Five Generations, One Household: An African American Autoethnography of Family Systems, Identity, and Intergenerational Resilience

ABSTRACT This autoethnographic study explores how intergenerational living within a five‐generation African American household shaped my identity, resilience, and understanding of family. Grounded in the principles of family systems and intersectionality, this work examines the interconnected relationships, roles, and cultural practices that sustained our rural family in Fulton, Kentucky. As both researcher and participant, I trace how age, race, and familial roles intersected to influence care, discipline, and belonging across generations of women who nurtured, guided, and inspired me. In doing so, I critically reflect on the tensions between discipline, emotional restraint, and relational care that shaped my understanding of identity and Black masculinity across generations. Through narrative reflection, I highlight how storytelling, shared labor, and collective responsibility served as mechanisms of emotional balance and intergenerational resilience within the context of structural inequality. I reframe African American family life as a site of strength and interdependence, challenging deficit‐oriented discourses while celebrating the resilience, wisdom, and enduring legacy of multigenerational households.