Survival of the Black Family

This volume examines the social policies that arose from the civil rights movement and proposes new steps to economic independence for black families that would place the responsibility within all sectors of society. Jewell argues that social policies and their absence have affected the status of black family structures, and she refutes the myth of significant black progress since the civil rights era. Attention is focused on the extent to which black families have been adversely affected by a process of assimilation, which was sociopsychological rather than economic.

Survival of the Black Family critically examines the social policies that arose from the civil rights movement. Jewell proposes new steps to economic independence for black families that would place this responsibility within all sectors of society, arguing that social policies and their absence have affected the status of black family structures. She refutes the myths of significant black progress that emanated from the civil rights era, including the belief in equity for minorities in societal institutions. Attention is focused on the extent to which black families have been adversely affected by a process of assimilation, which was sociopsychological rather than economic. Jewell also discusses how newconservatism in the 1980s has affected the status of black families. Finally, Jewell offers guidelines to the formulation of a social policy that could enhance the status of black families in the United States.

K. SUE JEWELL is a Sociologist and Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University. She has published articles in the areas of the black family, cultural images of black women, the socialization of black children, and social policy.