When Black Starts to Crack: Parental Caregiving in the Black Community
When Black Starts to Crack: Parental Caregiving in the Black Community is a collection of stories that address the experience of parental caregiving in the Black community. It explores ways in which caring for a parent, regardless of age, has many celebratory moments and enormous challenges. The stories are a brief look at caregiving through the lens of parental care in the context of a Black experience. The book contains research from scholars, AARP, and other sources that focus on the ways in which the Black community engages in caregiving compared to its counterparts.
“In their 2020 report, the National Alliance of Caregivers and AARP found that the majority of Black caregivers tend to be women. Other research found that the primary motivation for providing care mainly stems from a sense of obligation to the parent. Although this may be the fuel for some caregivers who submitted their journeys for this book, no one specifically stated that obligation was their motivating factor. What is most prevalent in the stories is that no formal plan was in place that addressed who would be responsible for parental care when the need arose, regardless of whether the need was due to aging, mental illness, or physical disability. For the most part, these authors just stepped in to provide whatever care was needed.” (book excerpt)
Sackcloth and Ashes: Black Women Grieving
“Whether caused by a death, divorce, or other type of loss, incomplete recovery can have a lifelong negative impact on a person’s capacity for happiness.” The Grief Recovery Handbook, John W. James and Russell Friedman, 2009
Sackcloth and Ashes:Black Women Grieving will highlight stories of Black women’s understanding of loss and ways that they process grief. The basic premise is that many Black women are conditioned not to recognize the many losses they experience in life. Oftentimes, they do not give themselves the freedom to acknowledge loss or the liberty to grieve those losses. As a consequence, many are living incomplete lives, sometimes devoid of compassion, filled with anger or thoughts of unworthiness, standing on shaky foundations. This book is an attempt to share stories of Black women as they identify broken places, make concerted efforts to mend those breaches, and begin to practice grief as an act of self-care.
“Its hard to heal when you’re still being hurt” What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World, Prentis Hemphill, 2024
Grief takes many forms—whether it’s the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or a life-changing event, Sackcloth and Ashes: Black Women Grieving is a project dedicated to understanding these experiences and providing a space for healing. If you would like to share your story for research and potential inclusion in the book, please complete the simple form below. Once received, I will follow up with more in-depth questions. Your voice matters, and your journey could help others find solace. If you have experienced any losses in your life, I hope that you are willing to have a conversation about the experience and be a part of this seminal project.