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The Precarious Existence Faced By Unmarried Black Mothers In The United States Reflects The Deep-seated Ills Of Anti-black Racism, Systemic Poverty, Disenfranchisement, And State Violence That Adversely Impact The Daily Lives Of Most Black Americans. The Prevalence Of Negative Judgements Across Racial Boundaries Within Scholarly And Popular Discourses Concerning Their Precarity Is Quite Notable. These Discourses Illuminate The Vulnerabilities Particular To Unmarried Black Mothers, Who Are, More Often Than Not, Held Blameworthy For Their Diminished Life Conditions. Single Black Mothers, However, Are Not Parasitic Problems In Need Of Eradication. The Institution Of Marriage Is The Problem. Single Black Mother Disrupts The Impoverished Narrative Of Single Black Motherhood Through Consideration Of The Following Questions: How Has The American Marital Institution Served To Confine Political, Moral, And Economic Capital Amongst Elites To The Detriment Of Unmarried Black Mothers And Their Families? How Should Considerations Of Anti-black Racism Inform Our Deliberations Concerning The Role, If Any, The State Should Undertake Regarding Intimate Relationships? How Can We Affirm The Matrifocal Dyad As A Productive Site Of Racial Justice? Single Black Mother Offers An Original Contribution To The Canon Of Africana Philosophy And Provides Novel Arguments That Augment Existing Literature Within Contemporary Philosophy. Single Black Mother Advances Philosophical Debates On Marriage By Arguing That Non-normative Families, Specifically Families Headed By Unmarried Black Women, Should Be Regarded As Generative Sites Of Moral Worthiness And Liberation Practices
This book investigates how the American institution of marriage functions as a mechanism of systemic inequality that marginalizes unmarried Black mothers. Anika Maaza Simpson, a scholar of Africana philosophy, utilizes a critical framework to examine the intersection of anti-Black racism, economic disenfranchisement, and state policy. She argues that the prevailing societal focus on the perceived failures of single Black mothers obscures the structural barriers inherent in the marital institution itself, proposing instead that these families serve as vital sites for liberation and moral worth.
What You Will Find
Scholars in the field of Africana philosophy identify this work as a significant intervention in contemporary debates regarding family structure and racial justice. Readers frequently note the rigorous academic density of the prose and its effectiveness in shifting the focus from individual behavior to systemic critique.
Page Count:
200
Publication Date:
2025-05-13
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0197555926
ISBN-13:
9780197555927
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