Salute to Black Grandparents: the Guardians of Children of Substance Using Parents

The African proverb, "it takes a village to raise a child" is exemplified by African American Grandparents when their own adult children are unable to take care of their children due to addiction, incarceration (often related to addiction) or mental illness.

Studies indicated that when raised by grandparents, grandchildren often report feeling loved. In addition, African American Grandparents often introduce their grandchildren to family rituals (family dinners), cultural rituals, history, constant and predictable routines, the adult protective shield, spirituality and God. All of these have proven to be substance abuse prevention protective factors.

Grandparents raising their grandchildren often lose their own personal freedom and the opportunity to enjoy the golden years. Many are economically poor and raise grandchildren who have often experienced neglect, abandonment and maltreatment due to parental addiction, mental illness, incarceration or a combination. This can be quite stressful. Some grandparents are raising their adult children and grandchildren simultaneously.

We owe black grandparents! I owe black grandparents. My grandparents became my caretaker the year addiction and incarceration impacted both sides of my family. I was bitter because I was not living with my parents and took my bitterness out on my grandparents (youth often demonstrated their frustration where they feel safest and most loved). This was my junior year of high school. The angrier I acted, the more loving my grandmother became. She was a saint, a praying grandmother! That year I failed 2 classes and my 2.0 grade point average dropped to 1.5. I demanded, in a harsh tone, that my grandfather give me money to pay for summer school. He said to me, "I'm not giving you anything! If you want to destroy your life, I'm not going to pay for it!" My grandmother overheard the conversation and with tears in her eyes said, "Give him the money. I love him" I understand the research that says that children raised by their grandparents often report feeling loved. That event was the catalyst which propelled my life forward.

I try to honor my grandmother by being successful as I can be. Each time I go to the barbershop I give the barber an extra $15 to anonymously pay for the haircuts of grandsons raised by grandmothers. What are some little things you can do to support grandparents raising their grandchildren?

Education As Substance Abuse Prevention and a Recovery Tool for African Americans

In the 1960's activist, religious and civil rights leader Malcolm X stated, “When you live in a poor neighborhood, you are living in an area where you have poor schools. When you have poor schools you have poor teachers. When you have poor teachers, you get a poor education, you can only work in a poor- paying job. And that poor-paying job enables you to again live in a poor neighborhood. It’s a very vicious cycle."

Malcolm echoed the sentiment of African American Elders who made the migration from the Southern States to the Northern states In search of occupational opportunities and to escape Jim Crow Laws and lynchings in the south. It is estimated that between 1916 to 1970, 6 million African Americans migrated north and secured work in the steel mills, railroads, meat packing and auto industries. The message that these elders/pioneers delivered to young African American children and adolescents who were born in the North is that education is the key to freedom. Many of these elders had parents and grandparents who during slavery were not allowed to attend school or learn to read. A slave owner’s wife was teaching Frederick Douglass to read when Douglass was enslaved. The slave owner told his wife, “If you teach him to read, it will be impossible to keep him a slave.” It was common for Black parents of the Great Migration to tell their children, “No matter how sick you are, you have to go to school.”

At the time of this writing most of the jobs African Americans secured during the Great Migration have either disappeared or have been shipped abroad. Studies indicate that African Americans have twice the unemployment rate as Whites and are still lagging behind on standardized test scores, which can determine the quality of your education. Many are also miseducated in elementary schools increasing the risks of dropping out of high school, drug use, drug selling (for income) drug related arrests felony arrests which makes it even more difficult to qualify for financial Aid for college and secure employment. Thus for many, a feeling of hopelessness can set in leading to a return to drug use  and in some instances drug selling (for income) and a return to prison. To quote Malcolm X, “A very vicious cycle.” Education is also important for African Americans seeking addictions recovery. According to Dr. William Cloud, as educational recovery capital increases, recovery rates also increase.

There is good news. Urban Prep High School, located on the South Side of Chicago has a 100% African American Male Graduation rate and 100% of these young men have gone on to college, over the course of the past decade. Nearly 90% of African Americans who attend North Lawndale Prep High school on the West Side of Chicago go on to College. The average income in the communities where these two schools are located are beneath the poverty line. These schools prove that when a school has a great mission, (Urban Prep expects every student to go to college and the students recite a daily pledge that they plan to go to college) and dedicated faculty who are able to motivate students, all things are possible!

During the Great Migration the manufacturing industry was the largest employer of African Americans. Today, the future of employment in America is STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). These jobs require a good education. The elders were right. Education is a key to success. In spite of the struggles described in this blog post, the great majority of African Americans are high school graduates. Many have also graduated from the finest colleges in the nation and the majority are middle class economically.