Transcript The Black Family

The Black Family
Presented by
Jazzmine Ellis
Samir Singh
Christopher Skees
Ian Matthew
Introduction
*The progression and evolution of the Black family
*Fight for rights and equality in American society
*Struggles of African American families
*Portrayals of African Americans in contemporary
media
*How Black families live today
Slavery
• Slavery contributed to the loss of
traditional African family values
• Most African slave families were
split up upon arrival in America
• Marriage was not taken seriously
by slave masters, and many
masters maintained female slaves
as concubines
• African American families
continued to rely on oral
traditions and extended family
networks
Progress and
Evolution
Following Reconstruction, many Black
families were devastatingly affected by
racism and violence.
African Americans did not have access
to equal educational opportunities or
to federal entitlement programs until
the 1960’s.
However, the Black family has always
retained an egalitarian decisionmaking process and continued to rely
on extended kinship bonds.
STRUGGLES
TO MAINTAIN
STATUS
Beginning in the 1960’s, African
Americans struggled for civil rights,
equal access to government
entitlement programs and public
schools, and for greater opportunities
in American society.
However, African American families, at
the same time, were plagued with
increased crime, substance abuse,
unemployment, and untold poverty.
Continuing today, African Americans
control few businesses or other
economic institutions, have little
accumulated wealth, experience
discrimination, and have lower levels
of education than whites.
The Media VS. Reality
Good Times
The Jeffersons
The Cosby Show
• The Cosby show is about the
Huxtable family, an affluent
African-American family living
in Brooklyn, New York.
• It was the top rated show
throughout the 1980’s.
• The Huxtable family was
portrayed as this very affluent
and educated family.
• The show received much
criticism for presenting an
unrealistic lifestyle of the
majority of African Americans
in America.
T.V. Shows Now
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
•The Fresh Prince is a show about
Will Smith, a native of Philadelphia,
PA who moves to Bel-Air, CA to live
with his very affluent relatives.
• The Banks family in reality does
not reflect the majority of African
Americans in America.
•Phillip Banks, the father of the
family and Will’s uncle is a very
successful lawyer/judge who in
many episodes is quoted about his
love for money.
• The size of the Banks mansion,
the luxurious lifestyle the
characters indulge in, and the
setting of their home are all
supporting details to show the
family’s wealth.
Everybody Hates Chris
•Everybody Hates Chris is about the
life of a 13 year old boy named Chris
who lives in a low income community
in Brooklyn, NY.
•Chris parents reflect a working class
family that goes paycheck to paycheck
to survive. Chris father has 2 jobs and
his mother is a stay at home mom
who makes sure her children are not
getting into trouble.
• The show won an NAACP Image
award for its writing and has also
been nominated for Golden Globe
and Emmy Awards for its accurate
portrayal of how many African
Americans grow up in America.
Significance
• The realities of African American life have not
always been projected in modern media,
specifically in television sitcoms.
The
Black Family
Today
State of the contemporary
Black family.
About 65 percent of Black
households were family
households in 2004.
Married-couple families vs.
single-parent families.
• Household size.
Black Family Today
Continued
• Extended family.
• Income vs. wealth.
• Poverty level.
• Occupation.
• Education.
Summary
The African American family has
progressed and evolved from the
slavery into modern times.
Many sitcoms portrayed an inaccurate,
or rather a model, view of the average
African American family.
Some sitcoms, such as Good Times and
Everybody Hates Chris, project the
realities and hardships of the typical
African American family, while other
shows, such as the Cosby Show,
provide a model or an ideal Black
family.
SOURCES
1- The 41st NAACP Image Awards . N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2010.
<http://www.naacpimageawards.net/41/nominees-and-voting/nominees/>.
2- Azevedo, Mario. Africana Studies: A Survey of Africa and the African
Diaspora . Third Edition . Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2005. Print.
3- "The Museum of Broadcast Communications ." The Cosby Show. N.p., n.d.
Web. 5 Dec 2010.
<http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=cosbyshowt>.
References
The End