“I need my granddaughter to know who I am!” A case study of a 67-year-old African American man and his spiritual legacy

Abstract

This case study describes the spiritual care relationship between an African American man receiving palliative care for metastatic cancer and a Chinese American woman chaplain over the period of multiple hospitalizations. It illustrates legacy making as a key spiritual need, one that is complicated by discrimination, structural racism, estranged family relationships, and the patient’s own mortality. Included are verbatim conversations that address the impact of racism in the US context and express the complex identities of both patient and chaplain in a dynamic and collaborative intercultural relationship. This case posits the importance of voices of chaplains of color and encourages all chaplains to develop caregiving capacities that address patients’ needs for racial justice, meaning, and spiritual legacy.

Keywords:

• African American
• case study
• legacy
• palliative care
• racism
• spirituality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 When asked for permission for the writing of this case study, Malcom requested to be described as “African American” with the emphasis on “African” rather than “Black” or as a “racial minority.”

2 In Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy (1954) author George James argues that the tenets of ancient Greek philosophy were stolen from Egypt.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.