Copyright 1998 by
The Cerontological Society of America
The Cerontologist
Vol. 38, No. 4, 44S-455
Employing ethnographic and historical research methods, this article examines the
organization and delivery of parallel services (locally generated alternatives to formal,
externally controlled services) for older residents in four of the all-Black towns of Oklahoma. These towns are rural, social-ecological enclaves that generally have remained
totally African American since they were established in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Elders, even impaired older people, are prominent agents in the production of alternative
services, and the organization of parallel services can be directly related to historical and
contextual characteristics of the communities. The results demonstrate the value of taking
into account community history and context, as well as the mix of parallel services, when
developing formal services for minority communities.
Key Words: Informal care, Minority services
Historical and Contextual Correlates
of Parallel Services for Elders
in African American Communities
William J. McAuley, PhD1
The care arrangements of older African Americans
are in part the products of racism, as well as our "racialized" social system—a term Bonilla-Silva (1997) has
used to describe the partial structuring of major social
institutions according to race. Systematic exclusion from
service institutions has led to the development of parallel African American services that draw upon family,
church, and other community resources (Chatters &
Taylor, 1990; Watson, 1990). Failure to consider the
innovative and adaptive features of parallel African
American services may lead one to view them incorrectly as inferior (Chatters & Taylor, 1990). According
to Stanford (1990, p. 41), "Black older persons should
be viewed from the perspective of their own history,
without having to suffer the indignity of being compared with those older persons who have, for the most
part, had entirely different social, political, and economic experiences."
This article combines ethnographic research with
historical analysis to offer evidence of the associations
between minority group history, community care contexts, and the organization of parallel services for
older people in the all-Black towns of Oklahoma. These
communities are particularly valuable for this type of
analysis because: (a) there is considerable primary and
Based upon a paper presented at the symposium on Home and Community Care, 16th Congress of the International Association of Gerontology, Adelaide, Australia, August 1997. I appreciate the contributions made
by Jo Anna Grant, Marcia Safewright, Loretta Pecchioni, Linda Womack,
and Rebecca Courreges to this investigation. I also want to thank the
town residents whom we have had the privilege of interviewing. This
project was supported in part by the Presbyterian Health Foundation of
Oklahoma.
1
Address correspondence to Dr. William J. McAuley, Oklahoma Center on Aging and Department of Health Administration and Policy, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P. O. Box 26901, CNB 407,
Oklahoma City, OK 73190. E-mail: [email protected]
Vol.38, No. 4, 1998
445
secondary documentation recording the histories of the
communities; (b) the towns are relatively small and
recently developed, so the comprehension of their historical trends and current circumstances is feasible; (c)
the analysis can be linked to the work of Mozell Hill,
a sociologist who studied the Oklahoma communities
in the 1930s and 1940s; and (d) the towns are rural
and have remained relatively isolated, which means it
is easier to comprehend how African Americans organize parallel services under conditions of limited interaction with the majority population (Hill & Ackiss,
1943).
The all-Black towns are small, incorporated, rural
nonfarm communities scattered throughout the eastern half of the state. Twelve towns remain out of approximately 30 that once existed. According to the
U.S. Bureau of the Census (1992), populations of the
communities range from 50 to 1,441. Red dirt, rather
than gravel or asphalt, is a ubiquitous form of "pavement" in the towns. The towns have remained essentially African American since they were established.
Large proportions of town residents are elderly, chiefly
due to the emigration of young people. Poverty rates
among the elders tend to be quite high. Although many
of the towns once had thriving business districts, few
currently have more than one or two operating businesses within their boundaries (McAuley, 1998).
Methods
Many approaches were combined to gather information about the lived experiences of eiders in the
all-Black towns of Oklahoma. The active interview
approach, with its emphasis on both the process of
meaning-making and the collaboration between interviewer and respondent (Gubrium, 1993; Holstein &
Gubrium, 1995), was employed with 13 older (aged
60 years and over) residents in four of the 12 remaining communities. Respondents were selected using a
combination of purposive and opportunity approaches.
The five men and eight women ranged in age from
61 to 91 years. Four were married, seven were widowed, and two never married. All of the individuals
had lived in their town for an extended time, and
most were born in or near the communities. Using a
semistructured interview guide, I personally interviewed
all but three of the respondents. One interview was
partly completed, and another two were totally completed, by a carefully trained research associate. The
interviews lasted from approximately 80 minutes to
five hours.
In addition to these individual interviews, I completed two group interviews with residents—one with
seven older women, and another with three men, two
of whom were over 60 years of age. I also completed
face-to-face interviews with the current mayors of
three towns and with two long-time students of the
history of African Americans in Oklahoma. Field notes
were obtained from additional sources such as observations from visits to post offices, informal conversations with town postmasters, and attendance at
bimonthly meetings of the Oklahoma Conference of
Black Mayors. I have also reviewed the literature and
historical documentation of the all-Black towns of
Oklahoma. These resources have provided valuable
insights into the social histories of the communities.
Data analysis consisted of multiple phases of listening to audio recordings and reading transcripts, field
notes and other written materials, along with notetaking regarding emerging themes. Each new review
phase consisted of: (a) discovery of new themes; (b)
searches for passages that confirm, refute, or refine
the themes; and (c) refinement of themes. Confirmation from multiple sources was one method used to
assess the legitimacy of emerging themes.
residence in a land not even a state was a racial experiment of the first order." These communities were
settled less as racial ghettos than as Utopian enclaves
where African American self-realization and group
ideology could be pursued without interference
from Whites and Indians (Bittle & Geis, 1957; Crockett,
1979; Hill, 1946a; Washington, 1908).
Initially, Whites in the region encouraged the establishment of separate African American towns because
it limited interchange between Whites and African
Americans (Hill, 1946b). However, with time, the development of prosperous, growing all-Black communities disputed a basic argument Whites could employ for the disenfranchisement of African Americans.
If African Americans were able to establish viable, productive communities on their own, it might suggest
that they should be permitted to vote and accorded
other forms of equality within the larger social-economic system (Crockett, 1979).
Because Whites controlled the external economic
structure and governmental resources, they were able
to weaken the towns' economic arrangements and limit
the development of their infrastructures. Among the
methods employed were deliberate undercounting of
pupils in town schools, failing to submit reports expeditiously, reducing the length of African American
school terms, forcing the Black towns to pay for their
own schools or to establish private schools, limiting
road improvements, and "openly withholding funds"
from the communities (CrocKett, 1979, p. 166). Later,
school consolidation meant that the schools in most
of the all-Black towns were closed. Of course, the
towns experienced many financial insults that were
not the direct result of White intervention, including
the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and periods of
depressed cotton prices. However, each town's viability was severely diminished by discrimination. Bittle
and Geis (1957) offered a valuable perspective on
the survival chances of the all-Black towns within the
larger, White society:
Background
The original 30 all-Black towns of Oklahoma were
established between the end of the Civil War and the
early 1900s in the eastern section of Oklahoma, a section
that was designated as Indian Territory prior to statehood (Carney, 1991). Promotional documents were distributed by town promoters and speculators throughout the South to advertise the availability of land in
the towns. These documents championed the economic opportunities created by the opening of the
West, the chance for African Americans to live with
other African Americans and be in charge of their own
destiny, the prospect of personal and familial safety
from Whites, and the possibility of freedom from White
domination (Bogle, 1994; Carney, 1991). These promotional fliers and other forms of advertisement attracted thousands of African American migrants to the
region to establish the towns. Bittle and Geis (1957,
p. 252) indicated that the African Americans who
came to the all-Black towns of Oklahoma were to
"have their first opportunity on the North American
continent for self-determination.... For them this
446
The discrepancy between the aims and aspirations of
the all-Negro communities and the actualities of their
life histories illustrates vividly the lengths to which the
Negro would be permitted to go—the real limits of
his social tether.... Further, it illustrates the measures
which the whites would employ once racial conflict,
the seeking of the same goal by two racial groups,
became manifest (p. 248).
After the turn of the century, White intimidation
increased substantially (Bogle, 1994). Among their activities were the organization of "Anti-Negro Farmer's
Associations" to discourage and harass African American farmers (Elahi, 1968), lynchings and house burnings by "Whitecappers" and the Ku Klux Klan (Tolson,
1972), physically forcing African American residents
out of many mixed-race towns (Franklin, 1982), and
the Tulsa race riot of 1921, one of America's worst
urban racial conflicts (Smallwood & Phillips, 1993;
Tolson, 1972). As a result of these occurrences, the
all-Black towns increasingly became places in which
African Americans sought safety from White oppresThe Gerontologist
sion. Town residents frequently experienced overt
discrimination when they traveled outside their communities, and occasionally suffered the destructive
incursions of Whites (McAuley, 1998).
The development of an ethnic identity depends upon contextual factors, as well as socialization processes
(Smith & Thorton, 1993). In racially homogeneous
environments, there are fewer opportunities than in
heterogeneous environments "for negative messages
regarding group membership to directly impinge upon
personal identity development" (Jackson, McCullough,
Gurin, & Broman, 1991, p. 246), which might result
in a more positive ethnic identity. Croup consciousness within a minority population tends to arise when
the members begin to view themselves as a collectivity and when they see their depravation as a group
phenomenon, rather than an individual experience
(Smith & Thornton, 1993). Given the historical circumstances in the all-Black towns, conditions were ripe
for the development of both positive African American group identity and African American group consciousness.
In the middle 1940s, Hill (1946b) found that youths
in one of the all-Black towns had more positive views
than African American youths in a mixed-race community toward physical features that are often associated with African Americans, an indication of continuing race pride. The youth cohort that Hill investigated
has now aged to be at least 60 years old—the target
age for my ethnographic research. I have encountered
numerous examples of positive race identity and group
consciousness among the older people I have interviewed (McAuley, 1998). The reader is referred to
McAuley (1998) for a more extensive description of
the social history of the all-Black towns.
Expecting Limited External Support.—Ongoing experience with racial discrimination on an individual
and an institutional level increases one's alienation
from and skepticism about social institutions that are
in the control of the majority population (DamronRodriguez, & Kington, 1994; Cuttman & Cuellar, 1982;
Jones & Rene, 1994; Watson, 1990). Whether it is
with regard to street improvements or community services, the residents of the all-Black towns have come
to expect that they will receive less and that what
they do receive from the outside will be somehow
inferior. As noted above, this has been an enduring
trend within these communities. They feel that Whites
continue to discriminate against the poor in general
and African Americans in the all-Black towns, in particular.
For Mr. Johnson, an older resident of Town 1, Whites
are always out to take advantage of others.
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
[Last time you mentioned that there was a period of time when you were a predator.]
Hmm, hm.
[Tell me what that means.]
How did the United States get America? // How
did White folks get everything outside Europe?
[Hmm, hm.]
That's what it means. I t . . . means bein' a predator. /
And . . . I've lived with the best teachers in the
world.
[Who were those?]
White people. White people.
Mr. Johnson goes on to explain that when people
like him seek assistance from the outside, bureaucrats
mistreat them. Segment 2.6 speaks to perceived class
issues in the dispensing of welfare.
The Context for Parallel Services
The historical issues described above established a
meaning-laden social context within the all-Black towns.
I have identified three contextual themes that link the
histories of the communities with the organization of
parallel services: (a) an expectation of limited outside
support, (b) strong community self-reliance, and (c) the
special status of elders in the communities. I argue
that these contextual themes, considered together,
are major factors in the organization of parallel service structures within the all-Black towns. I will first
discuss the contextual issues, then describe the organization of parallel services for and by elders.
It should be noted that all of the following narrative segments have been edited for continuity. Original pronunciation is retained. A modified version of
Labov's (1972) text annotations has been used: ( )explanations or replacements provided by the author,
[ ]-Questions or comments of the interviewer during the interview, . . .-narrative text omitted, \-hesitation (more marks indicating longer hesitations), and
-passages spoken with greater volume. Pseudonyms
are used for all respondents, and the all-Black towns
are given numbers, while other towns are assigned
letters, to ensure confidentiality.
Vol. 38, No. 4, 1998
447
2.1 And then when I go // (to seek assistance) they
. . . make ya feel like ya ain't nothin'.
2.2 [How do you mean?]
2.3 They make you feel like, well, hey, ya ought to
be glad a' gettin' what ya gettin'.
2.4 [Why do you think that is?]
2.5 I believe that.. . that's just // the way they are. /
That's the way our public servants are.
2.6 They have become a class of they own. // They
forget . . . the people down there on the
welfare....
2.7 They forget that that's welfare money that they
bein' paid.
2.8 And they feel like // we are cheatin' the state
some kinda w a y . . . .
2.9 You know, I believe public servants just done
got to the point where now that . . . they
really don't have no morality. They really
don't have no morality.
For Mr. Hanover, an elderly former mayor of Town
2, those in the White power structure (the "powers that
be" in Segment 3.7) have traditionally tried to eliminate
the all-Black towns. They provide resources to the
towns only when elections approach (Segment 3.8).
3.1
You see, (White) people been tryin' to kill (Town
2) off for the last 40 years.
3.2 [Why do you think that is?]
3.3 BlacK people. Let me tell ya somethin'. // I've
noticed that . . . most people that dislike
Blacks . . . (are not) necessarily in love with us
but, they leave us alone, wnen it come to,
lettin' us . . . obey the law like we s'posed to
and . . . raise our fam'lies and what not.
3.4 (Some are) tryin' to . . . keep us down, you unnerstan' what I'm sayin'?
3.5 You see uhh, (Town A), (Town B), especially (Town
A). (Town A) one o' the prejudiced little
towns you ever wanna see. They . . . do it
kinda . . . on a subtler way, but, it still there....
3.6 Now, . . . it has gotten better than what it used
to be. Better than what it used to b e . . . .
3.7 The powers that be, in (County), they don't
put the resources here .. . like they would if it
were an all White town. You see? Never have
done it.
3.8 They don't do anything until . . . 'bout three to
six months . . . before . . . the election come
up. Then they come . . . grade your streets
put a . . . little gravel on 'em and (chuckles),
come up shake your hand and that kinda
stuff.
3.9 Well, see, . . . some Negroes fall for that crap,
some don't.
3.10 Now I never did cause I know they full o' crap,
you know.
Community Self-Reliance.—Given the residents'
experience with discrimination, in conjunction with
their concern for racial pride and African American
self-determination, it is understandable that a very
strong ethic of community self-reliance exists in the
all-Black towns. This reliance on internal community
resources is a compelling theme in the deeds of the
residents.
The actions of townspeople during and after a
robbery in the all-Black town of Boley in the 1930s
provide a historical example of this theme. The Farmers
and Merchants Bank of Boley was robbed by three
members of the Pretty Boy Floyd gang. The bank alarm
was set off, and several townspeople quickly arrived
at the bank with their guns. Two members of the
gang were killed, and the other was arrested and convicted of the crime. Following the robbery, several
threatening letters were received by town residents.
The letters indicated that the writers belonged to the
Pretty Boy Floyd gang and would avenge the deaths of
the gang members. Some of the letters named the
individuals to be killed. The townspeople organized
themselves to ensure that the entrances to the town,
and even the homes of the threatened residents,
were constantly guarded until the crisis ended (Hill,
1937).
The social structures of the towns, which are relatively egalitarian, enhance community cooperation,
which supports the ethic of self-reliance. In their analysis of one of the Oklahoma all-Black towns more than
50 years ago, Hill and Ackiss (1943) found that the
448
town had essentially a two-class structure. However,
the upper-class residents viewed Whites as traditional
enemies, rather than identifying with them, and they
understood their dependence on lower-class residents for their financial well-being. Lower-class residents were aware of their power within the town's
economic structure and experienced relatively little
class-related frustration. Furthermore, in the absence
of alternative White institutions, all town residents
comprehended their need for each other and therefore supported each other.
Conditions similar to those identified by Hill and
Ackiss exist today, and in my visits to the towns I
encountered many examples of community residents
working together to deal with problems. For instance,
citizens in one town joined together to repair much
of the community sewage system themselves in order
to limit the impact on the town treasury. Several of
the towns have rodeos, "Juneteenth" celebrations, or
other annual events. Volunteers plan the events and
manage the activities, while the proceeds go into the
town treasuries. One town holds an annual Christmas
celebration at which all children in the community
receive presents purchased through donations from
residents. An abandoned school building in one town
is being converted into a community center. Town
residents are contributing materials, as well as volunteer time to the project.
The notion that rural community residents tend
to view themselves as egalitarian is not new, nor is
egalitarianism limited to racial enclaves (Fitchen, 1991).
However, within a racialized society (Bonilla-Silva,
1997), minority populations may give more emphasis
to the notion of "being in this together," which might
strengthen expectations and norms of mutual support.
Special Status of Elders.—Older people enjoy special status in these communities. They are both revered and looked to for leadership. One reason for
their status is that many elders lived in the towns
during or just after their founding. The older residents
are not only a part of the towns' historical record,
they also "stuck it out" during the difficult times, when
many of the other townspeople left for California or
even more exotic destinations such as the Canadian
plains and Africa (Crockett, 1979; Elahi, 1968; Knight,
1975; Shepard, 1988). Their persistence is likely an
additional rationale for their special status within the
communities.
The published histories of the all-Black towns are
not particularly accessible to the residents, and there
are few photographs of the towns during their glory
days. Therefore, tne elders also have prominence due
to their roles as oral historians. They can describe their
personal experiences as early settlers and can portray
the towns as they were at their peak.
There are numerous indicators of the special status
afforded the older residents. For example, many of
the elected and informal community leaders are elderly. In one town, a community center for elders is
named for an older resident. In the same community an impressive stone marker pays homage to two
The Gerontologist
elderly sisters, now deceased, who ran a boarding
house in the community for many years.
Ms. Wilson, an elder in Town 1, describes her perspective on community elders.
When Mr. Smith, another Town 1 elder, was asked
to describe a typical day, his narrative included references to helping others.
6.1
4.1
4.2
I still got that feeling like if someone older than
I am tell me to do somethin' or ask me to
do somethin', I obey 'em. I don't say, "It's nobody." . . .
It's hard to get away from that . . . when you
have that training..., when you . . . brought
up right.
Parallel Services
In order to demonstrate the range of parallel services in the communities, I will describe four such
services, each with its own etiology and development.
All four services can be related to the towns' histories
and contexts, as described above. These services are
presented in order, from least to most bureaucratic
and from least to most influenced by external forces.
The first parallel service consists of individual, neighbor-to-neighbor assistance. The second is situated in
the post office, a convenient gathering point for residents. The third is a transformation of a former formal
service. The final example is actually a formal service
that the town residents have adapted to their needs
and interests. Each service description points to the
innovative and adaptive abilities of the communities
as they strive to meet the needs of their elders.
Neighbor-to-Neighbor Assistance
I frequently encountered examples of older individuals in the communities providing assistance to
other elders. Many of the elderly respondents spoke
of the importance of helping others in the community, and many mentioned that community residents
will help them out when needed. Ms. Hanes (Town
1), who suffers from arthritis and other chronic health
problems, is still engaged in service to others. She
leads the RSVP Club, which is discussed later in this
article. When I asked her what she thinks about life,
her response suggests that serving others is both a
component of her philosophy of life and a sacred duty.
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
[What do you think about life?]
Oh, I think it's grand! And you need to use it
for the Lord in the fullest extent in the onliest
way.
A lot of folks misunderstand that.
Onliest way you can use it for the Lord is helpin'
other people.
You cannot serve Cod without servin' people!
And there's folks that don't understand that!
They think they got to go to church and jump
and holler and shout....
But that ain't right. You serve Cod by servin'
people. 'Cause He don't have no hand but
yours in this world. No feet but yours. No
tongue but yours to tell the world that Christ
died for 'em.
Vol. 38, No. 4, 1998
449
6.2
A typical day for me / is I'll go to the post
office. / I'll go by / three people's house / to
see if there's anything that I can do to help. //
Then . . . if they want me to take them somewhere I take 'em. If they want me to do somethin', I do it.
And then after I do that I comes back home,
and then I writes.
For some older residents, helping neighbors is such
a natural part of the ebb and flow of community activity that interview questions do not necessarily result
in descriptions of service provision to others. For instance, when I interviewed Mr. James, an older resident of Town 1, his responses contained few mentions of any personal efforts to help others. After
lunch, I made an informal visit to Mrs. Hanes, whom
I had interviewed earlier. She was not at home, but
Mr. James and his son were there hanging drapes and
making carpentry repairs. When I asked Mr. James
why he didn't tell me about his plans to help Mrs.
Hanes, he told me he didn't think it was important
and that he was "just helping out." Later, I asked him
if he regularly did this sort of thing.
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
I do aalll those kinda things. I do carpentry
work; I do ditch diggin'; I put in sewages; I do
plumbin'. Anything, that someone else . . .
needs.
And . . . I do not work for hire./
I spent my whole life, tryin' to make a livin'. //
And now that I'm retired // I don't think
pickin' up a few bucks matters that much. /
If you got the time . . . ya do it. If you don't
have the time, you go on, and don't have no
guilt. You go on about your bizness.
I luv helpin' people.
Ms. Maxwell, an older resident of Town 3, and the
town's postmaster, experiences difficulty walking, and
sometimes requires a walker. However, each day she
drives to a nearby town to purchase hot lunches for
the older couple who live next to the post office. She
also frequently brings groceries to other elderly residents. She draws a direct linkage between her service
to others and the character and actions of her father
and grandfather, who were involved in the founding
of Town 3.
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
I always call my grandfather a humanitarian
because he . . . was concerned about people. . . .
Well, they tell me, I'm like my dad. My dad was
. . . a very sacrificial person.
He . . . cared for everybody in the community.
All they had to say was, "Mr. (name), will you
do thus and so?" He could never say no.
Was always goin' and doin' for somebody.. ..
Mrs. Brown, an elder in Town 2 who experiences
several functional limitations, has a part-time provider
from the Medicaid-funded Nontechnical Medical Care
program (described later). She was asked whether
living in Town 2 has anything to do with the quality
of her life. Her response shows that she does not even
have to ask for assistance when she requires it.
9.1
9.2
9.3
[Does living in (Town 2) have anything to do,
good or bad, with the quality of your life?]
Yeah, hit d o . . . . I know the people here. All I
have to do is jes get on / and sometimes I
don't have t' get on the phone and call 'em.
They come on they own.
When I miss .. . two . . . Sundays, well then I
don' have t' worry about nobody comin', cuz
. . . they in an' out, in an' out to see w h a t . . .
need to be done.
Other older residents have similarly indicated that they
often receive help without asking.
An important aspect of neighbor-to-neighbor support is that much of it involves elders as service providers, as well as service recipients. The older residents of the towns, even those who are quite old
or impaired, still find ways of helping others in the
communities, especially other elders. They continue
to play an important service role within the communities.
The Post Office
Post offices, which are the social "hubs" of those
all-Black towns that still have them, also play a role in
the organization of informal community services. Although the value of the post office as a parallel care
structure was not obvious at first, it became apparent
after numerous visits and interviews.
The post offices serve as socialization centers for
elders. Most of the nonworking adult town residents
come to the post offices at about the same time (just
after the mail arrives and is sorted into the boxes)
every day they are open. Although the elders who
are in the.poorest health may not come to their post
office, older people who rarely drive elsewhere still
manage to make a car trip to the town post office. By
driving themselves to the post office, they demonstrate their continuing independence. They spend
some time gossiping and socializing and exchanging
information about community events. The elders' time
at the post offices helps maintain their social integration within the community.
The post offices are obvious communications centers, but the mail is not the only form of communication taking place. Because at least one adult from
nearly every family either stops by or phones the postmasters each day, they are good sites for the dissemination of information about special events, people in
need, and so forth. Notices placed here are seen by
at least one member of each household during the
course of the day. The propane distributor from a
nearby town understands the value of one all-Black
town post office as a communications center. He
450
schedules his visits to the post office to coincide with
the period when most people are there, so he can
efficiently make arrangements for topping off the residents' tanks.
The post offices are also viable health surveillance
centers for elders. They work in much the same manner as the more formal telephone check-in systems
operated by some aging agencies. If the postmasters
have not seen or heard from (some of the post offices
are so small that people actually phone the postmasters to see if they received any mail) an individual
who might be frail or otherwise vulnerable they can
alert others who can check in to be sure all is well.
Alternatively, people who are in the habit of meeting at the post office at the same time each day are
alerted if someone does not show up or has not
phoned in. This informal surveillance system works
because the towns are small, everyone knows one
another, and the town residents are concerned about
the well-being of older residents.
As an extension of their service as surveillance
centers, the post offices are also rudimentary service
coordination centers for elders in the community.
Within the post offices, people learn of the nature
and extent of others' problems and needs and initiate
action to meet those needs.
One event in an all-Black town post office serves as
an example of how this parallel service can operate.
During one of my visits, the postmaster told me that
Mr. Smith, one of the older residents whom I had
recently interviewed, was in the hospital. I asked what
had happened and was told that it was a health emergency in the middle of the night preceding my visit.
Thus far, the postmaster was unsure of the diagnosis.
The postmaster told me that Mr. Smith's brother, who
is also older and whom the postmaster described as
having Alzheimer's disease, came by the post office
to say that he wanted to pick up Mr. Smith's mail for
him while he remained in the hospital. The postmaster
decided this was not a good idea, because Mr. Smith's
brother had recently lost his own social security check
for several days. He offered this incident as one bit of
evidence, among others, for his diagnosis of Alzheimer's
disease. The postmaster was concerned that some of
Mr. Smith's important mail would be similarly misplaced, so he and a neighbor of Mr. Smith cooked up
the following scheme. Each day, the postmaster sorted
Mr. Smith's mail into a junk mail pile and a pile containing more important mail. When Mr. Smith's brother
came in, the postmaster gave him the batch of junk
mail. The postmaster gave the other mail to the neighbor to hold until Mr. Smith returned from the hospital.
These actions may not adhere to postal regulations,
but they do serve several purposes that display the
value of post offices in the all-Black towns as organizing points for parallel services: (a) The postmaster quickly
made others in the community aware of Mr. Smith's
recent hospitalization, (b) a vital service (managing
the mail of a resident) was coordinated with the assistance of the postmaster, (c) the informal help of a
neighbor was facilitated, and (d) Mr. Smith's brother
was able to maintain his self-respect by continuing to
take action on behalf of his brother.
The Gerontologist
The RSVP Club
In Town 1, several older women meet twice
monthly in a group that most call the "RSVP Club."
This group was initially established in earlier days,
when the federally funded RSVP program provided
organizational and monetary support to RSVP volunteers. Although there is no formal RSVP program in
the community today, remnants of the program endure through the RSVP Club. Thus, the group is a
parallel service structure whose historical roots lie in
an externally organized program.
The RSVP Club makes small items for elders in
need, organizes programs to raise money for emergencies or special projects for older residents, and
provides a platform for mustering informal support when
people in the community, particularly elders, require
assistance. It also provides socialization for the elderly
club members.
Ms. Hanes, who is in her nineties, has been a longterm member of the RSVP Club and serves as its leader.
I asked her about the club and its activities.
10.1
Well, we help other people. Whatever. Just
like, you know, the dinner yesterday.
10.2 Or, whatever people need, we try to help
them.
10.3 There isn't very many of us, but we do what
we can do.
10.4 [Tell me about that meal that you put together
with some other people yesterday for the
funeral.... How did you get the food and
who prepared it?]
10.5 What we had was a major meal. It was fried
chicken and potato salad and string beans
and just any kind of dessert the folks would
bring from anywhere.
10.6 And so I had some friends that I asked, "Would
you get me 10 pounds of potatoes and make
me 10 pounds of potato salad." And I had
three friends to do that.
10.7 And then I just bought string beans and asked
some old friends if they would donate the
money for . . . the string beans. / I got six gallons of those and the meat to go in them /
seasoning.
10.8 The whole thing cost twenty dollars. Four or
five folks gave me five dollars and that was
that.
10.9 And, I bought a box of chicken myself and the
minister bought a box. So that's how we got
that.
10.10 And neighbors / . . . brought the desserts....
10.11 And I did buy twenty pounds of chicken where
we'd have chicken in the oven.
Without external resources, the RSVP Club functions
as a successful, ongoing community support group by
and for elders.
Nontechnical Medical Care Program
The Nontechnical Medical Care (NTMC) program
is an example of an externally organized and superVol. 38, No. 4, 1998
451
vised formal service that the all-Black town residents
have essentially transformed into a "parallel service"
format. The design of this public program makes it
compatible with the histories and contexts of these
communities. Thus, though it is not a typical parallel
service, it is worth our consideration, because it offers
clues as to the types of formal programs that might
be successfully introduced into communities such as
these.
The NTMC program is a Medicaid-funded service
that was established when a state bureaucrat realized
that many friends and neighbors were helping impaired
Medicaid recipients without recognition or compensation. He decided that it would be valuable to reward informal caregivers by providing a small payment
for their effort. The program permitted informal caregivers to work several hours a day for up to six days a
week, at a compensation rate of $5.00 per hour, with
no fringe benefits. The service was structured so that
those individuals who were Medicaid eligible and who
were assessed as needing a "provider" (the nearly universal name given to NTMC caregivers) could choose
their own provider, who would then receive the minimal wages to perform the service.
Providers, who are trained and supervised by state
Department of Human Services staff, complete all
types of personal care and homemaker tasks, depending upon the needs of the elder. These activities might
include giving baths, cleaning the house, cooking meals,
making beds, or other chores.
As the program initially developed, providers and
care recipients worked with an NTMC staff member
to determine what needed to be accomplished and
when it should be done, so the service was quite
flexible. This approach meant that in the all-Black
towns caregivers and care recipients could essentially
continue the well-established, informal, neighborto-neighbor caring relationships. The major change
brought about by the NTMC program was that the
providers received a small amount of compensation
for their efforts. Many of the individuals providing care
have known the recipients for many years, and do
not view their caregiving in bureaucratic or financial
terms.
According to task-specific theory (Litwak, Jessop, &
Moulton, 1994), formal organizations are better at managing tasks requiring large-scale human resources and
specialized or technical knowledge, while informal
groups are better at managing tasks requiring nontechnical knowledge. However, many services provided
by formal organizations tend to be intertwined with
"hidden" services requiring nontechnical knowledge.
Such services can benefit from the informal commitments characteristic of informal groups (Litwak et al.,
1994). These informal, less technical elements of
caregiving were made explicit in the initial implementation of the NTMC program. The residents of the
all-Black towns embraced the program because it conformed with the established caregiving contexts.
In one case, an elderly male resident (Mr. Garrett)
of Town 4 is cared for by a NTMC provider who
is also a resident of the community. Mr. Garrett's
daughter (who lives with him and provides consider-
able informal support to him) serves as a provider
for another older community resident (Ms. Green). In
her role as a provider, the daughter completes the
housework and personal care work, but she also visits
and gossips with Ms. Green, thus providing important socialization. Although the rules do not permit
it, she sometimes takes Ms. Green to a nearby town
for ice cream during her "provider time." The result
of this arrangement is that, with little cost to Medicaid: (a) Mr. Garrett's daughter receives a break
from her family caregiving responsibility; (b) Mr. Garrett receives a regular friendly visit, as well as personal care assistance, from a neighbor; (c) Ms. Green
receives socialization and personal care assistance,
and (d) two parties in the town receive some muchneeded financial assistance.
Ms. Avery, an older resident of Town 4, has spent
a lifetime giving care to others, including caring for
nonfamily members in her home when they were
too ill or impaired to be in their own homes. We
asked her how she got started with NTMC provider
work.
11.1
11.2
11.3
People wanted me to help them with the sick
here in the community, an' I got started that
way.
And then I took some
classes....
Like I said, just always liked to take care of
people.
training. The training requirement concerns some of
the older providers, because they feel they know best
how to care for their care recipients. Providers also
now have to follow relatively detailed care plans, with
specific tasks being assigned to certain days, rather than
deciding when tasks should be completed based upon
informal agreements between the provider and care
recipient. In addition, the program is moving toward
compensating only for the number of hours required
to complete basic care activities.
This more formal bureaucratic approach is disappointing to those providers whose work is based upon
the community context of caregiving in the all-Black
towns. They are concerned that the program is becoming too impersonal, rules/task based, and externally controlled, and they lament the potential reduction in informal socializing. Ms. Avery expressed the
concern that "It's just real, I call it messy." I asked her
to tell me what she meant, and her response suggests that she dislikes outsiders telling her when and
now to provide care. In her reply (Segments 13.13
and 13.21), she iterates that she knows how to care
for people.
13.1
13.2
Ms. Avery works for people both within and outside of Town 4. As a matter of fact, most of her care
recipients have been Whites in a nearby community.
She has been verbally abused by some of them, and
a few have threatened physical harm. The abuse, she
believes, is at least in part due to racial discrimination, and she derives more satisfaction when she provides for residents of her community. Ms. Avery recently told the care recipient who lives in her town
that she would take care of her "until death do us
part, whether it be her or me." She goes to the
homes of her town-based care recipients in the evening, to be sure they are alright, even though she is
not paid for the time. Regarding the abuse she has
received from some of the outsiders, Ms. Avery noted:
13.3
13.4
13.5
13.6
13.7
13.8
13.9
13.10
12.1
12.2
12.3
They get bedfast, and . . . they gotta depend
on you. That's what I don't understand.
Try to abuse you, and say all kinds of things,
you know.
And now, I would just laugh at 'em, you know.
I said "Woooo, God bless you," you know.
13.11
13.12
13.13
13.14
Over time, the state Medicaid program has revised
the NTMC program to make it more professional and,
in some ways, more consonant with a medicalized
version of Medicaid home and community care. For
example, rather than have the providers serve as independent contractors, the program is beginning to
require that they conduct their work through licensed
home health agencies. This arrangement furnishes
them fringe benefits, but providers working through
home health agencies must also undergo additional
452
13.15
13.16
13.17
13.18
13.19
13.20
13.21
Well, you have to go through too many things
. . . what you can't do, and what you (can)
do.
You can't give 'em their medicine. An' I said,
"wellll, my patient is blind." She had cataracts.
"Well, you can open the bottle and let her get
her own pill out."
But she might pull out three or four pills, and
stick in her mouth.
And you can't talk religion, an' you can't talk
politics, an' you can't do this,
an' you can't take her to the doctor unless it's
on your own t i m e . . . .
Before, we could do all that. It was like a family member.
We could take 'em shopping. "No, you gotta
do it on your own time, 'cause they'll
sue." . . .
They haveta have our driver's license, our insurance verification.
What do they call . . . like if you've been a
convict or somethin'...?
[A background check?]
Yeah, you gotta have all that
I will not
do it anymore. Nope. / Nope, (giggles)...
I know how to take care of the people....
Now, they want to tell you when to sweep,
an' when to mop.
Sometimes... they might have an accident....
They got a special day to do their laundry.
Well, I might have to do the laundry on a different day than
(deep breath) what the've got marked...
An they say "you don't put it like we've got
it on your task sheet, then it won't . . . oe
right on the computer."
Everything is computer...
Like I said, I know how to take care of people.
The Gerontologist
Due to arthritis, Ms. Harvey, an older NTMC provider in Town 2, experiences some difficulty completing her own heavy housework. She nevertheless
does light housework and provides personal care
assistance for her two care recipients. She, too, is
concerned about the changes occurring in the NTMC
program—especially the fact that the hours may be
cut back. Her concern is for the clients, rather than
her personal need for income. However, if the hours
are reduced she may need to find additional employment to support her home, and would, therefore, be
forced to spend less time with her care recipients. She
notes that if her provider time for each care recipient
is reduced, there will be less time for socializing, even
though both of her clients are lonely.
14.1
14.2
14.3
14.4
I think they .. . cuttin' the program down now
some. They sup'osed to come in to see if they
need . . . a provideh one houah, or two houahs
or three houahs.... If she need two houah,
that's all s h e ' l l . . . get. If you need one houah,
that's all they'll get. If you need three houahs,
they'll get the whole three houah.
But I think they should let (me) stay in there
three .. . houah. Becuz some of the elder
people . . . need uh /// someone to talk to
'em, you know, maybe half an houah, or, uh,
tweny minutes. Jus to talk.
Cuz lot, lots the elder people, you know, they
uh lonesome. Ummmhmmm.
That's what they always say, "Well, I'm gonna
be lonesome when you leave now." (chuckles)
We interviewed one of Ms. Harvey's care recipients
who voluntarily confirmed the importance of her
socialization activities, as well as her homemaker and
personal care assistance.
One clearly discemable difference between formal
and informal care relationships has to do with the
degree to which the actors expect social rules and
conventions (especially those from bureaucratic organizations) to structure them (Litwak et al., 1994). The
relatively relaxed rules of the NTMC program made it
possible to maintain an informal caregiving context while
providing wages for caregivers. However, as frequently
happens with formal programs, there have been efforts to "tighten up" and "professionalize" the program
and to make it more "accountable." The older providers in the all-Black towns bristle when more bureaucratic, technical elements of formal caregiving are
introduced. One bureaucrat within the program has
told me that the changes are "taking the heart out
of" the NTMC program. It would appear that the
changes are also destined either to alter the relationships between providers and caregivers in the allBlack towns or to lead many of the providers who
have more of a neighbor-to-neighbor focus to withdraw from the program.
Discussion
This article describes a relationship between the histories of the all-Black towns of Oklahoma—histories
Vol. 38, No. 4, 1998
453
that include issues of positive minority group identity
and group consciousness, as well as discrimination—
and a set of contextual issues (expectations of limited
outside support, community self-reliance, and special
status afforded to elders). The all-Black towns have
established parallel services that conform to community needs and are consonant with their histories
and community contexts. They do this in a proactive
manner by making use of internal resources, converting and adapting formal services that have been
withdrawn, and employing both individual and group
approaches. As Chatters and Taylor (1990) indicated,
their solutions are, indeed, both adaptive and innovative.
Due to the special circumstances of the all-Black
towns and the limited nature of the sample, the results of this study are not directly generalizable to other
settings and populations. However, it is important to
note that relationships between the histories and contexts of minority communities and parallel services quite
likely exist in other settings and with other minority
groups. Casarett (1991) found a high level of support organized around an ethic of "neighborliness" in
a rural Appalachian community. The historical, social,
and spatial features of Appalachia may have set the
stage tor parallel services based upon "neighborliness"
in communities within that region.
The findings have several implications for the delivery of home- and community-based services to
minority populations in various settings. First, it would
appear that the development of parallel services
among African Americans can be related to racial pride
and positive race ideology, in addition to discrimination and service deprivation. There is a continuing history in the all-Black towns of striving to prove that
African Americans can successfully shape their own
destinies if given the freedom to do so. It is worth
investigating whether similar aspirations influence the
organization of services in other groups and settings.
Formal service deliverers would do well to examine the social-historical roots of parallel services, including the roles played by racial pride and positive
race ideology, in the organization and delivery of informal services. Knowledge of these issues may improve the likelihood that parallel services will be
supported and that formal services do not contradict
or restrict informal service structures.
Second, we must ask whether the types of parallel
service forms described here are viable over the long
run. Although there are instances of neighbor-toneighbor support for elders by younger residents, elders in the communities lament the fact that younger
people too frequently expect payment for work or
simply are unwilling to help out. Small town post offices are closing at a rapid rate. Because post offices
are often the only practical regular meeting places,
there may be no alternative locus for informal daily
socialization, communication, health surveillance, and
service coordination. The RSVP Club has had a long
life span as a service organization in Town 1, but it is
not clear that, when the current cohort of elders are
unable to participate, others will take their place. It is
unlikely that formal services would replace these more
informal parallel forms of assistance, if they should decline or cease. The NTMC program is already changing in ways that are less supportive of the historical
trends and care contexts in these communities. The
changes taking place in this program may reduce the
informal nature of the caregiving or leaa some providers to opt out, thus disrupting the delicate balance
struck between formal and informal support in the
communities.
Formal service deliverers who are sensitive to the
social and historical circumstances of communities may
be in a good position to undertake activities that help
to maintain or strengthen parallel service structures.
When the populace has a strong, historically meaningful sense of community self-reliance, it may be best
for formal service deliverers to remain in trie background while providing technical and financial resources
to naturally occurring community groups that accept
responsibility for sustaining parallel services. Working
in the background may be especially important when
racial pride and positive race ideology are strong and
there are racial differences between formal service deliverers and community residents.
Where communities have distinctive social histories,
programs that bring the histories to light might help to
support existing parallel service structures or to reinvigorate those tnat have waned. For instance, some of
the all-Black towns have "Juneteenth" days to celebrate the freeing of slaves in Texas after the Civil War.
These commemorations of a historically and racially
meaningful event might be good opportunities for spotlighting those aspects of community history that are
supportive of informal services. Through their oral histories, elders can play a significant role in bringing the
past to the foreground on these occasions. The mayor
of one all-Black town is taking a step in this direction
by encouraging families to collect early pictures and
share them at an annual community celebration.
It is possible that the churches in the all-Black towns
currently serve as parallel institutions or will do so if
other informal care resources are lost. There is a long
history of churches serving as parallel service institutions in African American communities (Carter, 1982).
I have not directly investigated the degree to which
churches in these towns serve as focal points for parallel services. However, they have not been mentioned
as care resources by those who were interviewed. Because church leaders are often very influential community leaders, churches may be natural focal points
for programs aimed at supporting and enhancing parallel services.
Third, it is important to investigate whether formal/
informal service linkages such as the NTMC program
are exploiting providers in these communities. The providers have powerful normative incentives to help
the older residents, they need a steady source of income, and there are few other opportunities for employment in the towns. Yet the NTMC program does
not provide a living wage. These circumstances lead to
a difficult but important policy question: How do public
home- and community-based care programs build upon and support existing informal caregiving structures
without exploiting, overburdening, or destroying them?
454
Fourth, elders may, in some cases, experience problems in working with formal service deliverers in communities with strong informal support orientations and
in which elders hold special status. Residents of the
all-Black towns tend to take care of older residents'
needs routinely, without much fanfare, and without
being asked. Therefore, the elders may not necessarily have to confront their personal needs or limitations directly and may be able to maintain an enhanced sense of independence and personal mastery
(Casarett, 1991). One consequence may be that
elders are slow to seek professional help, even when
needed. Furthermore, when older people from these
types of communities do come in contact with health
and long-term care professionals, the shift to a supplicant, help-seeking role may be difficult for them
to accept (Casarett, 1991). Formal service deliverers
should seek to understand these circumstances, so that
they can reduce potential barriers to care.
Fifth, the results suggest that an important means
of improving the cultural appropriateness of services
is to seek to understand now formal services will
blend into or clash with the histories, care contexts,
and parallel services constructed by minority communities within America's racialized social structure. The
value of sensitivity to these issues is relatively easy to
comprehend in the all-Black towns, due to their wellchronicled circumstances. However, history, context
and parallel service organization may be just as relevant in other minority and nonminority populations,
in urban as well as rural communities, and in minority
ghettos, as well as in communities that were established as racial Utopias. Sensitivity to these issues
should lead to more culturally appropriate—and more
effective—programs and services.
References
Bittle, W. E., & Ceis, C. L. (1957). Racial self-fulfillment and the rise of
an all-Negro community in Oklahoma. Phylon, 18, 147-260.
Bogle, L. (1994). On our way to the promisea land: Black migration from
Arkansas to Oklahoma, 1889-1893. The Chronicles of Oklahoma, LXIII,
160-177.
Bonilla-Silva, E. (1997). Rethinking racism: Toward a structural interpretation. American Sociological Review, 62, 465-480.
Carney, C. O. (1991). Historic resources of Oklahoma's all-Black towns.
The Chronicles of Oklahoma, 69, 116-133.
Carter, A. (1982). Religion and the Black elderly: The historical basis of
social and psychological concerns. In R. Manuel (Ed.), Minority aging:
Sociological and social psychological issues (pp. 191-226). Westport,
CT: Greenwood Press.
Casarett, D. J. (1991). Elders and neighborliness: Implications for rural
health care. In A. Bushy (Ed.), Rural nursing. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Chatters, L. M., & Taylor, R. J. (1990). Social integration. In Z. Harrel,
E. A. McKinney, & M. Williams (Eds.), Black aged: Understanding diversity and service needs (pp. 82-99). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Crockett, N. L. (1979). The Black towns. Lawrence, KS: The Regents Press
of Kansas.
Damron-Rodriguez, J., & Kington, R. (1994). Service utilization and minority elderly: Appropriateness, accessibility and acceptability. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 15, 45-63.
Elahi, L. I. (1968). A history of Boley, Oklahoma, to 1915. Masters' thesis,
University of Chicago Department of History.
Fitchen, J. M. (1991). Endangered spaces, enduring places: Change and
survival in rural America. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Franklin, J. L. (1982). Journey toward hope: A history of Blacks in Oklahoma. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Cubrium, J. F. (1993). Speaking of life: Horizons of meaning for nursing
home residents. New York: Aldine de Cruyter.
Cuttman, D., & Cuellar, J. (1982). Barriers to equitable services. Generations, 6, 31-33.
Hill, M. C. (1937). A sociological study of an all-Negro community. Unpublished Master's thesis. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas.
The Gerontologist
Hill, M. C. (1946a). The all-Negro communities of Oklahoma: The natural history of a social movement. The Journal of Negro History, 31,
254-268.
Hill, M. C. (1946b). The all-Negro society in Oklahoma. Doctoral dissertation, Sociology Department, University of Chicago.
Hill, M. C , & Ackiss, T. D. (1943). Social class: A frame of reference for
the study of Negro society. Social Forces, 22, 92-98.
Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (1995). The active interview. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jackson, J. S., McCullough, W. R., Curin, C , & Broman, C. L. (1991).
Race identity. In J. S. Jackson (Ed.), Life in Black America (pp. 2 3 8 253). Newbury Park CA: Sage.
Jones, W., Jr., & Rene, A. A. (1994). Barriers to health services utilization
and African Americans. In I. L. Livingston (Ed.), Handbook of Black
health: The mosaic of conditions, issues, policies, and prospects (pp.
Shepard, R. B. (1988). North to the promised land: Black migration to
the Canadian Plains. The Chronicles of Oklahoma, 66, 306-327.
Smallwood, J. M., & Phillips, C. A. (1993). Black Oklahomans and the
question of "Oklahomaness:" The people who weren't invited to share
the dream. In H. F. Stein & R. F. Hill (Eds.), The culture of Oklahoma
(pp. 48-67). Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Smith, R. J., & Thornton, M. C. (1993). Identity and consciousness: Group
solidarity. In J. S. Jackson (Ed.), Aging in Black America (pp. 2 0 3 216). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Stanford, P. E. (1990). Diverse Black aged. In Z. Harel, E. A. McKinney,
& M. Williams, Black aged: Understanding diversity and service needs
(pp. 33-49). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Tolson, A. L. (1972). The Black Oklahomans: A history, 1541-1972. New
Orleans, LA: Edwards Printing Co.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1992). 7990 Census of population and housing STF 3A. CD Rom File CD90-3A-47. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Washington, B. T. (1908). Boley, a Negro town in the West. Outlook, 88
(January), 28-31.
Watson, W. H. (1990). Family care, economics, and health. In Z. Harel,
E. A. McKinney, & M. Williams (Eds.), Black aged: Understanding diversity and service needs (pp. 50-68). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
378-386). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Knight, T. (1975). Black towns in Oklahoma: Their development and survival. Doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University.
Labov, W. (1972). Language in the inner city: Studies in the Black English
vernacular. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Litwak, E., Jessop, D. J., & Moulton, H. (1994). Optimal use of formal
and informal systems over the life course. In E. Kahana, D. E. Biegel,
& M. L. Wykle (Eds.), Family caregiving across the lifespan (pp. 9 6 130). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McAuley, W. J. (1998). History, race, and attachment to place among
elders in the all-Black towns of Oklahoma. Journal of Gerontology:
Social Sciences, 53B, S35-S45.
Received September 10, 1997
Accepted February 23, 1998
T H E PUBLIC POLICY AND AGING REPORT
A quarterly publication of the National Academy On An Aging Society bringing you
the latest research and analysis on the public policy implications of an aging society.
BECOME A SUBSCRIBER TODAY
Annual Subscription Rates
Domestic $38.95
International $48.95
GSA members may deduct $10.00 from the appropriate subscription rate.
ORDERING INFORMATION
To subscribe, please fax or mail your name, address, phone number, and
credit card number with expiration date or send a check made payable to NAAS:
NATIONAL ACADEMY O N A N AGING SOCIETY
P.O. Box 79151
Baltimore, MD 21279-0151
(202) 842-1150 (fax)
For more information, please call (202) 408-3375.
Vol. 38, No. 4,1998
455