Sankofa Summer School: Motherless Child

Care and caregiving has always been a part of the African-American experience in the United States. Throughout US history Black people, girls and women in particular, served as caregivers in their families and community. Enslaved Black girls and women cared for their own children while being forced to care for white women’s children—frequently as wet nurses. Black women and girls holding dual caregiving roles continued through the Jim Crow era through present-day, with Black women working as domestic care workers, maids, nannies, and care home workers. Unpaid family caregiving continues to exist on the margins, especially when children uptake caregiving roles. There are an estimated 5.4 million youth caregivers in the US. Youth caregivers are children and teenagers who provide unpaid care, support, and assistance to disabled, ill, or injured family members, friends and romantic partners. Youth caregivers act as our country’s safety net for broken communities, social, and health care systems. This is especially true for poor or Black youth caregivers---when systems and services fail the disabled or sick adults in their life, poor and Black children step in to cover the gap by becoming caregivers. After this course, attendees will better understand the role of care and caregiving in the Black youth experience, drawing on both historical and present-day truths. This course takes a trauma-informed, liberation approach to caregiving and attendees will consider the complexity of Black generational trauma and self-care.