ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

African-American family structure

Let's imagine a big group of people living in a place called America. Some of these people have ancestors who were born in Africa, and they are called African-Americans.

Now, when we talk about family structure, we mean how families are made up and how they work together. In some families, there might be a mom, dad, and children. In other families, there might be just one parent taking care of the children.

For African-American families, there is often something that we call "extended family." This means that a family might not just be made up of a mom, dad, and kids. It could also include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other people who are not directly related, but still considered family.

Sometimes, when dads or moms are not able to take care of their children or are not in the picture, other family members step in to help raise the kids. So, even though there might not be a traditional nuclear family, the African-American community values the idea that it takes a village to raise a child.

Overall, African-American family structure is often based on the importance of community and extended family, rather than just a simple mom, dad, and kids setup.