Observation Experience #1: Reading about African American Spiritual Development

For my first observation experience, I read an article entitled, "Impact of College Environments on the Spiritual Development of African American Students," by Weddle-West, Hagan, and Norwood (2013). I chose this article because I have been under the impression from previous experience that spirituality plays a major role in the lives of many African Americans and I hoped that this article would shed some light on that part of the culture. While I found it interesting that African American women had higher levels of spirituality in general, I was disappointed that the article focused mainly on the implications for males. I was unable to learn much about the female experience, other than the fact that they tend to have a high level of spirituality and that, for the African American community in general, spirituality has served as a way to cope with stressors in life, such as the stress that comes with being a minority at college and in society in general.

I have found several other articles that I would like to read, so hopefully those offer more information on what it is like to be an African American female.