African American Response to AA

The question of alcoholism among black Americans is connected to larger issues of substance abuse in the modern culture as a whole and in the African American community in particular. Midanik and Clark (1994) say that there are fewer cultural differences between social-drinking and alcohol-abuse patterns among black, Hispanic, and white Americans as of 1994 than as of 1984. Increased age rather than type of culture is said to be a more reliable predictor of a decline in alcohol use. There appears to be a widespread acknowledgment that substance abuse of any kind in the black community is connected, at least in part, to the failure of the dominant culture to sufficiently include African Americans as full participants. In this regard, Blake and Darling (1994), as well as Roberts (1994), cite problems of social and economic integration faced in particular by African American males, noting connections between unemployment, poverty, high rates of death, and substance abuse on one hand, and the pressures of the mains--ream culture on black men to conform to mainstream values despite the tendency to divide black men f

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in what may have been thought to be a largely personal and psychological behavioral and treatment environment. In other words, in no segment of society can the sociopolitical implications of presumably nonpolitical activity be ignored. However, as Rogan indicates (1986), both culture and race can play a part in the recovery process as well. Alcoholics Anonymous is cited as one factor of rehabilitation that has had a positive impact on minority clients. Further to this point, Hudson (1985-6) is even more enthusiastic about AA as an effective treatment modality for black alcoholics. In a survey of the history of AA participation by blacks, Hudson cites the transformation of the organization vis-a-vis black culture. It appears that during the 1940s, when AA was in its initial phase of expansion, racist attitudes of white participants kept black participants out of white AA meetings and led to the formation of all-black AA groups, particularly in major American urban areas (Hudson, 1985-6). In later decades, AA meetings became integrated. Indeed, Hudson suggests that the "culture" of AA, which promoted mutual support and self-help of members and which was more inclusive than exclusive in its conceptual design. Additionally, t
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2313
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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