Compare and contrast the Social Deficits and Strengths-Resiliency perspectives on African American families. What are the main components of each perspective? In what historical context did each perspective arise? Finally, what does Hill think is missing from the Strengths-Resiliency perspective?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

May include the following:
a. Social Deficits: social and economic forces such as slavery, racial oppression, economic exploitation, and northward migration destroyed African cultural tradition, preventing their assimilation, and left them poor and pathological. Arose as a rebuttal to prior theories that Black people were inherently inferior as a way to explain their “moral failings” as due to context instead of biology.
b. Strengths-Resiliency perspective: although slavery, racial oppression, and economic exploitation adversely affected African American families, contemporary racism has done more to undermine families. African culture has been altered, retained, and strengthened by the American experience of Black families. Arose from the Civil Rights era which saw greater emphasis on racial and cultural pride.
c. The Strengths-Resiliency perspective ignores both the historic and contemporary diversity of African American families, especially that based on social class.