African-American Mothering

Abstract

This article addresses deficits in the psychological literature by bringing the perspective of an African-American grandmother and a psychotherapist to the psychology of African-American mothering. An historical narrative and viewpoint, as well as some additional thoughts on African-American mothering, grandmothering and “othermothering” are followed by some famous, and some not so famous, words of and about African-America's mothers and foremothers. By presenting African-American mothers' words and perspectives, the author increases the fund of knowledge about the psychological influences on African-American women.

Key Words:

• African-American mothers
• feminist psychotherapy
• African-American grandmothers
• cultural influences
• psychotherapy with African-American women