Synopses & Reviews
This updated edition of the classic book Black Families at the Crossroads offers a comprehensive examination of the diverse and complex issues surrounding Black families. Leanor Boulin Johnson and Robert Staples combine more than sixty years of writing and research on Black families to offer insights into the pre-slavery development of the Black middle class, internal processes that affect all class strata among Black American families, the impact of race on modern Black immigrant families, the interaction of external forces and internal norms at each stage of the Black family life cycle, and public policies that provide challenges and promising prospects for the continuing resilience of the Black family as an American institution. This thoroughly revised edition features new research, including empirical studies and theoretical applications and a review of significant social policies and economic changes in the past decade and their impact on Black families.
Praise for the First Edition
"Those who work with Black families will find the book a helpful resource, and thoughtful lay people will find that the text augments what they have long suspected. Irrespective of experience levels, all readers will more fully appreciate the fact that the Black family is far from a monolithic, deficient, or amoral institution."
Family Relations
"Authors Robert Staples and Leanor Boulin Johnson describe how external forces, such as economics, racism, culture, and politics, shape the dynamics of the modern Black family."
Ebony
"This work makes a significant contribution to the field."
Journal of Marriage and the Family
Synopsis
This updated edition of the classic book Black Families at the Crossroads, offers a comprehensive examination of the diverse and complex issues surrounding Black families. Leanor Boulin Johnson and Robert Staples combine more than sixty years of writing and research on Black families to offer insights into the pre-slavery development of the Black middle class, internal processes that affect all class strata among Black American families, the impact of race on modern Black immigrant families, the interaction of external forces and internal norms at each stage of the Black family life cycle, and public policies that provide challenges and promising prospects for the continuing resilience of the Black family as an American institution. This thoroughly revised edition features new research, including empirical studies and theoretical applications, and a review of significant social polices and economic changes in the past decade and their impact on Black families.
Synopsis
Understanding the Black FamilyThis book offers a comprehensive examination of the diverse and complex issues surrounding the black family unit as it has evolved from preslavery to contemporary society. The authors draw on more than fifty years of combined experience studying the Black American family to offer insights into the historical development, its changing structures, and the roles of its family members such as economics, racism, culture, and politics have affected the dynamics of family relations.
Synopsis
This study offers a comprehensive examination of the black family unit as it has evolved in contemporary society. It examines all dimensions of family life, going beyond statistics to explain the reasons behind dating and sexual norms, patterns of marital interaction, the prevalence of the female-headed household, and characteristics of family life among the aged.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-283) and index.
About the Author
Leanor Boulin Johnsonis professor of African American studies and family studies at Arizona State University.
Robert Staplesis an emeritus faculty member of the University of California, San Francisco, and visiting fellow in the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Table of Contents
History as Fact and Fiction.
Studying Black Families.
Work and Money: The Struggle.
Patterns of Sexual Intimacy.
Singlehood and Partner Selection.
GAnder Roles and Male Sexism.
Marital Patterns and Interactions.
The Challenges of Parenting.
Kinship and Community Support.
10. Social Change, Problems, and Prospects.