A broken family consists of a biological family that has parted for particular reasons that may result in single-parent families, stepfamilies, or blended families. Growing up in the 90s, you saw famous black TV shows like “The Cosby Show” and “Good Times” and you envied the actors because of the roles they’re playing. The roles you wish would manifest in your reality, in your home- but they’re not. You’re broken. You’re broken because unlike Clair Huxtable who interacts with her children and is involved with their daily lives, your mother works two maybe three jobs to provide for you and your siblings and is headed out the door to her night job when you come home from school. You’re broken because unlike James Evans, an honest hardworking patriarch who provided for his family, the only father figure you remember is behind bars, no one at all or he’s at another home in charge. Broken.
Black. Black is a skin tone classification that separates those who have a darker skin pigmentation from those who have a lighter one. According to two reports released by Family Research Council’s Marriage and Religion Research Institute, only 17 percent of black teenagers reach age 17 in a family with both of their biological parents married, compared to 54 percent for white teenagers. One would think being black and being broken is merely a statistic, but when you are that statistic, it’s a lifestyle.
Being Black and broken is more than what meets the eye. We matter and so does our behavior and learning problems. Our emotional issues to our adjustment problems. Yes, we have high levels of parent-child disagreements and low levels of parent-child interactions, but we matter. We’re lured to stop procreating out of your frustration with solving the problem. But we matter. Being broken is nothing more than a token of strength, courage and hope.
From reading one would possibly think being Black and broken was some type of curse or alienation. When in all actuality, it is a humbling experience. You are born into humble surroundings and like a rose that grew from concrete, you survive- I did. Now, being Black and broken is not always sad and miserable. As with life, I've had my share of smiles too. One shouldn't look at being broken as being of devalue or misfortune. It is a lesson and sometimes a blessing where life teaches you things other people still can't understand.
