Black Not a Risk Factor

"It is no secret that life is more challenging for African American children than for other American children.  The continuing legacy of segregation and discrimination feeds poverty — of the body and the spirit — and casts a shadow over their lives," observes Barbara Bowman in her introduction to the National Black Child Development Institute book, Being Black is Not a Risk Factor.

"...Even families who escape the stifling effects of poverty are handicapped by the inequalities they experience daily.  Evidence of racial disparities can be found everywhere — in housing, insurance, business, and funding for schools, as well as in racial profiling, job discrimination, and more severe sentencing by courts.  One should not wonder at the number of families that succumb to these hazards, but at the number who live their lives with dignity and hope.

"The child-rearing practices of African American families are different, in some instances quite different, from those of other Americans.  Comparisons of White and Black child rearing usually results in finding fault with African American families' ways of raising children.  Yet, except for those families struggling under the most extreme social pressure, Black families provide their children with the developmental supports necessary for healthy development.  The vast majority of African American children are supported by their families; they walk, talk, love, make categories, represent ideas, use symbols, etc., even though they may do these things in different ways than White children.  Difficulties arise because African Americans do not have access to the skills and knowledge considered necessary for success embedded in White institutional arrangements.  Further, the social and economic constraints of living Black in America may make some aspects of White child rearing a hazard for Black children.  The challenge for African American families is to prepare children for current realities without limiting their ability to succeed in the larger community."

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