African American Grief (Death, Dying and Bereavement) at Chef2Chef

Using the best of contemporary scholarship on bereavement, the authors carefully sort out what is universal in grief, what is individual difference, and what is cultural. The book is a model for an important future direction in the study of bereavement. It is essential reading for anyone working with the bereaved in multi-cultural settings..
–-- Dennis Klass, Ph.D., co-author of Dead But Not Lost: Grief Narratives in Religious Traditions

These stories not only make a good case that elements of grief are different for African Americans relative to Euro-Americans, they also provide a unique look at the pervasiveness of racism in this society. The book demonstrates that racism too often is a part of the death process and the resulting bereavement and coping of the family. As one respondent said, I'm so happy that you're doing this work. We as readers should be, too. No one else has provided such a valuable glimpse of this part of the African American experience..
–-- John Harvey, Professor of Psychology, University of Iowa

Book Description

It is often convenient to assume that grief is a basic human process, akin to breathing, sleeping, or walking. While there will always be slight differences in the duration, intensity, and exact grieving process of a given individual, the similarities in the fundamental experience and physical and mental responses to loss allow counselors, friends, and family members to have a foundation for work with the bereaved. However, while these underlying similarities can help to facilitate our understanding of the grieving experience, it is important to consider the impacts that particular cultural, historical, societal, and religious traits can have on a group's experiences with grief. In light of this acknowledgement, there have been a number of cross-cultural studies of grieving rituals, funeral and burial rites, and mourning experiences that have all contributed to an increased sensitivity to the distinctiveness of grieving experiences between different groups. But what has not been considered is a non-comparative study of a specific group's unique experiences with grief, within its own context and without comparison to white, Euro-American experiences.

African American Grief is a unique contribution to the field, both as a professional resource for counselors, therapists, social workers, clergy, and nurses, and as a reference volume for thanatologists, academics, and researchers. This work considers the potential effects of slavery, racism, and white ignorance and oppression on the African American experience and conception of death and grief in America. Based on interviews with 26 African-Americans who have faced the death of a significant person in their lives, the authors document, describe, and analyze key phenomena of the unique African-American experience of grief. The book combines moving narratives from the interviewees with sound research, analysis, and theoretical discussion of important issues in thanatology as well as topics such as the influence of the African-American church, gospel music, family grief, medical racism as a cause of death, and discrimination during life and after death.