Mya Johnson
SOC 606
The Upbringing of African American Children from Single Parent Households and the Educational Impact
In society, there are 9,808,000 Households being occupied by African American families. 37% of these households are single mothers raising their children all on their own(U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). Being an African American single mother in today’s society is not easy. They have so many obstacles to get through all while trying to raise their children and prepare them for the real world. African American mothers struggle with financial issues, parenting, and sometimes even a place to stay.
The first Article I read, titled “All I Do is Win... No Matter What”: Low Income, African American Single Mothers and their Collegiate
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In 1965 Daniel Moynihan proclaimed the typical African American single mothered and low income home, to be the source for the abnormal, inadequate, and anti-social behavior that is commonly found among African Americans. 50 years after this claim was made, scholars later deemed these as untrue and redefined the single mother as a leader. This new title for single mothers was given to them based on the independence, resilience, and strength demonstrated in their daughters; which could only be a result of their parenting. The black feminist thoughts on the black women’s lived experiences are seen as unique, distinct, and knowledge based. Their daughters views on self-esteem, independence, and their views on drugs and sex, family and loyalty, and marriage are all influenced by their mothers …show more content…
All participants gave a statement about how their mothers helped influence them to work harder than their white counterparts, based on their background with race, gender, and social class. African American families grow through community building and investment. So, it would be a good idea to include these two dynamics within the school systems. African American mother’s parenting acts have led their colligate daughters to self-motivate, be responsible, and inspired them to work hard in school and better their
Brown stresses the importance of recognizing that being a woman is not extractable from the context in which one is a woman. She examines how both black and white women’s lives are shaped by race and gender, and how these affect life choices. Historically, women of color have filled roles previously attributed to white women
For such families, “sustaining children’s natural growth is viewed as an accomplishment” (Lareau 34). Lareau also reported that many working class and poor parents feel that educators hold the expertise, and usually fear doing the “wrong thing” in school-related matters (Lareau 357). What this usually leads to is trying to maintain a separation between school and home (Lareau 358).
The Role of Women in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Go Tell It On the Mountain Historically, the job of women in society is to care for the husband, the home, and the children. As a homemaker, it has been up to the woman to support the husband and care for the house; as a mother, the role was to care for the children and pass along cultural traditions and values to the children. These roles are no different in the African-American community, except for the fact that they are magnified to even larger proportions. The image of the mother in African-American culture is one of guidance, love, and wisdom; quite often the mother is the shaping and driving force of African-American children.
The Author of this book (On our own terms: race, class, and gender in the lives of African American Women) Leith Mullings seeks to explore the modern and historical lives of African American women on the issues of race, class and gender. Mullings does this in a very analytical way using a collection of essays written and collected over a twenty five year period. The author’s systematic format best explains her point of view. The book explores issues such as family, work and health comparing and contrasting between white and black women as well as between men and women of both races.
Collins, Patricia Hill. "Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images." Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge, 2000. 89. Print.
When Dyk is explaining poverty of the poor rural Southern Black Women, she also says that, “You will be encouraged by their strength and resiliency.” (Dyk178). This means that even though some women have to prostitute themselves and face domestic as well as community violence, they keep on trying to find different ways to earn, so that they can feed their children and give them a better life. Similarly, Coontz presents it in a different way and call it economic independence. One of the reasons why divorce rates are high now, is because women are economically independent because they are educated. They did used to earn in the past, but now they have control over their income and they don’t put up with things like men abusing them or domestic violence; this shows that women have become stronger economically and emotionally as compared to how they were in the past. Those who criticize women for working and not spending time with their children, Coontz states that, “Kids do better when their mothers are happy with their lives.” (Coontze98).
Keeping with the legacy of American history, the African American family is a topic of controversy and concern. While other aspects of the family are studied, it could be argued that the area of African American motherhood receives the most attention. Unequivocally, African American mothers are depicted as matriarchs, crack-mothers, and welfare queens. In addition, Black mothers are often portrayed as lazy, irresponsible, destructive, and even worthless. These stereotypical images of African American mothers are important because they have powerful implications for African American moms, and for their families at large.
This book is a study of the personal tales of many single mothers, with intentions to understand why single mothers from poor urban neighborhoods are increasingly having children out of wedlock at a young age and without promise of marrying their fathers. The authors chose to research their study in Philadelphia’s eight most devastated neighborhoods, where oppression and danger are high and substantial job opportunities are rare. They provide an excellent education against the myth that poor young urban women are having children due to a lack of education on birth control or because they intend to work the welfare system. Instead, having children is their best and perhaps only means of obtaining the purpose, validation and companionship that is otherwise difficult to find in the areas in which they live. For many of them, their child is the biggest promise they have to a better future. They also believe that though their life may not have been what they want, they want their child to have more and better opportunities and make it their life’s work to provide that.
From the earlier forms of fetishizing over Saartjie Baartman in Europe, the dehumanization of black women as “mammies,” to Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s controversial Moynihan Report in 1965, African and African American female identity has been under the direct possession of white people. White Americans have continued to define the black female’s position within society by creating her narrative based on inequitable economic and societal conditions as well as gender norms that have outlined what it means to be a “true” black woman. Her behavior and body has been examined [and understood] through her direct contrast to white women, her role in supporting the white race
African-American parents and grandparents play a pivotal role in the socialization of children as they help
Phillis Wheatley and Elizabeth Freeman’s actions influenced the American Revolution. Wheatley through her literature, which included poems sent to George Washington and a poem written in regards to King George the third, was able to set an example of how African Americans are intelligent and equal human beings of the American colonies. Elizabeth Wheatley went against all odds to obtain her freedom by suing her slave owner and winning the case in court. Phillis Wheatley and Elizabeth Freeman’s actions during the American Revolution affected what liberty rights they would obtain years after the American Revolution ended.
As cliché as it sounds, it is true that many African American students come from very harsh and poverty stricken environments. They tend to go to under resourced schools as well that do not provide the proper knowledge for them to further their education. And even worse, these schools tend to be segregated since they are usually in the harsher parts of a neighborhood. Sadly, it’s the segregated schools are one of the main reasons why black students decide not to go on to pursue a higher education. According to "The Way Out of the Black Poverty Cycle", a black student that attends an integrated suburban school is six times more likely to graduate compared to a segregated under resourced school. An African Americans family structure and the opinions of family members affects if their decision to further their education as well. Many African American children grow up un...
Dickerson, Bette J. 1995. African American Single Mothers: Understanding their lives and Families. Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks.
I found our recent readings to be extremely interesting and I became increasingly more passionate about the black female perspective in socioeconomic world. Throughout my research it became obvious to me that black females have the hardest time in the economic world than any other race. They are faced with many challenges due to the fact that their skin color is black. Their skin color can often times keep them from getting jobs they are more than qualified for and often mistreated or overlooked by society as individuals who contribute to our socioeconomic world.
For my mid term paper I 'm going to talk about single parent children and how it affect them in all aspects of life and how it forces the child to grow up faster than other children that have 2 parents.