Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 53, Issue 1 S35-S45, Copyright © 1998 by The Gerontological Society of America
History, race, and attachment to place among elders in the rural all- black towns of Oklahoma
WJ McAuley
Oklahoma Center on Aging, Oklahoma City, USA. [email protected]
This research examines place attachment among older residents of the
all-Black towns of Oklahoma. Social-historical occurrences, personal
experiences associated with race, and expressed differences between
social-historical groupings of older African Americans influence the level
of social and autobiographical insideness among the elderly residents. The
findings extend current conceptualizations of place attachment by showing
that (a) place attachment is not a constant, even among long-term
residents; (b) social-historical factors can play an important role in the
level of place attachment; (c) race can be a salient element of place
attachment; (d) experiences outside the community, such as racial
discrimination, can influence the level of social and autobiographical
bonding to the community; and (e) subgroup identity within minority groups
can be associated with variations in community place attachment. The
findings point to the value of carefully examining the issues of history
and race in research focusing on older minority group members.
