The Malfunctions of the Black Family

The Malfunctions of the Black Family

When people think of the word “family”, the most demonstrative definition is members satisfying ones emotional and financial needs. The denotative definition of family is a social unit living together whose function is to socialize individuals. African American families are known to socialize individuals differently as opposed to individuals of the dominant race. The 1960’s film A Raisin in the Sun illustrates the struggles of an African American family who try’s to live up to the standards of the American dream. Orlando Patterson, Daniel Moynihan, and Robert Staples are authors who relate to the effects of the black family during slavery and within the media, which impacts African American families in today’s society.

African Americans are rarely viewed from a positive perspective within the media. Instead, they are viewed as dysfunctional, and unorthodox. On the contrary, The Cosby Show is one of the only black television shows that gives off a positive image. The Huxtables were unlike other black families portrayed in the media because they were a successful, upper-middle class family, which was rarely seen on television amongst blacks. It’s not often that we hear about problems of black middle class families because much of the concern over American families is distorted in the media (Staples, 20). Most shows demonstrate African American families as lower-class, and female dominant. The vast majority of the time, there is no man around to challenge or dominate the woman. This is reflected throughout the movie A Raisin In The Sun, as the mother was the head of the household.

A fundamental fact of the Black American family life is the often reversed role of husband and wife (Moynihan, 8). In the film, Lena Younger, the mother, was the matriarch of the family household. Even though there was a male figure present in the home, she took the dominant role, leaving her son, Walter Lee Younger to question his masculinity. She did not feel that Walter Lee was mature enough to take on the responsibilities of being the head of the family. According to Eugene Genovese, this resulted from slavery, which emasculated black men, created matriarchy, and prevented the emergence of a strong sense of family (Genovese, 25).

During the modern era, men are expected to be the authoritative figure, someone who provides financially for his family, while women are expected to be the submissive home makers, taking on the tasks of the household. This is not the case with most African American families. The African American family structure is not correlated with the White American family structure (Staples, 19). Moynihan claims that even when men are present, they are weak and spineless, which results in the product of producing effeminate males (Staples, 19). In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee symbolizes what is known as the “race man concept”, because he feels he has to prove his manhood to the dominant race. With his mother not giving him the opportunity to take on the role as an authority figure, Walter Lee is struggling to establish his authority. Patterson states that black men not having authority is the result of men not having central control during slavery as opposed to the master, which distorted the ability to be masculine. This leads Walter Lee to feel symptomatic towards the issues of the black man being immature and not being a real man. When he confronts his mother about his feelings, she is convinced that it is his time to be the head of the household. She gives him the rest of the money and tells him to be responsible with it, and also to support his sister financially with her education. Instead of fulfilling his mother’s wishes to be wise with the money, he uses it to invest in a liquor business because he feels that it’s a quick way to become successful. This is an example of the black male and adaptive vitality because he is not taking advantage of what is given to him, therefore, he turns to alternative means, which happens