African-American – Resource Library

Black and Aging in America© presents summaries, statistics, and perspective on the status of Older African Americans. By examining social, economic, health and other indicators, in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups, this report illustrates progress as well as the many challenges that remain.

Some organizations, academic studies, and government agencies consulted for this report define seniors as over age 55. However, unless otherwise noted, this report reflects information on the 65-and-older cohort. Black and Aging in America© condenses this broad spectrum of information into one simplified presentation—a readily accessible portrait of the status of Older African Americans.

Black and Aging in America 2021 Download

Both inside and outside the child welfare system, the probability that African American children will live in grandfamilies is more than double that of the overall population, with one in five African American children living in grandfamilies at some point during their childhood.

Over the last few decades, drug epidemics, hurricanes and other tragedies have both created African American grandfamilies and challenged existing ones. The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest such crisis. As of mid-May 2020, African Americans in almost every state collecting racial data have higher rates of infection and death from COVID-19 than whites or Latinos. Despite these most fundamental threats to health and mortality, African Americans retain their commitment and cultural pride in caring for extended family.

This toolkit is designed to give resources and tips to child welfare agencies, other government agencies and nonprofit organizations, so they can better serve all African American grandfamilies. It will explore some of the unique strengths and challenges of these grandfamilies, which agencies and organizations need to recognize in order to provide culturally appropriate supportive services.

Click Here to Access the Grandfamilies Toolkit Download