A Black Family Portrait

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Rebroadcast Tuesday, November 28, 2006, at 6:30 pm;
Thursday, November 30, 2006, at 11:30 pm

Where have all of the Black families gone? The face of the Black family that existed after the formal ending of slavery in 1865 has changed dramatically over the years. Many are thriving and intact, while others are struggling, broken.

In A Black Family Portrait, the myth of the failing black family is challenged and replaced with a contemporary look at how the Black families are surviving in less traditional ways. Couples share how they have maintained successful and affirming family units in marriages lasting over 60 years. The show also uncovers the most prevalent issues that are tearing black couples apart and provides solutions to the economic and social challenges that the Black family often faces.

Guests include married couples Linzie and Louise Coles; Solomon and Laveta Jones; Dr. Patricia Reid Merritt, Professor of Social Work and Africana Studies at Richard Stockton College; and family and couples counselor Reverend Niki Brown.

Linzie & Louise Coles,
married July 4, 1943

Solomon & Laveta Jones