African American Families

by Angela J. Hattery

• ISBN13: 9781412924665
• ISBN10: 1412924669
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-19
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

'œBravo to the authors! They have done an excellent job addressing the issues that are critical to community members, policy makers and interventionists concerned with Black families in the context of our nation.' -Michael C. Lambert, University of Missouri, Colombia'œAfrican American Families is a timely work. The strength of this text lies in the depth of coverage, clarity, and the ability to combine secondary sources, statistics and qualitative data to reveal the plight of African Americans in society.' -Edward Opoku-Dapaah, Winston-Salem State University'œAfrican American Families is both engaging and challenging and is perhaps one of the most important works I have read in many years. This book will most certainly move the discourse of the socio-economic conditions of black families forward, beyond the boundaries already set by other books in the market. African American Families is an excellent book whose time has come, and one that I would most definitely adopt.' -Lateef O. Badru, University of LouisvilleAfrican American Families provides a systematic sociological study of contemporary life for families of African descent living in the United States. Analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data, authors Angela J. Hattery and Earl Smith identify the structural barriers that African Americans face in their attempts to raise their children and create loving, healthy, and raise the children of the next generation.Key Features: Uses the lens provided by the race, class, and gender paradigm: Examples illustrate the ways in which multiple systems of oppression interact with patterns of self-defeating behavior to create barriers that deny many African Americans access to the American dream. Addresses issues not fully or adequately addressed in previous books on Black families: These issues include personal responsibility and disproportionately high rates of incarceration, family violence, and chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS. Brings statistical data to life: The authors weave personal stories based on interviews they've conducted into the usual data from scholarly(?) literature and from U.S. Census Bureau reports. Provides several illustrations from Hurricane Katrina: A contemporary analysis of a recent disaster demonstrates many of the issues presented in the book such as housing segregation and predatory lending practices. Offers extensive data tables in the appendices: Assembled in easy-to-read tables, students are given access to the latest national agencies data from agencies including the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control, and Bureau of Justice Statistics.Intended Audience:This is an ideal textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as African American Families, Sociology of the Family, Contemporary Families, and Race and Ethnicity in the departments of Human Development and Family Studies, Sociology, African American Studies, and Black Studies.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiv
Acknowledgments	p. xix
African American Families: A Brief Introduction	p. 1
Objectives	p. 1
Introduction	p. 2
What We Hope to Accomplish	p. 2
The Question of Social Class	p. 4
Data Sources	p. 5
Organization of the Book	p. 6
Notes	p. 8
African American Civil Society: Issues, Approaches, Demography, and Theory	p. 9
Objectives	p. 9
Introduction	p. 10
Definitions	p. 10
Family	p. 10
Race and Ethnicity	p. 12
Race as a Social Construct	p. 13
African American Families	p. 15
Structural Versus Individual Explanations	p. 16
African American Families: A Profile	p. 17
Family Structure	p. 18
Intimate Partner Violence	p. 19
Health, Well-Being, and Access to Health Care	p. 20
Work and Education	p. 20
Poverty and Wealth	p. 21
Incarceration	p. 22
Theoretical Approaches to Studying African American Families	p. 22
Social Pathology	p. 23
The Strength Approach	p. 26
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm	p. 30
A Comparison of Race, Class, and Gender Theory With Critical Race Theory	p. 32
Data and Methods	p. 33
Qualitative Interviews	p. 33
Triangulation of Method	p. 35
Notes	p. 36
Family Formation, Marriage Rates, and Cohabitation	p. 38
Objectives	p. 38
Introduction	p. 39
Factors That Affect Family Form	p. 39
The Economy	p. 40
Religion	p. 41
Functions and Purposes of Marriage	p. 41
Economic Function	p. 42
Sexual Access	p. 42
Establishing Paternity and Guaranteeing Childrearing	p. 43
Marriage Patterns	p. 44
The Marriage Gap	p. 45
"Low Morality" and Critiques	p. 45
Ideology and Norms	p. 46
Hegemonic and Alternative Ideologies	p. 47
The Role of Welfare in Shaping Family Forms	p. 48
The Male Marriageable Pool: The Impact of Unemployment and Incarceration	p. 48
Education and Employment	p. 49
Incarceration	p. 49
Black-White Intermarriage	p. 49
In Their Own Words	p. 52
Unemployment and Underemployment: Ronny and Tammy	p. 55
Incarceration, Drugs, and Unemployment: Will and Stella and Wanda and Chris	p. 55
Race, Class, and Gender Analysis	p. 57
Summary: Outcomes of the Low Marriage Rate	p. 58
Solutions	p. 59
Notes	p. 60
Childbearing and Childrearing Patterns	p. 61
Objectives	p. 61
Introduction	p. 62
Childbearing Patterns	p. 62
Medical Outcomes	p. 63
School Completion and Consequent Poverty	p. 64
Reliance on Welfare and Problems for the Teen Mother and Her Children	p. 64
Tammy's Story	p. 65
Child Abuse	p. 66
Probability of Incarceration for Children Born to Teen Mothers	p. 67
Nonmarital Births	p. 67
Where Are the Fathers?	p. 69
Nonmarital Teen Childbearing	p. 70
Why Have a Baby?	p. 72
Sexual Activity	p. 72
The Economy/Opportunity Structure	p. 74
Norms	p. 75
Premature Sex Engagement	p. 77
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm	p. 81
Conclusions	p. 82
Solutions	p. 82
Notes	p. 83
Intimate Partner Violence	p. 85
Objectives	p. 85
Introduction	p. 86
Definitions	p. 86
The Problem	p. 87
The Family Violence Approach	p. 88
The Feminist Paradigm	p. 89
Race, Class, and Gender Approach to Studying IPV	p. 90
The Dirty Little Secret: IPV in the African American Community	p. 91
African American Women as Victims/Survivors of IPV: Statistics/Rates	p. 93
Women and Economic Dependency	p. 95
Early Experiences With Sex, Sexual Abuse, and Risk for IPV	p. 98
The Pathway From Sexual Abuse in Childhood to IPV in Adulthood	p. 100
Men and Masculinity	p. 102
African American Masculinity: The Cool Pose	p. 103
Discourses of Masculinity	p. 104
Breadwinning	p. 104
Breadwinning in the Current Economic Climate	p. 105
Women as Nags, Spendthrifts, and Lazy, and Men's Failure to Provide	p. 108
Women as Nags	p. 108
Failure as a Provider	p. 109
The Bedroom	p. 110
Jealousy	p. 112
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm	p. 116
Poverty	p. 116
Unemployment/Underemployment	p. 117
Incarceration	p. 117
Solutions	p. 118
Notes	p. 118
HIV and Other Social and Health Issues	p. 123
Objectives	p. 124
Introduction	p. 124
The State of Health and Well-Being in African American Civil Society	p. 124
Racial Disparities in Chronic Diseases	p. 125
Mental Illness	p. 129
Racial Disparities in HIV/AIDS	p. 130
Modes of Transmission	p. 132
Leading Causes of Death	p. 134
Infant Mortality	p. 137
Outcomes of Poor Health: Premature Death	p. 140
Ronny	p. 142
Causes of Poor Health and Death	p. 143
Poverty	p. 143
Lifestyle	p. 144
Access to Health Insurance	p. 144
Access to Health Care	p. 147
Winston-Salem: A Case Study	p. 148
Delays in Treatment	p. 149
HIV/AIDS	p. 150
Delays in Treatment	p. 150
Incarceration	p. 151
Ignorance/Denial: Men Having Sex With Men, or "the Down Low"	p. 153
Religion, Homophobia, and HIV/AIDS in the African American Community	p. 155
Environmental Injustice	p. 156
Environmental Causes of Poor Health: Norco	p. 156
The Politics of Health Care	p. 157
The Genetics (and Politics) of Race/Ethnicity and Health	p. 157
Drugs Targeted at African Americans	p. 158
A History of Mistrust	p. 159
Segregated Medicine	p. 160
The Tuskegee Experiments	p. 161
The Eugenics Movement	p. 162
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm	p. 163
Solutions	p. 164
Notes	p. 165
Access to Opportunity: Educational Attainment and Occupational Segregation	p. 170
Objectives	p. 171
Introduction	p. 171
A Brief History of Race and Education	p. 172
Educational Attainment	p. 174
Access to Education: Legacy	p. 177
The Economy	p. 177
Slavery and Occupations	p. 181
The Work Done by African Americans	p. 181
The Myth of Laziness	p. 182
Race, Class, and Gender: African American Women's History of Work	p. 183
Occupations and Work	p. 184
Social Class Bias: White Men as Doctors, Lawyers, and College Professors	p. 185
All African American Men Are Professional Athletes	p. 186
Occupational Segregation: The Impact of Race and Gender	p. 187
Industry Segregation	p. 188
Establishment Segregation	p. 188
Causes of Occupational Segregation	p. 189
Education and Human Capital	p. 190
Access to the Opportunity Structure: Occupational Legacy	p. 190
Coaching	p. 190
Medicine/Law/Business/Academics	p. 191
Politics	p. 191
Skilled Labor Unions	p. 192
Discrimination	p. 193
Social Capital and Employment	p. 195
Incarceration	p. 195
Outcomes of Occupational Segregation	p. 197
Unemployment	p. 197
Male Marriageable Pool	p. 199
Intimate Partner Violence	p. 199
Financial Outcomes: Lower Earnings	p. 200
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm	p. 201
Solutions	p. 202
Notes	p. 203
Welfare and Wealth	p. 205
Objectives	p. 206
Introduction	p. 206
Income Versus Wealth	p. 206
Income and Income Disparities	p. 207
Wealth and Wealth Disparities	p. 209
Wealth Disparities and Access to the American Dream?	p. 212
Housing	p. 213
Housing Discrimination	p. 214
Housing Segregation	p. 215
A Clear Illustration: Hurricane Katrina	p. 216
Poverty	p. 218
Welfare	p. 220
Welfare Reform	p. 221
Stereotypes About Welfare and Poverty	p. 222
Welfare Versus Work	p. 224
Welfare Reform and Family Values	p. 226
Welfare Reform and Incarceration, or African American Mothers Are Crackheads	p. 228
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm	p. 229
Solutions	p. 231
Notes	p. 231
African American Males and the Incarceration Problem: Not Just Confined to Prison	p. 233
Objectives	p. 234
Introduction	p. 235
Definitions	p. 235
Prisons as Total Institutions	p. 236
The Growth of Prisons: Institutions and Population	p. 237
The Role of Drug Laws in the Growth of Prisons	p. 238
The Purpose of Prison: Rehabilitation or a Tool of Capitalism?	p. 241
The Demographics of the Prison Population: Gender and Race	p. 242
Gender	p. 242
Race	p. 243
Explaining Racial Disparities in Incarceration	p. 245
The Effects of Incarceration on the Lives of Young African American Men	p. 249
Loss in the African American Community: Economic Costs	p. 251
Loss in the African American Community: Human Capital	p. 252
An Illustration: The Case of Darryl Hunt	p. 253
Social Capital	p. 255
Social Capital In and Out: An Illustration From North Carolina	p. 257
Political Capital: Census Recalculation and Felon Disenfranchisement	p. 260
The Impact of Incarceration on the Census	p. 260
Felony Disenfranchisement	p. 261
Other Bans-Social Services	p. 262
Employment Bans	p. 263
Driver's License	p. 264
Cash Assistance, Food Stamps, and Public Housing	p. 264
Student Loans	p. 264
Parenting From Behind Bars and the Adverse Effects on Children	p. 265
Statistics on Parents	p. 266
Statistics on Children	p. 266
Parenting From Behind Bars: The Importance of Visitation	p. 267
The Effects of Incarceration	p. 268
The Impact of Bans on Family Life After Release	p. 270
Physical Capital	p. 271
Penal Capital (Prisoner Labor)	p. 272
Factory Work	p. 273
Manual Labor	p. 273
Direct Marketing to Local Communities	p. 274
Service Sector Work	p. 275
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm	p. 276
Solutions	p. 279
Notes	p. 281
Conclusion: Solutions to a Long-Standing Problem: Race, Class, and Patriarchy in the 21st Century	p. 285
Summary and Review of the Primary Themes	p. 285
Degrees of Separation	p. 289
High Rates of Social Problems	p. 289
Severe Housing Segregation	p. 290
Limited and Recent Access to the Opportunity Structure	p. 291
A Snapshot of the African American Family	p. 292
The Struggles	p. 293
The Causes	p. 295
The Economy	p. 296
The Welfare System	p. 298
The Growth of the Prison Industrial Complex	p. 299
Bans	p. 299
Family Form	p. 300
The Relationship Between Structural Forces and Individual Choices: An Illustration From the Life of a Battered Woman	p. 300
Contextualizing Sheri's "Choices"	p. 301
What Is to Be Done?	p. 302
Structural Forces: Race, Class, and Gender	p. 303
Economic Solutions	p. 303
Living Wage	p. 303
Employment	p. 304
Health Insurance	p. 304
Affordable Housing	p. 305
Parental Support for Children	p. 305
Revamp Welfare	p. 306
Equal Access to Education	p. 307
Reduce/Eliminate Discrimination in Health Care	p. 309
Alternatives to Incarceration for Nonviolent Offenders	p. 310
Preventing and Interrupting Intimate Partner Violence	p. 310
Honesty About HIV	p. 312
Individual Solutions	p. 313
Final Thoughts	p. 315
Notes	p. 317
Appendixes	p. 318
References	p. 349
Index	p. 371
About the Authors	p. 385
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