Hello Joseph,
Admittedly, there are some families who unfortunately do not possess that "connected-ness" that many other families have. And there are a lot of factors that eroded that cohesiveness in a number of families. But just because the family as a whole may not seem connected, does not mean that everyone is like that. There are truly some individuals within your own family who may desire that "connected-ness" just as you do. Those are the ones you should definitely cling on if you want to restore some type of togetherness. You may only get a few together, but it's a start in trying to promote family unity.

Nevertheless, I do not think family reunions are a thing of the past. Personally, I think the number of family reunions have increased. They are becoming more elaborate - like going to a convention. And if we allow family reunions to decline in this country, that would say loud and clear, "We, African-Americans, have allowed some aspects of American culture to erode the essential values concerning family and kinship that our ancestors so greatly esteemed. We are showing loud and clear that we have NO CLUE as to WHO WE ARE as a people of African descent." In essence, we will be shouting that loudly from the rooftop, in my opinion.

Mel