African-American Grandmothers

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, for many generations, African-American grandmothers not only have contributed economically to the family but have been the social fixture through which her family and community maintain their cohesiveness. The author relates that, in recent years, a growing number of African-American grandmothers have become "new parents again" by taking on the sole parenting responsibility for their grandchildren. The paper explores the reasons behind this trend, the historic role of the African-American grandmothers and some of the physical, mental and emotional effects of this next generation parenting role.

From the Paper:

"However, African-American grandmothers as caregivers are no new phenomenon. Jiminez (2002) did a study in which she examined primary sources such as the testimonies of elderly African-American women who had been slaves. She used their stories, oral histories, biographies, and autobiographies as well as manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1940. She discovered certain commonalties between the historical development of African-American grandmothers during slavery and their experience from the second half of the 19th century until today."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gibson, P. A. (2002). African-American grandmothers as caregivers: Answering the call to help their grandchildren. Families in Society, 83 (1), 35-43.
• Gibson, P. A. (2002a). Caregiving role affects family relationships of African-American grandmothers as new mothers again: A phenomenological perspective. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 28 (3), 341-353.
• Jimenez, J. (2002). The history of grandmothers in the African-American community. Social Service Review, 76 (4), 523-553.
• Ruiz, D. S. and Zhu, C. W. (2004). Families maintained by African-American grandmothers: Household composition and childcare experiences. The Western Journal of BlackStudies, 28 (3), 415-432.
• Whitley, D. M., Kelley, S. J., and Sipe, T. A. (2001). Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Are they at increased risk of health problems? Health and Social Work, 26 (2), 105-125.

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