African-American families of incarcerated males: An emergent study of orchestrated leadership

The purpose of this inquiry was to create a picture of leadership in the African-American family during the incarceration of a male family member. This study asked the following research question: "How is the relationship to be described by family members between leadership in the Black family and the incarceration of a Black male family member?" To understand the theoretical relationship, a structural leadership model was constructed, inspired by Peter Senge's work on systemic structures. This model consisted of the interaction between 2 systems: the African-American Family System and the Criminal Justice System. This structural approach allowed for the functional study of leadership, as a condition that occurred at the point of interface between these two larger systems. The works of Hill, Bailey and Green, and Hutchinson provided the historical Afro-centric context for understanding the flexibility of the African-American family and the interplay it has with the criminal justice system. Study participants engaged in a qualitative study that involved a semi-structured interview session designed to investigate family activities during the incarceration of a family member. Interview transcripts were then subjected to thematic analysis. An orchestrated style of leadership emerged from the interview transcripts. Leadership was orchestrated between members of the Black family in order to reach or maintain familial stability during the period of incarceration of a family member. This leadership style appeared to embrace a variety of leadership styles found in previous studies of Black leadership. It is based on a foundation of spirituality and rides upon a web of familial supports. Various forms of familial responsibility and parenting relationships were found. This leadership style transcended age, gender, class and geographical limitation within the Black experience. Orchestrated leadership appeared within any family member at any time, could appear on an interpersonal or collective level, could be arrested or disappear entirely within the family setting. As disproportionate rates of incarcerated Blacks are witnessed in America, the study concludes with a proposal, citing the need for family care and social service practitioners to take a programmatic approach in understanding those structures and functions that keep Black families together.