always pretend about something, he was not free to express his true emotions. He had to grin and pretend that he was happy in the presence of his master, because being unhappy was disturbing to the master.

Page 1 of 3 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 3 | Next