ABSTRACT
The essential attributes of culture are that it is shared and that it provides a vocabulary of symbols to express meaning ascribed to various aspects of shared social life. This chapter discusses the cultural emergence, meaning, and future of extended kin networks in the black community. It explains how and why cultural, racial, historical, political, social, and economic factors may influence the cultural emergence, meaning, and future of the black extended family. The chapter discusses extended familism with a larger context in mind. The mutual aid system in extended black families is rooted within a larger cultural context that evolved from the “brother” and “sister” concept in the African American community. This concept emerged out of the idea of survival in a hostile and oppressive society where blacks viewed themselves as “making it” only through the concerted efforts of groups of people.
