ABSTRACT
The essential attributes of culture are that it is shared and that it provides a vocabulary of symbols to express meaning ascribed to various aspects of shared social life. Culture is also cognitive, precise as well as ambiguous, and it is constantly reshaped and stretched by its users (Keith, 1990). The family within the African American culture provides a template and filter for the expression of traditions, beliefs, symbols, language, ways of thinking, and rules for interacting within black cultures. It provides the foundation for understanding what it means to be black (Spencer and Adams-Markstrom, 1990). The family also provides a window into the dynamic and static aspects of the culture that are put into play within a group as it shifts and reshapes in response to the needs of its members.
