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ED 128 525 UD 016 299 AUTHOR Billingsley, Andrew TITLE The Evolution of the Black Family. PUB DATE 76 NOTE 9p. JOURNAL CIT Urban League News; May 1976 EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 HC-$1.67 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *African Culture; African History; Ethnic Groups; *Family (Sociological Unit); Family Attitudes; Family Background; *Family Characteristics; Family Environment; Family Role; *Family Structure; Historical Reviews; Minority Groups; Negro Achievement; Negro Culture; Negro Education; *Negroes; Negro Role; Slavery; Social History ABSTRACT Family life among black people in the United States has its roots in Africa. Many distinctive features of African family life were carried out in modified forms in the early African settlements in this country. The importance of the extended family, communalism, the important role of the grandmother, the collective responsibility of the care of the children and the adaptability of family structure are prominent features of Afro-American life today. Although many of the most prominent features of slavery were antithetical to the condition of viable forms of family lifeamong the African people, black families always maintained patterns of family life even during slavery. These patterns often diverged, but not always, from the dominant patterns prevalent among the Europeans. Underscoring that the concept of family is culturally determined and culturally bound, the factors that define and condition family life are considered in relation to the black family. After the Civil War, the elements of family life, which had survived and been modified into distinct patterns in relationship to slavery,came into full fruition. The family, along with the church and the school became the three institutions most responsible for black progress. Twosources of achievement of black families after the end of slavery are the acquisition of land and the opportunity to save money through the Freedmanse Savings Bank.(Author/AM)

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THE EVOLUTION OF THE BLACK FAMILY childhood and fam illylife in Africa and the manner in which thiii was disrupted by slavery. Andrew Billingsley He provides one of the most sensitive insights Morgan State University into the historical de-relopment of black families. Vassa has describeriI for us the portion of Africa Family life among black people in the United where he was born els follows: States had its origins in slack Africa. When at part of Africp, known by the name cf blacks were forcibly brought to America begin- Guinea, to which thp trade for slaves is carried ning in the early 17th Century, they brought with on, extends along the coast about 3400 miles, them memories, values, attitudes and behavior from Senegal to Angola, and includes a variety of patternsoftraditionalAfricanfamilyand kingdoms. Of these ithe most considerable is the communi' y life. We get a view of what family life kingdom of Benin, both as to extent and wealth, was like in Black Africa from the writings of two the richness and cultivation of the soil, the rower znen who were captured in Africa and sold into of its king, and the r umber of warlike disposition slavery in this country and who later wrote their of the inhabitants." own autobiographies. He was born in raither fortunate circumstances. Equiano tells us that he was born in Benin, His father was an elder or chief of his tribe and he West Africa in 1745. When he was about 11 years was born into a lani:e household where his father old,he was captured and sold into slavery. He was had several wives. He has told us also something brought to America and sold first to a Virginia of the basic pastoral nature of his country and the plantation owner, later to a British naval 'officer manner in which this helped to sustain the spirit and still later to a merchant in PhLadelphia. Sub- of community which was another strong feature sequently, he was allowed, to purchase his free- of our ancestral hereitage: dom and traveled widely as a ship's steward. In "Our land is uncommonly rich and fruitful and 1791 he wrote his autobiography (undee his slave produces all kinds of vegetables in great abun- name, Gustavus Vassa) in which he described his dance ...All our industry is exerted to improve

these blessings of nature. Agriculture is our chief employment; and everyone, even the children and women, are engaged in it." The conditions of the land and the patterns of land utilization, then as now, had an important U T VS' PARTMENT UF HEALTH. EDUCATION 0.yELFARE influence on the social life of the people. Vassa NATOONAL INSTI ''_""!' OF has introduced us to an important aspect of the DUCA T ION interaction between the social organization of the THIS DOCUMENT HAS SEEN REARO- DUCED EXCILY AS RECEIVED F ROM family and these basic life conditions: THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION OR IG2N. "The head of the family usually eats alone; his STING iT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN:ONS STTED DO NOT NECESSARILY REF RE- wives and slaves have also their separate tables. SENT OFFICIAL NATiONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCToON POSITION OR POLICY Before we taste food we always wash - oir hands. Furthermore, black people in Arne ca today are the inheritors of a most expressive tradition. Vassa has observed: "We are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets. Thus every great event, such as a triumphant return from battle or other cause of public rejoicing, is celebrated in public dances, which are accompanied with songs and music suited to the occasion." Still another description of family life in Africa at the time of our ancestors is provided by Ven- ture Smith in a volume of slave narratives edited by John F. Bayliss. Smith tells his own story as follows: "I was born at Dukandarra, in Guinea, about the

2 ?ranee of the tribe of Dukandarra. My father had woman often lived together as husband and wife three wives. Polygamy was notuncommon in with their own children in their own home. Poly- that country, especially among the rich,as every gamous marriages involving one man married to man was allowed to keep as many wives as he more than one woman was probably the dom- could maintain. By his first wife he had three inant pattern of marriage in most of the West Afri- children. The eldest of them was myself, named can territories from which most of the American by my father, Broteer. The other twowere named Cundazo and Soozaduka. My father had two chil- enslaved blacks came. Such marriage formswere dren by his second wife, and one by his third. far from random, precipitous, irrationalor simply These two excerpts of family life in Africa exploitative.Normsgoverningpolygamous show something of the patterns of family life households were strictly observed andenforced among our ancestors. They also show something by the community. Even today,for example, of the nature of community life and of the prob- many African families follow the laws of the Mos- lems confronted by our people on the coming of lem religion which permitone man to have four Europeans to that part of Africa. wives, but only if he can afford them,and me These excerpts help to illustrate the finding rights, duties and responsibilitiesof the sevend of Professor Chancellor Williams in his brilli- wives and the household are clearlyestablished ant study, The Destruction of Black Civiliza- in tradition and custom. tions. He has observed that during the4000 The place of wife numberone in the system years of African civilizations studied by him, was pre-emir ,ant. A ma,- violated custom and law there was a series of African kingdoms which if he took a new wife without thepermission of rose and flourished and which were destroyed his first wife. While there was oftensome friction, and often rose again. He cites three major factors envy, and even divorce among polygamousmar- which help to account for the destruction of those iages, there wa:, also a great deal of stabilityand civilizations. One was natural forces which functional utility associated with this form. Thus, included the expanding desert, pestilence, and if the wives managed the children, workedthe other natural phenomena. The second factorwas fields, did the marketing and commercialfunc- the invasion from outside, firston the part of tions while the man hunted, fished, gatheredber- Arabs, then on the part of Europeans. Thethird ries and fruits, went to war, and tookpart in major force, which accounted for the destruction government, it was a system of well-established ofti.ese greatcivilizations,wasinternal and highly functional role reciprocity.Moreover, bickering and dissension and the lack ofunity in regions where there weremore women than among the Africans themselves. What Professor men, which was often the case, a system of poly- Williams points out in his book is thatas these gamy was a rational and functional pattern of civilizations and kingdoms were destroyed, marriage and family life. In many parts of the people would often have to disperse andmove United States today there are farmore women from one part of Africa to another. New kingdoms than men. If polygamy was sanctioned,there arose and even after hundreds of years of being might well be fewer unwed mothers. scattered throughout various parts ofAfrica, In some situations, where therewere fewer there was a strong similarity between thenew women than men, polygynous forms of marriage and the old civilizations. According to hisview, evolved where a womanwas married to more this indicates a strong cultural continuityamong than one man. Again, however, thispattern was African people which lastedover hundreds of governed by norms and standards whichevolved years so that the values were similar and there- over thousands of years and became part of the fore the new kindgomswere similar in structure customary law. to the ones which had been destroyed. In other A third feature of family life in Africawas the words, despite the forces of destructionwhich role of descent which also allowed forfour major have been ever present inour experience as Afri- .descent patterns. In matrilineal societiespeople can people, there is a strong value base whichen- reckoned their kinship line throughthe mother's ables its to put togethernew civilizations and ancestry alone. Children of families followingthe continue the basic values of our African heritage. matrilineal pattern belongedto the mother and Thus, we see that while patterns of fami;./life the mother's relatives from birthuntil beyond varied somewhat from region to regionand peo- death. Fathers in this situation hadno legal rights ple to people within the large sub-SaharanAfri- to the custody of their children. Evenso, how- can Continent, there were neverthelesssome ever, this pattern of descent was -ned by major patterns which were distinctive featuresof rules and tradition and a great deal family life in a pastoral, aErarian, tropical region The naturalaffectionbetweenfatherand near the earth's equator. children was recognized and honoredin a variety First, extended familismwas a permanent fea- of ways. Moreover, fathers had defined rightsand ture of life in Africa. The community, including responsibilities with respect to theirchildren, its political, economic and culturaldimensions, though in Western terminology thebasic "father- was an extension of the basic family unit. Indeed, hood" rights to childrenwere invested in the it was difficult to observe where familyleft off mother's brother, or the children'smaternal and community life began. uncle. The Ashanti people of northern Ghanaare Secondly, structure of family life,while vary- an outstanding example of this matrilinealpat- ing somewhat from regionto region and among tern who nevertheless finda very important different ethnic groups, neverthelessallowed for social role for thP biological fathers ofchildren in three distinctive patterns includingmonogamous these fam ilies. marriages, polygamous marriagesand polygy- nous marriages. Monogamous marriages,though 3 not dominant in Africa, were neverthelessvery A second descent pattern, perhaps less com- orientation toward work and strong religious mon, Aas a patrilineal pattern. In patrilineal so- orientation are all part of what Lecpold Senghor cieties people reckon their kinship through the terms the African elan which persists wherever father's line only. Thus, many of the Western Africans go in all parts of the world. conceptions of motherhood roles were bestowed Robert Hill concluded that, "although these upon and performed by the father's sister and his (five) traits can be foundamong white families. mother.Indeed,inbothmatrilinealand they are manifested quite differently in thelives patrilineal societies, grandmothers played an of black families because of the unique historyof unusually prominent role in the care and pro- racialoppression experienced by blacksin tection of the grandchildren. America." He concluded, "the particular forms thatthese A less common pattern than the other two was characteristicstake among black families should be viewed the duo-lineal pattern of descentinwhich as adaptations neces- sary for survival and advancement ina hostile individuals redwn their kinship through both environment." the mother and the father. This pattern of de- scent, which is most common in Western socie- ties today, was the least common in sub-Saharan The African Continuum Black Africa. It has often been said by historians and sociol- In any case, however, and among the three de- ogists that all the vestiges of African influence and all the elements of organized family lifewere scent patterns, children in the families belonged destroyed and prevented by the European-Amer- not to or, or both parents alone, but to the entire ican slave system. Indeed, many of the most ethnic group or community or people with whom prominent features of slavery were antithetical to they reckoned their lineage. Thus, family life was the condition of viable forms of family lifeamong a community affair in the fullest sense. the African people. Even so, however,a number A fourth aspect of family life in Africa Was re- of modern historians including John Blassin- flected in patterns of residence. It sometimes game, Cdorge Rawick and Eugene Genovese, to- happened, but was uncommon, that a man and a gether with the Cliometricians, Robert Fogeland woman and their children lived together in their Stanley Engerman, have provided overwhelming own house. It was more common for them to live empirical support for the continuance of family in a larger group in a compound within the hous- ing facilities of their parents or their people. life among the African people even during the Sometimes the family lived in the compound of slave era. Thus, both in the slave states and the the husband and father's people. They followed a free states, among enslaved and free Africans, patrilocal pattern of residence.Atother times and in the South and the North, organized black they lived in the compound of the.c.ther's peo- family life survived and was a prominent feature ple and thereby followed a matriku,-.,attern of of life in the black community. residence. Sometimes they alternatrfl .,etween Despitethecontroversialnatureoftheir the one and the other following a duoi,,cal pat- findings and conclusions, Fogel and Engerman tern of residence. Still more rarely, they estab- have argued that, "both moral convictions and lished and maintained their own home following good business practice generally led planters to a unilocal pattern of residence. encourage the development of stable nuclear The determining factor in patterns of residence families." (Ref. 12) Even so, however, they state was the basic conditions of life, the history of the that, "during the relatfvely infrequent instances region, and the traditions of a particular people. 'when economic forces led the planter to destroy, Thus, living close to the soil and closi-, to nature, rather thanto maintain slave families,the the African people were able to adapt to the pre- independent striving of slaves to maintain their vailing conditions and to maintain. viable forms families came into sharp focus." of instrumental and expressive family relation- ships despite these differing conditions. Indeed. Genovese has pointed out that slave chiliaen it was their ability to adapt to the various condi- did have important role models in the black men tions of life which enabled African families to even under those harsh conditions. "A positive continue to survive in this country and adopt male image misted even in those cabins without new forms of life where the conditions were resident fathers," he found. vastly different from what they had known in "Critical scholars have made the mistake of mea- Africa. Even so, many of the distinctive features suring the slave family by middleclass norms; of African family life were carried out in modi- naturally, they have found it wanting. Even when fied forms in the early African settlements in this a slave boy was growing up without a father in country. Thus, the importance of the extended the house, he had as a model a tough, resourceful family, the communalism, the important role of driver, a skilled mechanic or two, and older field the grandmother, the collective responsibility for hands with some thne for the children of the the care of the children and the adaptability of quarters... Some of these men devoted them- family structures are prominent features of Afro- selves to playing surrogate father to all the American family life even today. children. They told them stories, taught them to Of the five major and distinctive features of fish and trap animals, and instructed them in the African family life pointed up by National Urban ways of survival in a hostile white world. The League Research Director, Robert Hill, each has norm in the quarters called for adults to look after its antecedents in the African traditions. Thus, children whether relatives or not. Every planta- the adaptability of family roles, strong kinship tion had some men who played this role." bonds, patterns of informal adoption, strong 4 The extent to which black men held strong ties to their families is eloquently illustrated by the last words of Peter Poyas, Denmark Vesey's chief lieutenant, when the Judge sentenced him to death, "I suppose you'll let me see my wife and family before I die." Rawick has pointed out: "While it is true that slaves were not allowed to belonging and respect. The absence of a surname make legal marriage contracts, it is also true that which most blacks experienced during slavery men ad women un,'er slavery did not simply and the reluctance of many whites to recognize breed promiscuously. There were a variety of black family or surnames long after slavery, are socially approved and culturaly sanctioned re- among the indignities long suffered by a proud lationships between men and women as well as people. In our analysis, therefore, we were inter- less structured sexual contacts which led to the ested to know the prevalence of family or sur- birth of progeny." names used for the free heads of households When we realize how essentially human were enumerated in the 1790 census. As might be an- the Africans, and resist the temptation to view ticipated, consistent with other findings above, them as simple reactors to the oppression which this practice was most common in New England they experienced, it is possible to appreciate the and relatively less common in the South. Even so, extent to which they were able to develop among however, most free black family heads had .:heir themselves and instill in their children much of surnames recorded in the 1790 census. Male the human qualities which are so important in heads were more likely to have surnames than Afro-American life today. female heads. The highest incidence of surnames was in the Free Black Families northeastern region. In Maine all of the 36 free Our own studies of family life among the Afri- black heads of households had surnames; 98% of can population in America alsoprovides support the free black families in Rhode Island and 96% for the theory of continuity. It is our view that the in Vermont had surnames. The other states show years between 1700 and 1800 represent acritical less, with Connecticut showing only 35cr. of free period in the study of black familylifein black family heads with surnames. Among the America. It was during this period that the nation southern states, Virginia had the highest inci- was formed. It was during this periodthat the dence with 98% and Maryland had the lowest basic values of white Americans toward black with 62%. Americans were established.Finally,itwas Enslaved Blacks in Free Black Families. One of during this century that the basic structure of the more intricate aspects of family life among black family life in America was developed, the the free black population is the degree of inter- broad outlines of which have continued to the action and relationships they had with enslaved present day. Patrilocal residence, nuclear family blacks. There are several ways in which this in- forms, small family size, husband-wife families terrelatedness was structured. First, it must be with a small relatively stable and enduring pat- observed that despite their legally free status, free ternoffemale-headedfamilies,anddual blacks were generally viewed and treated by the breadwinners are all features of Afro-American white community with something less thancom- plete acceptance. This was true not only in the family life which took root end farm during the slave states where they often were presumed to 18th Century and are still with us today in only be slaves unless they proved their free status, but .slightly modified form. also in the North where they were sometimesas- The first census of the United States, taken in sumed to be runaway slaves and treated with less 1790, enumerated 5,192 Lee blackfamilies. Six respect and provided less opportunity than white New Englandstates,Massachusetts, Rhode families experienced. Secondly. free blacks often Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and lived and worked in close proximity to enslaved Vermont reported 1,605 free black families. Two blacks, in part because of cultural affinity and in other northern states, New York and Pennsylvan- part because of limited opportunities and com- ialisted 1,177 free black families and four mon oppression. Thirdly, free blacks often mar- southern states which were later to become part ried enslaved blacks. Finally, free blackssome- of the Confederacy, Maryland, North Carolina, times owned slaves by purchase, inheritance, or Virginia and South Carolina contained 2.410 free because a free man was the father of children by black families. A major observation which may be an enslaved wife. drawn from this data is that in each of the 12 Thus, slave-owning existed among free black ; states the overwhelming majority ofthese fami- families, but involved very few familes and lies had both husbands and wives as family relatively few enslaved persons. In 1790, alto- heads. Altogether 85% had male/female heads gether 156 free black families in seven stateb and approximately 15% had female heads. The Family Surname. Dating back to me Afri- can origins, among free blacksthe use of the family or surname has been a sign of respect and status. It has been such a strong feature of African family life that many women who marry continue to use this maternal family name as a symbol of Owned a total of 668 enslaved blacks This conception of or an aver- family is threeconceptions age of 4.3 per family. It seems highly likely that in one. It is a legal conception of familyin the these enslaved persons were relatives, sense that it is prescribed,recognized, supported co-workers, household servants and the like and protected bythe laws of the rather than the more typical field slaves. volved. It is at the countries in- They same time social, in thesense were also much less likely to be exploited andop- that it is actuallypracticed by large pressed. Indeed, by belonging legally individuals in these numbers of to free societies and sanctionedby blacks who had a special relationshipto them, large numbersof members of those the same time, societies. At they were provided a measure ofcare and protec- this conception offamily is tion not known to black slaves owned by white psychological in thesense that i)hviduals who persons. are part of arrangementssuch as the scribed above feel one de- Dr. L.D. Reddick, ill his forthcoming book. themselves to bemembers of Search for the Black Family in America, found families, those whoare not, do not. very stable patterns of marriage and family life among free blacks in Boston as early as the begin- ning of the 18th Century. The officialmarriage This conception of family, dependentso heav- register of the early 1700s contained actual ily on marriage and direct lineageand common names, date and marriage official for dreds of residence, is not a universalconception for all black families. peoples. 'It was and is, not the exclusiveor even Thus, we see that black families 21waysmain- dominant conception of familyamong some tained patterns of family lifeeven during slavery. other great peoples includingparticularly the These patterns often diverged, but not always African peoples, the Asian peoples,and many of from the -ninant patterns prevale ong the the peoples of South America.It was certainly Europeans. not true of the native Americans whomwe call The Limits of Legality American Indians. For these peoples,the con- cept of family was somewhat broaderand more A great deal of attention has been drawnto the embracing than the Europeanconception. It in- question of legality and illegality of marriageand cluded a larger number of peoplewho could be family life amOng the African people duringslav- members of te family bya variety of routes ery. Indeed, much of the almost unanimous sometimes without legal marriage andwithout scholarly conclusion that family life didnot exist direct lineage and sometimeswithout sharing a among the enslaved Africans turns implicitly and common residence. For many of thesenon- sometimes explicitly on the question of legalsta- European peoples and forcertainsouthern tus. Legal status is a very important conditioner Europeans as well, the concept offamily turned of marriage and family life, butas modern on a set of relationships and feelings whichin- students of society are becoming ,increasingly clude arrangements of legal marriageand direct aware, legality is one among many conditions lineage and common residence,but are not con- which help to define family. Being defined by the fined to these states of affairs. state as legal is neither necessary nor sufficient to determine existence ihe viability of family life. In our studies we h. siven considerable atten- tion to the variety es, facbrs which help to define Culture Is Man-Made family. Chief araram 1:1-,e realities which define and condition fa-;ev- life are iegal sanctions, Since the population of theUnited States is social functions arJ psychological meaning. made up of peoples from all thesemajor cultural The Concept of Family groupings in the world, andsince culiure is man- made, cumulative, interchangeableand fairly en- Like all concepts referring to human aggrega- during over time, it is importantto recognize the tions, the concept of family is itself culturally cultural pluralism inherentin the concept of determined and culture-bound. In those societies family. One way to do this isto recognize the dis- whose cultural heritage emanated from the Euro- tinctions among the legal, the social,and the psy- pean peoples, particularly northern European chological conceptions of family. peoples, the concept of family refers to two or Socialiy, a family isa group of people related to more individuals who are related to each other by each other by a variety ofmeans, including but legally recognized marriage or by legally recog- not confined to the legal relationshipsabove, nized lineage or ancestry and who live incon- who share patterns of intimacy,sustained inter- tiguous relationship with each other in patterns action, mutual interdependence,and mutual of intimate interaction over sustained periods of responsibility of an enduringnature and who their lives. pemeive themselvesas belonging to a common According to this conception. a man and a unit and who act incommon, and who hold woman become a family after they get married by themselves out to the publicto be so related and the state and/or the church, but not before, and if interdependent. they become legally separated or divorced, they Psychologically, d family isa group of people are no longer a family. related to each o;'ier in eitherof the two ways A child who is born to this union or is legally above, legally or socially,and who are not related adopted by both parents becomes a member of in either respect, but whetherrelated or not in a the family for life. legal (by law)way or social (patterns of interac- tion) sense, feel themselves.tobelong to a rela- 6 tively small intimate circleof belonging. The key elements in family, then,are intimacy and interdependence, mutual responsibility "But the blacks did not wait for the technical- and ities to come through, Immediately u,..)on recover- a sense of boundries which distinguishes that ing his mate and offspring, the "husband" and behavior appropriate within the familyonly and "father" sought a church or civil ceremony that that behavior which may also be sharedwith the larger society. Intimacy would make his union "official", His "wife" or may be physical or "bride", depending upon whether there wereany psychological, but must be sustained.Interde- pendence and mutual responsibility children very often exceeded him in enthusiasm mtv be for a "marriage paper". legal, social or psychological. Itmay be volunory or mandated, but must be sustained and "Themarriage feveralso involved couples recog. who had no children or had not been separated nized by parties both inside and outsidethe family. from each other. Also, sweethearts who had just There are two important implications met could look forward to a wedding in a simple of this ceremony or with elaborate frills. way of categorizing families based on thesources of their legitimation. First, it helps "Thus, as the Civil War ended, the blacks stood us to examine on top of an upward curve or progress and hope. the strength and viability of family lifein relation to the cultural context of family life. Second, Their real life was begmning with freedom as its this foundation and full citizenship its goal." typology helps us to understand directlythe structure and the functioning of modernblack Some Problems and Some Achi avements families with their roots in slaverywhen there In those days just after the end of slavery, how- were vast distinctions to be drawn between legal, ever, there were several major sources of achieve- social and psychological conditions andoppor- ment of black families which are not generally tunities. understood. One of those is the acquisition of Itis clear from both theoreticalconstruction land which was available to only a very few of and observation that families withoutlegal sanc- those families. In 1865, immediately after the tions, but with strong and activenatterns of Civil War, a program was developed by the U.S. Government, and administered by the Freed- social interaction and strong psychological inter- men's Bureau which provided for black families, dependence ccan be very viable in meeting the newly freed from slavery, to receive 40acres of needs of their members, both instrumentally and land. It was not, however, an outright gift. In a expressively, though they may not be able to meet researchprojectmy associatesand I are the requirements of the larger society Es well as if conducting at the National Archives, we have they had legal status. The crippling effects of tiie found that the granting of titles of confiscated absence of legal status will be experienced most lands varied among districts and states. The acutely in the area of instrumental functioning of official policy stated in July of 1865 said that these families. The extent to which the lack of every male, whether freedman or refugee (those legal sanction is crippling,however, depends heavily and directly on the extent to which the whites in the Confederate states who did not bear forces of society, the police, and other legal arms against the Union) could be assigned not agents are active in their hostility towards units more than 40 acres of land for his cultivation and holding themselves out to be families anr''nc- use for three years at an annual rent up to 6% of tioning as families without the sanctioi, ,he its tax value as of the 1860 appraisal of the land. state. This varies from time to time and from The settler could purchase the land at any time group to group. In the black community before, during those three years if he couldpay the during and after slavery, these types of families appraised value of the acreage. have existed side by side. Var lous states, however, seemed to operate for After Slavery some time under their own regulations.In After the Civil War, the elements of family life Mississippi, for example, all freed blacks and among the Africans which had survived and bEen loyal whites could possess up to 80 acres of land modified into distinct patterns in relationship 19 if they were at least 20 years of age, head ofa slavery, came into full fruition. Thus, the family family and had been royal to the Union, They along with the church and the school became the paid a five dollar registration fee and at the end of three institutions most responsible for black five years, if they had cultivated the land, they progress. Professor Reddick has observed: were to pay another five dollrs to receive title to "As we have seen, one of the first things the form- the land. And apparently, as the programcon- er slaves did as soon as they got free was to start tinued in different locations, other chargeswere looking for the members of their family, !rho had required to be paid before title would be granted. been separated from each other. In the See 1nds of South Carolina, each black "Often, as soon as the family was reunited, the head of a family could settle on not more than 40 next move was to make the family legal. acres of land. No refugee white persons were "This urge on the part of the freedmen often alloredtosettleon theseislands.In our preceded the legislative changes that were ex- preliminary study, we hive found 747 freedmen pected or required. Congress by act of July 25, who obtained possessory titles to these Sea Island 1866 and even earlier in support of the policy of lands during this period, and this was a major liberating slaves, who were inducted into the source of the achievement of :.!,osfamilies down military, included the freeing of the entire iamily through the yeari. of the black soldier. Later on, the southern states as a part of the process of their own return to the Union, joined Congress in recognizing "common law" and "informal" marriages that had occurred among slaves as well as free people. Freedmen's Savings and Trust Company There was another source of achievementas well in those fateful years just after the end of the Civil War What can be said, ihen, about the style of life that is the savings among black and the values of the early black middle class in people, particularly as made possible by the Philadelphia beforti the turn of the century? In Freedmen's Savings Bank. on March 3, 1865, the his profile of 12 families arranged by incomes. Freedmen's Savings & Trust Companywas incor- porated as a banking institution established in DuBois relates the story of one family of four adults and three children whose total family Washington, D.C. for the benefit of thenewly budget for the year, exclusive of rent, was freed slaves. By 1872 therewere 33 branches in- $805.00. They spent $420.00 for food, $60.00 for cluding two in the northern cities ofNew York fuel,$150.06for clothing, $20 00 for and. Philadelphia with the others in south,arn amusements, $5.00 on illness, and $150.00 for states. By 1874, when the company failed, the travel and other purposes. The family had one deposits in all branches totaled $3,299,201.In servant. our research at the National Archives, we have Then DuBois describes for us the precarious been looking at microfilm publicationsof 55 volumes of signatures of deposit in 29 branches nahlre of the black middle class which plagues us of the Freedmen's Bank. These records till this day: "This class to which these last are rich in families belong is often lost sight of in discussing black history, many of them containingsuch the Negro. It is the germ of a great middle class, information on the depositoras name, birthplace, place brought up, residence, but in general, its members are curiously hamper- age. occupation, ed by the fact that, being shu'i off frum the world family members, etc. In the remark.;section of about them, they are an aristocracy of their own these forms there are often indications of family people, withallthe :esponsibilitiesof an members the depositor wished to receivehis or her funds in the event of death. aristocracy, and yrit they, on the one hand, are not Amounts of deposits, where indicated, prepared for this role, and their own masses are range not used to looking to them for leadership." from a dollar'or less to thousands of dollars.For example, 43-year-old Martha Moore, The bulwark of the early black middle class, as wife of with other middle class fr,milies, was land or George Moore, went to the District of Columbia property. Also, in the days just after the Civil branch where she deposited $500 in silver,$250 in gold and $3500 in paper War, there were other instances of the rising money for a total of sources of the new black middle class. $4250. Mrs. Mrwre said that she hadno living children, but had had oneson named Robert, In 18e9, for example, 28% of northern-born who was sold. She thought Robertwas sold to a black workers occupied white-collar and skilled slave owner in Georgia, but shewas never sure. occupations. This was true of 16% of southern- Mrs. Moore could not write so she signed the born and 19% of the foreign-born blacks. deposit slip with her mark,an "X". This small There are other parts of the country wht re the act, which was major at the time,was another rise of the black middle class can be traced to its source of major achievement in the building of being interwoven with the fabric of the larger the early black middle class. community. In his book, Black Americans in Cleveland, Russell H. Davis has shuwn how the The Early Black Middle Class growth of the city has involveda substantial par- There are still other sources of achievement in ticipation of the black middle class. the black middle class in northern communities. In his still definitive study, The Philadelphia The Evolution of the Black Family Negro, DuBois found that early in the history of After 1900, a substantial increase in the black the colony of Pennsylvania, "the custom of hiring middle class took place due mainly to the great out slaves, especially mechanics and skilled migrations from the rural South to the urban areas of the North and West, which began about workmen" ledt he early development of a 1915. By the end of World War II, roughly skilledoccupationalclas$whichlaidthe 16 groundwork for the rise of the black middle class percent of black men were employed in middle classoccupations intheclerical,craft, managerial and professional classes. Thiswas in colonial Philadelphia. (Ref. 23) As earlyas true of nearly a quarter of all employed black 1708 and again in 1722, this practice of hiring out men slaves to earn money was attacked through in the North and West, but only12 percent of those in the South. By 1960, in thenation as a petitionstothe legislature,butitsurvived whole, roughly 22 because it was cons'stent w th the economic self- percent of black workers occupied these middle class occupations, and by interest of a few highly influential slaveowners 1972, it had increased to 33 and other citizens. Thus, DuBois tells percent. Thus, our us, "before estimate that roughly 40 percent of black families and after the Revolution, there were mechanicsas may be considered middle class today follows well as servants among the Negroes." (Ref.24) In fairlyclosely 1820, mechanics, coachmen, shopkeepers, and theoccupationaldistribution. Occupation for black families isa much more barbers made up the small but growing basisfor Hack leadership in the city. By 1848, stable and reliable indicator of well-being.status men in and opportunity, and stability than thecommon these occupations represented about fivepercent measures of income and education. of all black families in the city. The Future of Black Families As we look to futire developments in the struc- ture and the functioning of black families in 8 American society, it seems highly likely that the unemployment shape of famgy life will continue to respond to compensationtotaled$389 and reflect some of the basic characteristics of billion which accounted for about 27 percent of American society. Chk: among these character- the gross national product which is the total istics is racism in both its overt and more subtle value of all the nation's goods and services. forms. The December 2nd, 1975 edition of the Public spending was 73 percent of the total and Detroit Free Press, carried an editorial endorsing privatephilanthropy,which wasdeelining the view of racism defined by U.S. District Court sharply, accounted for 27 percent. It is striking to - Judge Damon Keith in an address before the note, however, that the Federal Government paid Annual Meeting of the Detroit Urban League. "To only about 58 percent of the cost of these social many Americans," the distinguished juristsaid, welfare programs despite the national character "racismmerely meansactivebigotryand of their causes. Thus, the need for a stronger fed- discrimination, a charge from which they readily eral role in social welfare programs was pointed acquit themselves." He continued: out more intensively by leadersinhealth, "Racism, I can assure y^u in reality and in prac- education and social welfare fields. tice is more subtle and wears many masks. it is For black families, then, the ebb and flow of hate. Itis also indifference. Itis the implied full employment, inflation, and social welfare inferioritythatispracticallyexpressedin programs in the years ahead will vastly affect demianing jobs, low wages, limited horizons and their ability to meet the needs of their members countless small and daily indignities suffered by much more than their own individual behavior millions of black Americans." and preferences. A second societal force which promises to Finally,in looking atthe future of black continue its impact on the shape of black family families in this country, a word must be said life is economic in nature. While many families about educa'ion. For it is clear that as the level of have moved into middle income status since the education increases among black families, the turn of the century, the pervasive reality is that levelof well being increases,thelevelof the structure of income distribution still closely independentandconstructivefunctioning follows the color line. Thus, black families of increases and the level of antisocial behavior whateverlevelofeducationor occupation diminishes. It is also true that family size and the persistentlysufferaveragefamilyincomes crude birthrate also decreases as the level of ranging between a third and two-thirds less than education increases. Thus, even while some their white counterparts. Moreover, the fortunes experts question the absolute value of further of black families, though not necessarily the advanced education for increasing income and relative inequality of incomes, follow closely the job advancement for white youth, education et:gnomic condition of the nation as a whole. continues to be the single best indicator of well- Unemployment and underemployment in the being of black families and individuals. The black community always exceed that in the white future of black family viability, thus, depends community. A study conducted by the Research heavily on the future of the nation's commitment Department ot the National Urban League in 1975 to educational equality. on the impact of the then current economic reces- Families cannot be expected to pull themselves sion on black families pointed out that the up by their proverbial bootstraps. They never consequences of the weak economy of the nation have. The society plays the dominant role even as were much more intense on black family life than individuals and families must play a significant on white family life. role in self-improvement and in taking advantage Moreover, as late as December of 1975, Julius of the social forces and opportunities of the larger Shishkin of the U.S. Department of Labor issued a society. For black families, particularly as the report showing the disparity of black and white nation celebrates the two hundredth year of its unempioyment rates.Unemployment among birth, the picture is mixed. There is some cause white workers slowed and stood at 7.6 percent of for celebration because of the survival and the the work force. For black workers, however, un- strength of black families and the contribution employment remained at a three month level of they have made to the nation. There is also cause 13.8 percent. Unemployment was highest among for cautious concern about the direction of black youth, followed by black adult men, then racism, economic health, and education as these black adult women, and then among white impact on the viability of these families. women, with white men benefitting most from the upturn in employment at the end of 1975. It was the combination of unemployment and Dr. Andrew Billingsley, President of Morgan inflation which much more than the structure of State College, is a distinguished Sociologist with family life or the preferences of family forms extensive background in the study of black family amongindividuals whichcausedfamily life. A former Vice President for Academic breakups and suffering among the low and Affairs and professor of Sociology at Howard moderate income families during this period. University before being named to his present There are also the economic forces which caused position,Dr.Billingsleyalsoservedwith a substantial rise in the cost of public social distinction on the faculty of the University of welfare programs all over the nation. In a report California. A member of the .)rial board of prepared1 ytheU.S.Government'sSocial The Black Scholar and the Joi. i of Social And Securif r Administration, it was estimated that -Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Billingsley is a prolific state and local social welfare expenditures rose writer and is the author of several books, among $47 billion during 1975, which was the highest 9 them: Black Families and the Struggle for annual increase in the nation's history. The total Survival and Child Development and Family Life national expenditures for all forms of social in the Black Community. welfareincluding veteran'sbenefitsand From: The Urban League News, May 1976