The Experiences of African American Mothers Raising Sons in the Context of #BlackLivesMatter

• Published in: The Professional Counselor (Greensboro, N.C.) N.C.), 2019-03, Vol.9 (1), p.67-79
• Main Authors: Joe, J. Richelle, Shillingford-Butler, M. Ann, Oh, Seungbin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African American women; African Americans; Brown, Michael; Child Rearing; Children; Coping; Counselors; Emotional Response; Empathy; Fulton, Sybrina; Martin, Trayvon; Mass Media Effects; McSpadden, Lesley; Media violence; Mental Health; Mental Health Workers; Mother-son relations; Mothers; Parent Child Relationship; Parenting; Parenting Styles; Parents & parenting; Psychological Patterns; Racial Bias; Social aspects; Social Justice; Sons; Stress (Psychology); Stress Variables; Trauma; Violence; Young adults
• ISSN: 2164-3989; 2164-3989
• DOI: 10.15241/jrj.9.1.67

In this phenomenological study, the authors explored the lived experiences of 19 African American mothers raising boys and young men to understand how media exposure to community and state violence connects to the physical and mental health of these mothers. Analysis of semi-structured individual interviews revealed six themes: psychological distress, physical manifestations of stress, parenting behaviors, empathic isolation, coping strategies, and strengths. The analysis of the data revealed that these themes were connected such that community and state violence were forces weighing on these mothers, resulting in emotional responses, changes to parenting approaches, physical responses, and empathic isolation, while the mothers' coping strategies and strengths served as forces to uplift. The authors present the lived experiences of the participants through a discussion of these themes and their implications for counseling African American mothers within the current social--political context. Keywords: African American mothers, #BlackLivesMatter, community and state violence, media exposure, mental health