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E. Franklin Frazier has described the African-American family structure as having two models, one in which the father is viewed as a patriarch and the sole breadwinner, and two where the mother takes on a matriarchal role in the place of a broken household. In defining family, James Stewart describes it as “an institution that interacts with other institutions forming a social network.” The African-American family has traditionally used this definition to structure institutions that upholds values tied to other black institutions resulting in unique societal standards that deal with “economics, politics, education, health, welfare, law, culture, religion, and the media.” The modern black family has seen a change in this tradition and is now viewed as predominantly single parent, specifically black matriarchy.

African-American family at a glance
The African-American family structure has been divided into a twelve-part typology that is used to show the differences in the family structure based on “gender, marital status, and the presence or absence of children, other relatives or nonrelatives." These family sub-structures are divided up into three major structures: nuclear families, extended families, and augmented families.

African-American nuclear families
The African-American nuclear family is organized in three different fashions: Incipient Nuclear, Simple Nuclear, Segmented Nuclear I, and Segmented Nuclear II. These sub –sectors are comprised of primary family members. In 1992, the African-American nuclear family structure was 80% of total African-American families in comparison to 90% of all US families. The African-American incipient nuclear family structure has been defined as a married couple with no children. In 1992, 47% of African-American families were described as having an incipient nuclear family in comparison to 54% of all US incipient nuclear families. The African-American simple nuclear family structure has been defined as a married couple with children. This is the traditional norm for family compositions. In 1992, 25% of African-American families were simple nuclear families in comparison to 36% of all US families. The African-American segmented nuclear I (unmarried mother and children) and II (unmarried father and children) family structures has been defined as a parent-child relationship. In 1992, 94% of African-American segmented nuclear families were composed of an unmarried mother and children. One parent families are twice as prevalent in African-American families as they are in other races and this statistic continues to grow further apart.

African-American extended families
The African-American extended family structure is composed of primary members plus other relatives. Extended families have the same sub-structures as nuclear families, incipient, simple, segmented I, and segmented II, but with the addition of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and additional family members. The African-American family finds the extended family structures predominantly in the segmented I sub-structured families. In 1989, 56% of all African-American extended families were segmented extended I. In the African-American family, this extended relative is often the grandparents.

African-American augmented families
The African-American augmented family structure is composed of the primary members plus nonrelatives. In 1990, this family structure accounts for 8% of the total African-American families. This family structure is very different than the traditional norm family discussed earlier, it takes the nuclear and extended family units and combines it with nonrelatives. This structure also has the incipient, simple, segmented I, and segmented II sub-structures.

Streaming from this augmented family structure the African-American people are starting to see a new household come about known as a nonfamily household. This nonfamily household contains no relatives. In 1992, 30% of all household in the US organized around a nonfamily household, while more than half of this percentage was African-American.

Father representative
The modern African-American family is known to lack a father representative in its household. In 2005, it was found that 28% of African-American children do not live with their biological father and 39% of African-American children do not live with any father representative. In the African-American culture, the father representative has historically acted for two out of every three African-American children as their role model, yet there are still many who never have this opportunity. The father lack of presence has been known to have several negative effects on children ranging from education performance to teen pregnancy. Whereas the father presence tends to have an opposite effect on children, increasing their chances on have a greater life satisfaction. Knowing that an African-American father representative plays this role in the lives of African-American children, most would think that if a father does not live with their children they would make an effort to visit. Unfortunately in the African-American culture this has not been the case, it has been found that 31% of African-American fathers rarely to never go visit their children, this is 20% more than white fathers. In 2001, a study done of African-American nonresident father showed that their role consisted of primarily spending time with their children, providing discipline and being a role model. It has also been not that the residential father role consists of being the provider and decision maker for the household.

Mother representative
In the African-American family structure a family role is determined by her relation status, is she a single mother or a married mother? In most African-American married families a mother roles is dominated by her household responsibilities. Most African American married families, in contrast to White families, do not have gender specific roles for household services. The mother and wife is responsible for all household services around the house. According to Wilson, the married mother tasks around the house is described as a full time job. This full time job that comprises of household responsibilities is often the second job that an African- American women takes on. The first is her regular 8 hour work day that she spends outside of the home. Wilson also notes that this responsibility that the mother has in the married family determines the life satisfaction of the family as a whole.

The single mother role in the African-American family is played by 94% of African-American single parents. Single parent motherhood in the African-American culture is becoming more a proactive choice that results from divorce, adoption, or just non marriage. In this position African-American single mothers see themselves playing the role of the mother and the father. Though the role of a single mother is the same as a married mother, to take care of household responsibilities and work a full time job, her responsibility is greater since she does not have that extra income that a partner would provide for her family members. In result, the majority of children raised single mother households are poor.

Child
Spencer notes that children can only grow through enculturation of a particular society. The child’s development is dependent on three areas: child-rearing practices, individual heredity, and experienced cultural patterns. African-American children has become subject to inconsistencies in society based on their skin color. These inconsistencies continue to place an increase amount of environmental stress on African-American families which result in the failure for most African-American children to reach their optimum level of development. Similar to most races, in the African-American family challenges often are denoted by the child’s age group. The African-American families experience a great deal of mortality within the infant and toddler age group. In particular the infant mortality rate is “twice as high for black children as for children in the nation as a whole.” The mortality in this age group is accompanied by a significant amount of illnesses in the pre and post-natal care stages, along with the failure to place these children into a positive, progressive learning environment once they become toddlers. This foundation has led to African-American children facing teen pregnancy, juvenile detention, and other behavioral issues because they were not given the proper development in order to successfully face the world and social inconsistencies they will encounter.

Extended family members
The majority of extended family members include aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and occasionally non-relatives are put into this category. In Jones research she also notes that 97% of single mother's ages 28-40 admitted that they rely on at least one extended family member for assistance in raising their children. Extended family members have a responsibility when speaking of the majority of African-American families, especially single parent households. According to Jones, the reason these extended family members are included in have a necessary role in the family is because they play a key role in assuring the health and well-being of the children. The extended family members' responsibility range from child rearing, financial assistance, offering a place to live, and meals.

Implications of the African-American family structure
According to C. Eric Lincoln, the Negro family enduring sickness is the absent father from the African-American family structure. The implied American idea that poverty, teen pregnancy, and poor education performance plagues the African-American community is due to the absent African-American father. According to the Moynihan, the failure for a male dominated subculture, which only exist in the African-American culture, and reliance on the matriarchal control, the African-American family structure has been subject to mistreatment for the past three centuries. This mistreatment has resulted in the African-American crime rate being higher than the National average, African-American drug addiction being higher than whites, and rates of illegitimacy being at least 25% or higher than whites. A family needs the presence of both parents for the youth to “learn the values and expectations of society.”

Solutions
According to Angela Hattery and Earl Smith, there are solutions to the effects that African-Americans suffer in result to the African-American structures that is present in America. Three of her solutions focus on parental support for children, equal access to education, and alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. According to Hattery and Smith, African-American families are within a system that is “pitted” against them and there are some institution solutions and individual solutions that America and its citizens can do to reduce implications associated with the African-American family structure.

Parental support for children
Around 50% of African-American children are poor because they are dependent on a single mother. America has chosen to enforce solutions for this issue that has resulted in a negative outcome. In states like Wisconsin, in order for a child to be the recipient of welfare or receive the “bride fare”, their parents must be married. Hattery acknowledges one truth about this law, which is that it recognizes that a child is “entitled” to the financial and emotional support of both parents. A solution is found around this idea, an African-American child is entitled to the financial and emotional support of both parents. The government does require the noncustodial parents to pay a percentage to their child every month, but according to Hattery the only way this will help eliminate child poverty is if these policies are actively enforced.

Education equality
For the past 400 years of America’s life, African-Americans have being denied the proper education needed to provide for the traditional American family structure. The schools and educations available to African-American are under equipped to provide their students with the knowledge needed to be college ready. In 2005 a report showed that even though integration has been a push more recently, over the past 15 years there has been a 13% decline in integration in public schools. Reports also show that in 2002, only 56% of African-American students graduated from high school with a diploma. If students do not feel they are learning, they will not continue to go to school. Hatterly suggests the government invest into the African-American family by investing in the African-American children’s education. The solutions is found in providing the same resources provided to school that are predominantly white. According to Hatterly, through education equality the African-American family structure has increased opportunity to prosper with equality in employment, wages, and health insurance.

Alternatives to incarceration
With 25-33% of African-American men spending time in jail or prison and 39% of African-American children do not live with any father representative, the African-American family structure is dominated with an unfamiliarity with the fathers position in the family. According to Hatterly, the government can stop this negative experience that many African-American children experience due to the absence of their father. Hatterly suggests probation or treatment (for alcohol or drugs) as alternatives to incarceration. Incarceration not only continues the negative assumption of the African-American family structure, but perpetuates poverty, single parenthood, and the separation of family units.