USING THE MORAL VISION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN STORIES TO EMPOWER LOW-INCOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN

On the basis of in-depth interviews with 30 low-income African America n mothers who told their children Brer Rabbit stories, this article di scusses the moral values the women conveyed. During storytelling, the women distanced themselves from Christian views of the absolute evil o f tricks to interpret Brer Rabbit's tricks as clever and protective of the small and defenseless. intervention strategies are presented to s uggest how social workers can use the women's moral vision to change n egative valuations of African American morals and to empower low-incom e African American women clients.