The Importance Of Family Values

I interviewed Rita Wright from Northwest Georgia Housing Authority. She is in charge of resident services. She is an African American with a predominately African American clientele; therefore I knew I would be able to obtain much information from her viewpoint. When I asked Ms. Wright to talk about her key values and characteristics common in her culture she talked extensively about family. Family is a major part of her life. She stated that she is like most African Americans in which family values are extremely important. There are several people in her life who have earned the title of aunt, sister or cousin who are not blood related. These are individuals who have always been there for her and her family, so they too are considered just like family. Most African American families are embedded in complex kinship networks of blood and nonrelated individuals (Diller, 2011). To Ms. Wright there is nothing more precious than family. If family wrongs you, you forgive and forget. If family needs help, you must be there for them. In the end family is all we have.

Ms. Wright says religion is especially important to her and her family. She tries to instill into her children the importance of not just attending church each week, but following through with what they have learned from the sermons. She stated that going to church does not make you Christian. We have to follow through with God’s teachings. She states that although many of her family members do not attend church regularly, they are extremely spiritual.
Discipline was a characteristic that Ms. Wright said we should have more of. She believes if we spare the rod we will spoil the child. She believes her children should be raised as she was and that is to always show respect, especially to your