ABSTRACT
In chapter 3, we discuss communication competence, and in chapter 4, we explore communication styles. In this chapter, we introduce a discussion of the range of African American relationships that are cultural, familial, gendered, and intimate. In some ways, this chapter is cumulative in that some concepts from each chapter covered so far are examined here. For example, in concert with chapters 1 and 2, we explore what it means to be an African American child, adult, sibling, parent, intimate partner, and gendered being, chapters 3 and 4 discuss the notions of conversational appropriateness, effectiveness, and interest in improvement as indices of competent behavior. This chapter is structured around the idea that identities are appropriately and effectively affirmed and negotiated through relationships. What we do with those relationships determines, in part, how we construct and define our own identities as well as cope with relational stress and identity shifting. We frame the discussion using Jackson’s extant identity negotiation theories (Jackson, in press-b; Ting-Toomey, 1999). The negotiation of identity implies that there is a constant exchange of values, ideas, norms, and beliefs in human relationships that shape how we view and are being viewed in our social world.
