HISTORICAL RACIAL-DIFFERENCES IN LIVING ARRANGEMENTS OF CHILDREN

The African American family is not simply a product of existing social conditions but a reflection of a history and a culture that has been conducive to the survival of the African American population. The effe ct of social and economic exploitation and exclusion of the African po pulation in America during slavery and its aftermath is summarized by a historical approach, which is sensitive to culture. The contemporary household structures of the European and African American populations differ in a similar although more extreme manner than in the past.