Author: Yamir Chapman

McHale, S. M., Updegraff, K. A., & Whiteman, S. D. (2012). Sibling Relationships and Influences in Childhood and Adolescence. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74(5), 913–930. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41678766

This article introduces Susan McHale, a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University, Kimberly Updegraff, a professor in the School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University, and Shawn Whiteman, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University. This study emphasizes the role of siblings as central to the life of the family as members who assist in adolescent development and adjustment and key areas of difference in siblinghood connected to sociocultural factors. While this article does not only talk about African-American families, it will be helpful during the analysis and conversational portion of our documentation process.

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Scholarship

In Site Bibliography

Brody, G. H., Stoneman, Z., Smith, T., & Gibson, N. M. (1999). Sibling Relationships in Rural African American Families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 61(4), 1046–1057. https://doi.org/10.2307/354023

This article introduces Gene Brody, an American developmental psychologist at the University of Georgia, and Zolinda Stoneman, a professor of human development and family science at the University of Georgia. Together, the authors focus on the sibling relationships in Rural African-American families. This study posits that presently, there is a gap in the literature in understanding the siblinghood of African Americans. Key pieces within this literature point to the benefits African American siblings gain from each other in developmental ways and how parenting styles influence and help to determine sibling relationship quality amongst rural African Americans. This study is important for understanding the value and role of Black siblings and will be helpful in curating questions for our interviews.

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Scholarship

In Site Bibliography

Borairi, S., Plamondon, A., Rodrigues, M., Sokolovic, N., Perlman, M., & Jenkins, J. (2023). Do siblings influence one another? unpacking processes that occur during sibling conflict. Child Development, 94(1), 110-125. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13842

This article introduces Sahar Borairi, a professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the University of Toronto, and Andre Plamondon, a professor in the Department of Foundations and Practices in Education. Together with their colleagues, they investigated conflict among siblings and how they came to resolution. Furthermore, this study does a great job differentiating the differences in how conflict begins and is resolved through various lenses of older-younger, same-age, and younger-older sibling conflict. This article does not explicitly focus on Black families and has a low representation of Black participants, but it may inform our understanding of our future participants who have delicate or non-existent relationships with their siblings and how they resolved– or didn’t resolve—conflict.

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Scholarship

In Site Bibliography

Boen, Courtney E., Hannah Olson and Hedwig Lee. 2022. “Vicarious Exposure to the Criminal Legal System among Parents and Siblings.” Journal of Marriage and Family 84(5):1446-1468. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12842.

This article introduces Hannah Olson and Courtney E. Boen, professors in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Hedwig Lee, a professor in the Department of Sociology at Washington University. This study explores the frequency of vicarious exposure to incarceration among parents and siblings. The findings show that racially minoritized parents and siblings, primarily black parents and siblings, experience more and earlier exposure to the criminal legal system. Although this study does not investigate the relationships between black siblings, it is still of value to our project because it identifies one way that black siblinghood experiences are disproportionately challenged compared to non-black siblinghood experiences. While our interview subjects may not have firsthand experience with the criminal legal system, they might have observed some other ways our society’s structure has negatively impacted

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Yamir Chapman (He/Him) is a junior at the University of Richmond double majoring in leadership studies and psychology. A native of Trenton, New Jersey Yamir is active on his campus as the co-president of the co-ed acapella group known as Off The Cuff, the treasurer for The Black Student Alliance, and serves as a hearing board member for the Student Conduct Council. Additionally, Yamir has the privilege of serving as board member for the President’s student advisory board, a student representative for student development on the Board of Trustees, a member of the admissions committee. Yamir has done extensive work as a research fellow for the Race and Racism project and has recently completed a semester abroad at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy.

Yamir enjoys his time in the Sociology of Black Families class and enjoyed curating this online platform to highlight and document Black familial relationships, and wants to extend his greatest gratitude to all members of this project. Lastly, if you’d like to connect with Yamir or explore additional ways in which he continues his scholarship in the social sciences, consider connecting with him here.

In Meet The Authors

Lainey Brown is a senior at the University of Richmond majoring in sociology and minoring in law and the liberal arts. Lainey is originally from Dallas, Texas, where the majority of her extended family still lives. During her time at Richmond, Lainey has had the opportunity to participate in various extracurricular activities ranging from Mock Trial, and Student Government, to Greek life. However, her favorite aspect of being a student at Richmond is spending time outside enjoying the beautiful campus. Outside of school, Lainey enjoys spending time with her family and friends, as well as reading cheesy romance novels.

Lainey is always excited for her time in the Sociology of Black Families course, even at 9:00 am in the morning! She has enjoyed the opportunity to work with her partner to challenge her assumptions and expand her understanding of Black Families.

In Meet The Authors

The study of Black siblinghood within the context of Black families is deeply rooted in a complex historical and sociological landscape. To understand the dynamics of Black sibling relationships among adolescents, it is imperative to consider the historical foundations of slavery, systemic racism, and the broader African-American experience. Historically, the institution of slavery in the United States had a profound impact on Black families. Enslaved individuals were often forcibly separated from their families, including siblings, leading to disrupted familial bonds. This traumatic history has left a lasting imprint on the collective memory of Black families and influenced the significance of sibling relationships as a source of support and resilience.

Throughout the 20th century, the Civil Rights Movement and subsequent social and legislative changes began to challenge racial segregation and discrimination. However, these changes did not eliminate the enduring disparities faced by Black communities, including economic and educational inequalities.

These disparities continue to shape the social, economic, and educational opportunities available to Black adolescents and affect their sibling relationships. Today, the study of Black siblinghood is crucial as it offers insights into how adolescents navigate contemporary challenges within the context of their families. Understanding the historical and sociological context is vital for grasping the nuanced ways in which Black sibling relationships function and how they influence individual behaviors, providing valuable insights into the resilience and strength of Black families in the face of historical adversity and ongoing societal inequities.

In Historical Context

Conducting interviews with African Americans to have a better understanding of their relationship with their siblings is extremely important because much of the literature surrounding development and siblinghood lacks the diverse and unique experience of African Americans with their siblings. Furthermore, African Americans experience siblinghood differently due to social strains such as poverty, culture, and even social institutions such as incarceration. Previous works such as thehistorymakers.org , which is a national 501 (c ) (3) non-profit research and educational institution committed to preserving and making widely accessible the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans, only provide sources from older African Americans reflecting on their childhoods. We aimed to intentionally capture the experiences of younger subjects who either currently live with siblings or have lived with siblings within the past few years with hopes that it will help African-American siblinghood be captured in an accurate and complex way. Additionally, understanding African-American siblinghood will give us further insight into African-American family structures’ diverse dynamics and functionality. Overall, capturing and understanding African-American siblinghood will help us better understand how society disadvantages these siblings and how their relationships develop, operate, and thrive despite the unique adversities they face.