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African American Families
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African American Families



June 2007 | 408 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
This book provides students with a systematic sociological study of contemporary life for families of African descent living in the United States. Because it deals with issues facing African American families, it covers ground that is often considered, such as marriage and fertility rates, non-marital births, age at first birth, etc., but the authors also deal with several issues slighted or ignored in texts about African American family life, including disproportionately high rates of incarceration, family violence, and chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Also departing from previous books, the authors examine ways in which individual choice (e.g., choosing to use drugs, choosing to engage in unprotected sex, choosing to drop out of school) intersects with the larger societal factors and constraints. All these indices are woven together and cry out foráa new look at African American family situations that this book will provide. The authors hope to capture the complexities and nuances of a web of factors, thereby helping students explore both structural and individual explanations for problems facing many African American families today.
 
Preface
 
1. African American Families: A Brief Introduction
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
What We Hope to Accomplish

 
The Question of Social Class

 
Data Sources

 
Organization of the Book

 
Notes

 
 
2. African American Civil Society: Issues, Approaches, Demography, and Theory
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
Definitions

 
Race as a Social Construct

 
African American Families

 
Structural Versus Individual Explanations

 
African American Families: A Profile

 
Theoretical Approaches to Studying African American Families

 
Data and Methods

 
Notes

 
 
3. Family Formation, Marriage Rates, and Cohabitation
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
Factors That Affect Family Form

 
Functions and Purposes of Marriage

 
Marriage Patterns

 
The Marriage Gap

 
In Their Own Words

 
Race, Class, and Gender Analysis

 
Summary: Outcomes of the Low Marriage Rate

 
Solutions

 
Notes

 
 
4. Childbearing and Childrearing Patterns
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
Childbearing Patterns

 
Nonmarital Births

 
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm

 
Conclusions

 
Solutions

 
Notes

 
 
5. Intimate Partner Violence
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
Definitions

 
The Problem

 
The Family Violence Approach

 
The Feminist Paradigm

 
Race, Class, and Gender Approach to Studying IPV

 
The Dirty Little Secret: IPV in the African American Community

 
African American Women as Victims/Survivors of IPV: Statistics/Rates

 
Men and Masculinity

 
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm

 
Solutions

 
Notes

 
 
6. HIV and Other Social and Health Issues
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
The State of Health and Well-Being in African American Civil Society

 
Racial Disparities in Chronic Diseases

 
Racial Disparities in HIV/AIDS

 
Leading Causes of Death

 
Infant Mortality

 
Outcomes of Poor Health: Premature Death

 
Causes of Poor Health and Death

 
Environmental Injustice

 
The Politics of Health Care

 
The Genetics (and Politics) of Race/Ethnicity and Health

 
Race, Class and Gender Paradigm

 
Solutions

 
Notes

 
 
7. Access to Opportunity: Educational Attainment and Occupational Segregation
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
A Brief History of Race and Education

 
Educational Attainment

 
Access to Education: Legacy

 
The Economy

 
Race, Class, and Gender: African American Women's History of Work

 
Occupations and Work

 
Occupational Segregation: The Impact of Race and Gender

 
Causes of Occupational Segregation

 
Outcomes of Occupational Segregation

 
Financial Outcomes: Lower Earnings

 
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm

 
Solutions

 
Notes

 
 
8. Welfare and Wealth
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
Income Versus Wealth

 
Income and Income Disparities

 
Wealth and Wealth Disparities

 
Wealth Disparities and Access to the American Dream?

 
Housing

 
A Clear Illustration: Hurricane Katrina

 
Poverty

 
Welfare

 
Welfare Reform

 
Stereotypes About Welfare and Poverty

 
Welfare Versus Work

 
Welfare Reform and Family Values

 
Welfare Reform and Incarceration, or African American Mothers Are Crackheads

 
Race, Class, and Gender Analysis

 
Solutions

 
Notes

 
 
9. African American Males and the Incarceration Problem: Not Just Confined to Prison
Objectives

 
Introduction

 
Definitions

 
Prisons as Total Institutions

 
The Growth of Prisons: Institutions and Population

 
The Purpose of Prison: Rehabilitation or a Tool of Capitalism?

 
The Demographics of the Prison Population: Race and Gender

 
Explaining Racial Disparities in Incarceration

 
The Effects of Incarceration on the Lives of Young African American Men

 
Felony Disenfranchisement

 
Other Bans-Social Services

 
Race, Class, and Gender Paradigm

 
Solutions

 
Notes

 
 
10. Conclusion: Solutions to a Longstanding Problem: Race, Class, and Patriarchy in the 21st Century
Summary and Review of the Primary Themes

 
Degrees of Separation

 
A Snapshot of the African American Family

 
The Struggles

 
The Causes

 
Bans

 
Family Form

 
The Relationship Between Structural Forces and Individual Choices

 
What Is To Be Done?

 
Structural Forces: Race, Class, and Gender

 
Final Thoughts

 
Notes

 
 
Appendices
 
References
 
About the Authors
 
Index

I am excited about the content provided in this book. It will be used in my COUN 632 Family and Couples Counseling courses as a supplemental, recommended textbook purchase.

Dr Tracey M Duncan
Education , New Jersey City University
October 17, 2015

Needed an updated sociology of the african american textbook; this book received 4 out of 4 recommendations

Ms Joyce Shaw
Social Sciences Dept, Elizabeth City State University
August 22, 2011

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