Black families in America face special and grave problems. Widespread unemployment, single parent circumstances, adolescent pregnancies, substance abuse, and violence are only some of the problems posing challenges. The authors, convinced that the conventional perspective used in the past to analyze black families is deficient, propose a holistic approach. That perspective takes into account the totality of black family life rather than measuring isolated factors. Using black families as the central unit of analysis, the authors identify fundamental issues requiring concentrated attention...