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NARRATIVES OF GRIEVING AFRICAN-AMERICANS ABOUT RACISM IN THE LIVES OF DECEASED FAMILY MEMBERS

ABSTRACT As part of a comprehensive interview study on African-American grief, the authors explored how racism is incorporated into narratives about a deceased family member. To the extent that experiences of racism are pervasive in African-American life and to the extent that narratives about a person who has died generally account for the life experiences, achievements, character, and challenges faced by the deceased, the authors expected narratives about a deceased African-American to deal with the person's encounters with racism. In fact, most of the 26 African-Americans who were interviewed spoke about racism in the life of the deceased. Many talked about racism blocking the deceased from getting ahead occupationally and in other ways and about how the deceased resisted or stood up to racism. Some people spoke about the ways the deceased taught them to deal with racism. The narratives that indicated that the deceased had rarely or ever talked about racism still made clear that the deceased lived in a racist world but chose not to bring racism into family conversation. The findings suggest that a view of African-American grieving that is insensitive to racism in African-American experience may lead to unhelpful grief support or counseling.