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Men Do Matter

Ethnographic Insights on the Socially Supportive Role of the African American Uncle in the Lives of Inner-City African American Male Youth

University of Maryland at College Park, jorichardson{at}aasp.umd.edu

This article examines the role of the African American uncle as a vital yet overlooked form of social support and social capital in the lives of adolescent African American male sons living in single-female-headed households. Research rarely examines the affective roles and functions of men in Black families; moreover, poor urban Black male youth are typically portrayed as a monolithic and homogeneous group who lack positive relationships with their biological fathers. The absence of these relationships has been correlated to numerous social problems for Black male youth—specifically, delinquency and violent behavior. Although much of the work on African American fatherhood has focused on the role of the biological father (and, to some extent, the stepfather), minimal attention has been given to men within extended familial networks and their impact on successful adolescent development among young African American males.

Key Words: families • youth development • fathers • African American • delinquency

This version was published on August 1, 2009

Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 30, No. 8, 1041-1069 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X08330930


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