Raised in Compton, Calif., Linda Burton had to decide what legacies she would pass on to her children, whom she raised in predominantly white State College.

Burton, professor of family studies and sociology, shared her experiences in a discussion called "From Generation to Generation: Legacies of Strength, Joy and Pain in African American Families" which was presented by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, 4 Bigler, last week at the Paul Robeson Cultural Center.

In defining the African-American family, Burton said the extended black family has become less pervasive due to social and economic decline in the past 20 years.

During former President Reagan's era, there were "not enough socioeconomic resources to go around," Burton said, adding that the situation loosened ties within the black family.

Kenneth Clarke, a black studies professor and assistant director of religious affairs, does not think the situation will change under President Clinton's administration.

Until the economy is restructured to change power relations between the rich minority and the poor majority, we are "whistling in the wind," he said.

Burton said black people must decide which legacies of the past should be instilled across generations. Black people need to decide "what is good about what my parents provided for me that I want to take to the next generation," he said.

Tonya Jones (junior-accounting), who was raised in a single-parent home, said she would try to "teach her children to be strong" in the same way her mother taught her. But Jones said she doesn't want her children to grow up without a father.

Burton drew upon her own experiences as a woman who was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood raising four children in a white neighborhood, and recalled wondering how her children were going to maintain their identity.

Her children "had to bridge the world of a predominantly white environment with respect to ethnicity," as she developed different strategies for transmitting a legacy of strength and education to her children than her mother's, Burton said.

The issue of individual strength and what it means to be a strong black man or woman was also discussed.

"There are different dimensions to strength. Strength doesn't just mean aggression and power," Burton said. "Strength means the ability to develop openness to listen to each other for who you are."

Jones said she defines a strong black person as one who has a "strong sense of self" and will "take on responsibility for themselves and, in the long run, their family."