[영문]Numerous African American families have struggled for generations withpersistent poverty, especially in the inner city. These conditions werefurther strained during the 1980s and 1990s by the widespread use of crackcocaine. For many, crack use became an obsession, dominated their lives,and superseded family responsibilities. This behavior placed additionalpressure on already stressed kin support networks. This paper explores theprocesses prevailing in two households during this period. In the 2000s,children born to members of the Crack Generation are avoiding use of crackbut face major deficits from their difficult childhoods. This presents bothchallenges and opportunities. The discussion considers initiatives fromboth a social problems and a strengths perspective that could help thesefamilies and help these families help themselves to advance their economiccircumstances