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BURDEN BAG INSTRUCTIONS

GLASS PIECES
BURDEN BAG
BURDEN LABELED ON SLIDES

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

WHAT ARE YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF THE POPULATION OF GAY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY?
OF THAT POPULATION, WHAT PERCENTAGE DO YOU BELIEVE ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN?
DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMING OUT AS A GAY AFRICAN AMERICAN AND A
GAY WHITE AMERICAN?

BRIEF HISTORY
1619- THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN INDENTURED SERVANTS ARRIVE IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES.
1793- ELI WHITNEYS COTTON GIN INCREASES THE NEED FOR SLAVES.
1808- CONGRESS BANS FURTHER IMPORTATION OF SLAVES.
1831 1861- 75,000 SLAVES ESCAPE TO THE NORTH USING THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
1863- ABRAHAM LINCOLNS EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
1865 THE CIVIL WAR ENDS.
1868 THE 14TH AMENDMENT IS RATIFIED, DEFINING CITIZENSHIP.

BRIEF HISTORY CONTINUED

1870- THE 15TH AMENDMENT IS RATIFIED, GIVING AFRICAN AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
1881- TENNESSEE PASSES THE FIRST OF THE JIM CROW SEGREGATION LAWS
1896- SEPARATE BUT EQUAL
1954- BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION
1955- ROSA PARKS IS ARRESTED
1957- MLK AND THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
1964- CIVIL RIGHTS ACT
1968- MLK ASSASSINATED
2008- BARACK OBAMA, FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT

THINGS TO CONSIDER
FAMILY AND FRIEND ROLES
SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS VALUES
EDUCATION
ROLE OF RACISM
GENDER ROLES

FAMILY VALUES &

ROLES

SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES

ACCORDING TO THE URBAN CHILD INSTITUTE (YEAR), ABOUT 60 % OF SHELBY
COUNTY CHILDREN LIVE IN A HOME HEADED BY A SINGLE.

AFRICAN AMERICANS MAKE UP MORE THAN 60% OF MEMPHIS POPULATION AND

AROUND 50% OF THE COUNTYS POPULATION, BUT THEY COMPROMISE THE
MAJORITY OF THE AREAS SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES
(NAME, YEAR).

(ADD ONE BURDEN)

MULTIPLE ROLES

FLEXIBLE ROLES IN FAMILY

SEVERAL CAREGIVERS
STRONG KINSHIP AND COLLECTIVISM
RELIGION
COUNSELORS NEED TO BE AWARE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE FAMILY AND
WHAT ROLE OR MULTIPLE ROLES THE CLIENT HAS WITHIN THE FAMILY.
(QUOTE? NAME YEAR)

GENDER ROLES
MASCULINE STRONG, RESPECTED, HARD
FEMININE LEADERS, CAREGIVERS, STRONG
THE ROLES OF MEN AND WOMEN ARE CLEARLY DEFINED.
IN TRADITIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY, COMING OUT AS LGBTQQIA IS
CONSIDERED AN ASSAULT ON THE GENDER ROLES AND IS CONSIDERED
COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO THE SUCCESS OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE. (NAME
YEAR)

(ADD ONE BURDEN)

COMMUNICATION STYLES
DIRECTIVE
ANIMATED
EMOTIONAL
AGGRESSIVE
PARENTING CAN INVOLVE PHYSICAL DISCIPLINE INCLUDING HARSH AND/OR
CRITICAL REMARKS

YOUTH ARE OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD IN SCHOOL SETTING

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

RACISM
POVERTY
IN 2010, 46 MILLION AMERICAN IN POVERTY
AFRICAN AMERICANS HAD HIGHEST POVERTY RATE OF 27.4%
34.4 % FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS IN MEMPHIS
CRIME
AFRICAN AMERICAN REPRESENT 1 MILLION OF THE TOTAL 2.3 MILLION INCARCERATED
AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE INCARCERATED AT NEARLY SIX TIMES THE RATES OF WHITES
1 IN 6 BLACK MEN HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED AS OF 2001
NATIONWIDE, AFRICAN AMERICANS REPRESENT 26% OF JUVENILE ARRESTS, 44% OF YOUTH
WHO ARE DETAINED, 46% OF YOUTH WHO ARE JUDICIALLY WAIVED TO CRIMINAL COURT,
AND 58% OF THE YOUTH ADMITTED TO STATE PRISONS.
(ADD 3 BURDENS)

EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE

HOMELESSNESS

HEALTH

LACK OF TRUST

35% OF BLACK CHILDREN GRADES 7-12 HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED OR

EXPELLED AT SOME POINT IN THEIR SCHOOL CAREERS COMPARED
TO 20% OF HISPANICS AND 15% OF WHITES
IN 2010, ONE OUT OF EVERY 141 BLACK FAMILY MEMBERS STAYED
IN A HOMELESS SHELTER, A RATE SEVEN TIMES HIGHER WHEN
COMPARED WITH PERSONS IN WHITE FAMILIES (ONE IN 990).
AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE A SHORTER LIFE SPAN

(ADD FOUR BURDENS)

WITHIN GROUP DIFFERENCES

 CROSS MODEL OF FIVE STAGES RELATED TO ETHNIC & RACIAL IDENTITY

PREENCOUNTER DEVALUE BLACKNESS AND VALUE

WHITE
ENCOUNTER REINTERPRET THE WORLD
IMMERSION-EMERSION IMMERSED IN AFRICAN
AMERICAN CULTURE
INTERNALIZATION INNER SECURITY OF SELF
INTERNALIZATION-COMMITMENT SELF & CULTURE
PRIDE

 RACIAL SOCIALIZATION INFORMATION EDUCATION, WHERE AFRICAN AMERICAN

PARENTS SOCIALIZE THEIR CHILDREN IN ISSUES OF RACE. THEY TRANSMIT AND
INSTALL IN THEIR CHILDREN KNOWLEDGE OF THE VALUES, SPIRITUAL BELIEFS
AND OTHER CULTURAL ASPECTS. PREPARING THEIR CHILDREN FOR THE
HOSTILITY AND DISCRIMINATION THEY WILL ENCOUNTER IN THE WORLD.

COLORISM DISCRIMINATION OR PREJUDICE AGAINST INDIVIDUALS WITH DARK

SKIN TONE, TYPICALLY AMONG PEOPLE OF THE SAME ETHNIC OR RACIAL GROUP.

(ADD ONE BURDEN)

SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND HOMOPHOBIA

GALLUP SURVEY 121,000 PEOPLE INTERVIEWED, AND SHOWED THAT
3.4 % OF ADULTS CONSIDERED THEMSELVES A MEMBER OF THE LGBT
COMMUNITY. AND 4.6 % OF OF AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE LGBT.
OVERALL, A THIRD OF THESE IDENTIFY AS NON-WHITE.
HOMOPHOBIA DISLIKE OR PREJUDICE AGAINST HOMOSEXUALS
OFTEN AFRICAN AMERICANS DONT WANT TO COME OUT AS GAY DUE TO
EXTREME LEVEL OF HOMOPHOBIA IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY
(ADD ONE BURDEN)

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESSES FOR THE LGBTQQIA AFRICAN AMERICAN

ANXIETY
FEAR
DEPRESSION
ISOLATION
SHAME
INHIBITING SEXUAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND ACCEPTANCE AS RESULT
OF BEING SOCIALIZED IN HOSTILE AND HOMOPHOBIC ENVIRONMENTS
(ADD FIVE BURDENS)

FAMILY AND CULTURAL REJECTION

FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN LGBTQQIA

FAMILY REJECTION - GENDER ROLES, RELIGION INFLUENCES

CULTURAL REJECTION THREAT TO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
DOUBLE REJECTION!

(ADD TWO BURDENS)

SHAME AND SECRECY

DOWN-LOW (DL) AFRICAN AMERICAN SLANG THAT REFERS TO A SUBCULTURE OF
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN WHO USUALLY IDENTITY AS HETEROSEXUAL BUT WHO
HAVE SEX WITH MEN SECRETLY.

IF YOURE BLACK AND GAY, CHOOSING TO DECIDE

WHICH COMMUNITY TO IDENTIFY WITH THE BLACK
OR THE GAY COMMUNITY CAN BE DIFFICULT.

RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY

SAME GENDER LOVING (SGL) IS A TERM USED AS A MEANS OF AFFIRMING
HOMOSEXUALITY WITHIN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE.
THE LGBT COMMUNITY IS SEEN AS A WHITE COMMUNITY AND THEREFORE
MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS REFER TO GAY AS A WHITE PHENOMENON.
THERE IS SEGREGATION AND RACISM WITHIN THE LGBT COMMUNITY.
PEOPLE OF COLOR OFTEN JOIN SEPARATE BLACK PRIDE
ORGANIZATIONS/GROUPS.
(ADD ONE BURDEN)

ELDERLY AFRICAN AMERICAN AND LGBTQQIA

ISOLATION
INCREASED POVERTY
HIGH LEVELS OF INFIRMITY & CHRONIC ILLNESS
HETEROSEXISM & HOMOPHOBIA, ALONG WITH SEXISM &
AGEISM

(ADD ONE BURDEN)

RAVEN SYMONE
IM TIRED OF BEING LABELED.
RAVEN-SYMON: "I'M TIRED OF BEING LABELED" | WHERE ARE THEY NOW? | OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK
AGREE? OR DISAGREE?

SPIRITUALITY
REED AND NEVILLE (2014) SUGGEST THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION BETWEEN
SPIRITUALITY AND AFRICAN AMERICAN'S WELL-BEING.

HARLEY (2005) ALSO SUGGEST THAT MENTAL HEALTH WELL-BEING IS INCREASED FOR AFRICAN
AMERICANS WHEN THEY BELONG TO A AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH COMMUNITY.

SPIRITUALITY
OF THE 66 BOOKS OF THE BIBLE, SIX OFTEN-CITED VERSES (GENESIS 1-2, 19:1-9; LEVITICUS 18:22, 20:13; 1
CORINTHIANS 6:9; ROMANS 1:26-27; AND 1 TIMOTHY 1:10) HAVE BEEN INTERPRETED AS EVIDENCE THAT
HOMOPHOBIA AND HETEROSEXISM ARE SCRIPTURALLY NORMATIVE.

MILLER (2007) CLAIMS THAT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN INTERVIEWED FOR HIS STUDY DESCRIBED
BEING OPPRESSED AND MARGINALIZED BY THEIR CLERGY BECAUSE THEY WERE GAY AND HAD AIDS.

THIS IS COUNTER TO BOWLAND (2012) WHO STATED THAT PARTICIPANTS FOUND POSITIVE REACTIONS TO

COMING OUT TO THEIR CHURCH AND SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATING BY FINDING SUPPORTIVE PEER GROUPS IN
THE CHURCH. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT EVERYONE IN THIS STUDY WAS A WHITE AMERICAN.
(ADD ONE BURDEN)

SPIRITUALITY
GAY AND LESBIANS IN BLACK CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
ARE THERE ANY OTHER STRUGGLES AS COMING OUT AS A GAY PERSON IN A RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENT?

(ADD ONE BURDEN)

CURRENT/LOCAL ISSUES
CURRENT POPULATION OF GAY IN AMERICA:
YOUNG
LOWER CLASS
PEOPLE OF COLOR

How is the media shaping

our view of gay African
Americans

CASE STUDY
MICHAEL IS A19 YEAR-OLD GAY AA MALE REFERRED TO THERAPY BY THE
LOCAL GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY CENTER IN MEMPHIS. HE HAS BEEN
KICKED OUT OF HIS HOME WHERE MICHAEL WAS LIVING WITH HIS SINGLE
AUNT WHO RAISED HIM. MICHAELS AUNT IS A DEACON AT HER SOUTHERN
BAPTIST CHURCH AND RAISED MICHAEL WITH STRONG RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.
ALTHOUGH MICHAEL GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND IS WORKING
PART-TIME AT MCDONALDS HE IS CONSIDERED HOMELESS WITHOUT
PERMANENT HOUSING AND DEPENDS ON THE CENTER FOR MEALS AND
LIVING SUPPLIES. HE SHUFFLES THROUGH THE SHELTERS OFTEN AFRAID TO
EXPRESS HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATION FOR FEAR OF PREJUDICE FROM
SHELTER STAFF NOT ALLOWING HIM STAY. ALTHOUGH THE COMMUNITY
CENTER SUPPORTS HIM, HE FEELS HE IS TREATED DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE
HE IS BLACK. HE STATES HE HAS BEEN DEPRESSED AND ANXIOUS SINCE
COMING OUT TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
COUNSELING IMPLICATIONS

COUNSELING IMPLICATIONS
TRAINING/EDUCATION/PERSONAL VALUES

ENVIRONMENT & CHOOSING APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE, SUCH AS PARTNER

COUNSELOR HAS TO ASSUME MULTIPLE ROLES
ADVOCATE
CASEWORKER
PROBLEM SOLVER
MENTOR
REFERRAL TO LOCAL BLACK PRIDE GROUP, FU:BU & PASTOR OF THE LOCAL
AFFIRMING AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH

POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES

PERSON-CENTER THERAPY ALONG WITH VALIDATION AND NORMALIZATION

END DISCUSSION
DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMING OUT AS A GAY AFRICAN AMERICAN AND A
GAY WHITE AMERICAN?

DID ANYTHING SURPRISE YOU?

ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR CONCERNS?

RESOURCES
SUE, D.W., & SUE, D. (2013). COUNSELING AFRICAN AMERICANS IN COUNSELING THE CULTURAL DIVERSE: THEORY AND PRACTICE
(PP 365-378). HOBOKEN,
NJ: J. WILEY & SONS.
SUE, D.W., & SUE, D. (2013). COUNSELING LGBT INDIVIDUALS IN COUNSELING THE CULTURAL DIVERSE: THEORY AND PRACTICE (PP
473-485). HOBOKEN, NJ: J. WILEY & SONS
LEMOIRE, S.J., & CHEN, C.P. (2005). APPLYING PERSON-CENTERED COUNSELING TO SEXUAL MINORITY ADOLESCENTS. JOURNAL OF
COUNSELING & DEVELOPMENT, 83(2), 145-154.
TRANHAN, D.P., & GOODRICH, K.M. (2015) YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME, BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA: DYNAMICS IN AFRICAN
AMERICAN FAMILIES
FOLLOWING A SONS OR DAUGHTERS DISCLOSURE AS LGBT. THE FAMILY JOURNAL OF COUNSELING
AND THERAPY FOR COUPLES AND FAMILIES.
23(2), 147-157.
SPENGLER, E.S. (2015) PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP-SEEKING ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS OF LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL
INDIVIDUALS: THE ROLE OF SEXUAL
MINORITY IDENTITY AND PERCEIVED COUNSELOR SEXUAL PREJUDICE. PSYCHOLOGY
OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER DIVERSITY.2(4), 482-491
MEREISH, E.H., & POTEAT, V.P., (2015). THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH GROWTH-FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS PROMOTE
RESILIENCE AND ALLEVIATE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG SEXUAL MINORITIES: APPLICATIONS OF RELATIONAL
CULTURAL THEORY. PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
AND GENDER DIVERSITY. 2(3), 339-344.
DELAVEGA, E. (2015, SEPTEMBER 17). 2015 MEMPHIS POVERTY FACT SHEET. RETRIEVED FROM
HTTP://WWW.MEMPHIS.EDU/SOCIALWORK/PDFS/20152POVERTYFACTSHEETWEBVERSION.PDF
THE URBAN CHILD INSTITUTE. (2013). THE STATE OF CHILDREN IN MEMPHIS & SHELBY COUNTY: DATA BOOK. MEMPHIS,TN: THE
URBAN CHILD INSTITUTE.
RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.URBANCHILDINSTITUTE.ORG/SITES/ALL/FILES/DATABOOKS
/TUCI_DATA_BOOK_VIII_2013.00_COMPLETE.PDF