“It was hard work, and it is still hard work”: towards a fluid typology of Black (imprisoned) motherwork

African Americans have long dealt with racism, discrimination, and racialized state and vigilante violence. As such, African American parents must educate their children about the realities of racism in the United States and how to cope with racism and discrimination. This practice, known as racial socialization, is a key aspect of Black parents’ parenting practices. Much of this labor tends to fall on the shoulders of Black mothers. To date, most of the scholarship on Black mothers’ racial socialization practices focuses on Black middle-class mothers. In this study, the author uses in-depth interviews with low-income African American single mothers in Virginia to examine how low-income Black single mothers racially socialize their children, what major concerns they express regarding raising Black children, and how their racial socialization practices and the concerns they express compare with those of Black middle-class mothers. Paralleling previous studies, the findings show that low-income Black single mothers generally fear for their children’s, especially their sons’, safety. They also invoke respectability politics when racially socializing their children, encouraging them not to dress or behave in ways that will reinforce stereotypes of Black boys as thugs or criminals. Diverging from previous research, however, the author argues that low-income Black single mothers’ employment of respectability politics is largely aspirational, as, unlike middle-class mothers, they are not able to assert their class status in an effort to prevent their children from experiencing discrimination.

Introduction The Status of Black Women in the United States reported in 2017 that Black women are disproportionately likely to be mothers while pursuing a college education (DuMonthier et al. 2017). A briefing paper issued by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) indicates that two in five (i.e. 37 percent) of all Black women undergraduate students are raising dependent children (2017). Contrary to common perceptions, according to a Journal of Blacks in Higher Education publication from 2005, many Black single mothers are educated beyond high school, and others are seeking education toward better conditions for themselves and their families. Nevertheless, one of the most prevalent racial stereotypes about Black single mothers is that of inadequacy, particularly that they are uneducated. Single mothers in college are challenged with balancing a range of responsibilities including school, parenthood and often also employment. For Black single mothers, the added burden of racial stereotypes and myths presents further challenges to succeeding as both students and parents. To date, little scholarly attention has been paid to Black mothers, in general, who are pursuing higher education while raising children. Based on data collected using a questionnaire about Black student mothers currently or formerly enrolled at US colleges and universities, we assess self-perceptions and mechanisms of self-determination. A more comprehensive view of the experiences of Black student mothers can help highlight strategies that are effective in challenging existing distortions about Black womanhood and motherhood as well as debunking negative racial stereotypes associated with Black mothers. We posit that a look at the agency and lived experiences of Black women student parents can help in designing university and college programs and services better suited to support these students’ overall success in higher education. The present exploratory study aims to identify patterns, ideas or hypotheses to gain insights into the topic of Black student mothers’ college/university experience that has, thus far, been understudied. This essay is organized as follows. First, a literature review provides a view of the major discursive positions regarding issues Black women experience at the intersection of motherhood and college attendance. Next, the methodology section outlines the conceptual framework, data collection and sample.

Growing research documents how systemic anti-Black racism leads to negative physical and mental health outcomes for Black populations, including Black mothers. There is also increasing attention to the concept of resilience as a way of theorizing how Black persons draw on strategies and resources to avoid, overcome or recover from these experiences. This paper, guided by a decolonial framework, intersectional theories and Black feminist epistemologies, reports on key findings from a qualitative, community-based study of young Black motherhood, which included in-depth interviews and focus groups with 13 Black Caribbean-Canadian mothers in the Greater Toronto Area. We demonstrate how barriers caused by anti-Black racism, gender inequalities, xenophobia, and classism operate in the lives of young Black mothers, and we reconfigure resilience from a Eurocentric, individualized concept towards a feminist intersectional one. Findings challenge the conceptualization of ‘normal’, universal, and time-bound development privileged in resilience research; demonstrate that the adversities young Black Caribbean-Canadian mothers encounter in trying to care and provide for their families are rooted in the cumulative intersectional impacts of racialized, gendered, xenophobic, and classed experiences, contexts, and policies across the life course; and highlight the critical importance of working with decolonizing research processes, intersectionality theories, and Black feminist epistemologies.

Breastfeeding rates among US mothers, particularly Black or African American mothers, fall short of recommended guidelines. Despite the benefits of human milk, only 24.9% of all infants receive human milk exclusively at 6 months. Our team previously explored the key content areas a mobile health intervention should address and the usability of an initial prototype of the Knowledge and Usage of Lactation using Education and Advice from Support Network (KULEA-NET), an evidence-based mobile breastfeeding app guided by preferences of Black or African American parents. This study aimed to identify the preferences and acceptability of additional features, content, and delivery methods for an expanded KULEA-NET app. Key social branding elements were defined to guide app development as a trusted adviser. The study also aimed to validate previous findings regarding approaches to supporting breastfeeding goals and cultural tailoring. We conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews and focus groups with potential KULEA-NET users. A health branding approach provided a theoretical framework. We recruited 24 participants across 12 interviews and 2 focus groups, each with 6 participants. The Data methods aligned with qualitative research principles and concluded once saturation was reached. Given the focus on cultural tailoring, team members who shared social identities with study participants completed data collection and coding. Two additional team members, 1 with expertise in social branding and 1 certified in lactation, participated in the thematic analysis. All participants identified as Black or African American mothers, and most interview participants (7/12, 58%) engaged in exclusive breastfeeding. In total, 4 themes were recognized. First, participants identified desired content, specifying peer support, facilitated access to experts, geolocation to identify resources, and tracking functions. Second, delivery of content differentiated platforms and messaging modality. Third, functionality and features were identified as key factors, highlighting content diversity, ease of use, credibility, and interactivity. Finally, appealing aspects of messaging to shape a social brand highlighted support and affirmation, inclusivity and body positivity, maternal inspiration, maternal identity, social norms, and barriers to alignment with aspirational maternal behaviors as essential qualities. Crosscutting elements of themes included a desire to communicate with other mothers in web-based forums and internet-based or in-person support groups to help balance the ideal medical recommendations for infant feeding with the contextual realities and motivations of mothers. Participants assigned high value to personalization and emphasized a need to achieve both social and factual credibility. This formative research suggested additional elements for an expanded KULEA-NET app that would be beneficial and desired. The health branding approach to establish KULEA-NET as a trusted adviser is appealing and acceptable to users. Next steps include developing full app functionality that reflects these findings and then testing the updated KULEA-NET edition in a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Breastfeeding rates among US mothers, particularly Black or African American mothers, fall short of recommended guidelines. Despite the benefits of human milk, only 24.9% of all infants receive human milk exclusively at 6 months. OBJECTIVE Our team previously explored the key content areas a mobile health intervention should address and the usability of an initial prototype of the Knowledge and Usage of Lactation using Education and Advice from Support Network (KULEA-NET), an evidence-based mobile breastfeeding app guided by preferences of Black or African American parents. This study aimed to identify the preferences and acceptability of additional features, content, and delivery methods for an expanded KULEA-NET app. Key social branding elements were defined to guide app development as a trusted adviser. The study also aimed to validate previous findings regarding approaches to supporting breastfeeding goals and cultural tailoring. METHODS We conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews and focus groups with potential KULEA-NET users. A health branding approach provided a theoretical framework. We recruited 24 participants across 12 interviews and 2 focus groups, each with 6 participants. The Data methods aligned with qualitative research principles and concluded once saturation was reached. Given the focus on cultural tailoring, team members who shared social identities with study participants completed data collection and coding. Two additional team members, 1 with expertise in social branding and 1 certified in lactation, participated in the thematic analysis. RESULTS All participants identified as Black or African American mothers, and most interview participants (7/12, 58%) engaged in exclusive breastfeeding. In total, 4 themes were recognized. First, participants identified desired content, specifying peer support, facilitated access to experts, geolocation to identify resources, and tracking functions. Second, delivery of content differentiated platforms and messaging modality. Third, functionality and features were identified as key factors, highlighting content diversity, ease of use, credibility, and interactivity. Finally, appealing aspects of messaging to shape a social brand highlighted support and affirmation, inclusivity and body positivity, maternal inspiration, maternal identity, social norms, and barriers to alignment with aspirational maternal behaviors as essential qualities. Crosscutting elements of themes included a desire to communicate with other mothers in web-based forums and internet-based or in-person support groups to help balance the ideal medical recommendations for infant feeding with the contextual realities and motivations of mothers. Participants assigned high value to personalization and emphasized a need to achieve both social and factual credibility. CONCLUSIONS This formative research suggested additional elements for an expanded KULEA-NET app that would be beneficial and desired. The health branding approach to establish KULEA-NET as a trusted adviser is appealing and acceptable to users. Next steps include developing full app functionality that reflects these findings and then testing the updated KULEA-NET edition in a randomized controlled trial.

Current data suggest that the homeschooling community is a diverse and growing social movement, varying demographically in terms of race, religion, socioeconomic status, and political beliefs. However, with over 68% of the homeschooling population being non-Hispanic White – a group not accustomed to systemic oppression and racial marginalization – the homeschooling narrative reflected in research is often skewed by the socioeconomic status, political power, and cultural interests of White, two-parent, middle-class homeschooling households. Amidst increasingly amiable responses toward homeschooling, Black families of varying socioeconomic backgrounds have shown interest in becoming home educators. Included in this chapter are their lesser-told accounts – narratives from the primary homeschooling parent – Black mothers. Relying on 20 in-depth interviews, this study utilizes the theoretical frames of systemic gendered racism, intersectionality, and the coding procedures of grounded theory methods to analyze the narratives of Black homeschooling mothers. Overlooking the experiences and concerns of marginally represented homeschooling families such as Black homeschoolers can haphazardly reproduce social inequalities and/or fracture the homeschooling movement along stratified categories. Findings underscore homeschooling as a classed and gendered process and draw attention to the specific racialized boundaries and indignities that obstruct Black mothers’ educational and parenting goals. The author explains how Black women navigate systemic marginalization while homeschooling.

The period from 6 to 24 months in an infant's life presents a critical window for understanding feeding practices and for designing culturally appropriate interventions. However, little is known about the complementary feeding practices of Black mothers and how this period can be used to optimise the long-term health of their children. The present study aimed to identify factors that influence the complementary feeding practices of low-income Black mothers with children aged 6-24 months. Participants were recruited through Research Match, Facebook advertising, flyers, and snowballing techniques. Low-income, Black mothers, with a 6-24-month-old infant, and who lived in Franklin County, Ohio, USA, were eligible for the study. A cross-sectional design using in-depth interviews was used. Reflexive thematic analysis was utilised to analyse and interpret the feeding practices of Black mothers. Mothers (n = 8) were aged between 18 and 30 years old and most completed college or had some college education (n = 6). Half (n = 4) were married, employed, and rated their diet quality and their children's as very good. Three themes emerged: (a) complementary feeding at ≥ 6 months of age; (b) involvement of health care providers and service organisations in feeding decisions; and (c) use of responsive feeding cues. All mothers breastfed exclusively and most (n = 6) initiated complementary feeding at 6 months. Paediatricians, other health providers and service organisations were instrumental in helping Black mothers adopt complementary feeding practices. Mothers also engaged in responsive feeding practices. These findings point to the critical nature of access and education in helping Black mothers in the study achieve feeding recommendations for their infants.

Black mothers have never fit the hegemonic white standard of motherhood. The bad mother narrative has been superimposed on Black women through controlling images. Through in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated Black mothers, I demonstrate how formerly incarcerated Black women invert controlling images through how they frame their mothering choices. Their reframing of their mothering choices reveals that formerly incarcerated Black mothers have mothering practices that entail good mothering and goes beyond the white imaginary. These mothering practices reveal a redefinition of motherhood that provides greater understanding of how formerly incarcerated Black mothers understand and make sense of their mothering choices.

This poem was created using the findings in a constructivist grounded theory study on Black maternal mental health and supports for mental health. During in-depth interviews, Black mothers in a midwestern metropolitan context shared their experiences with their mental health, strengths, struggles, supports, and solutions. This author—a Black mother from the same community—created this poem using the participants’ spoken words to radically center their voices and expertise. This poem is a stand-alone creative tool to inspire critical self-reflection and action to enhance existing supports and create better support for Black mothers.

As school choice policies continue to become more prevalent nationally and internationally, educational scholars are interested in understanding how parents make school selection decisions. Existing studies of parental educational decision-making mainly explore how white, middle-class parents make educational decisions. There is limited research on the criteria Black parents, specifically Black mothers, prioritize when selecting schools for their children. This study draws on in-depth interviews with five Black mothers to explore the factors they consider when choosing schools for their elementary-aged children within a school choice context. Findings show Black mothers in this study prioritize factors to protect their children from racism and prepare them for racist practices embedded in American institutions and society.

In Birthing Black Mothers Black feminist theorist Jennifer C. Nash examines how the figure of the “Black mother” has become a powerful political category. “Mothering while Black” has become synonymous with crisis as well as a site of cultural interest, empathy, fascination, and support. Cast as suffering and traumatized by their proximity to Black death—especially through medical racism and state-sanctioned police violence—Black mothers are often rendered as one-dimensional symbols of tragic heroism. In contrast, Nash examines Black mothers’ self-representations and public performances of motherhood—including Black doulas and breastfeeding advocates alongside celebrities such as Beyoncé, Serena Williams, and Michelle Obama—that are not rooted in loss. Through cultural critique and in-depth interviews, Nash acknowledges the complexities of Black motherhood outside its use as political currency. Throughout, Nash imagines a Black feminist project that refuses the lure of locating the precarity of Black life in women and instead invites readers to theorize, organize, and dream into being new modes of Black motherhood.

Punitive and disciplinary forms of governance disproportionately target low-income Black Americans for surveillance and punishment, and research finds far-reaching consequences of such criminalization. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 46 low-income Black mothers of adolescents in urban neighborhoods, this article advances understanding of the long reach of criminalization by examining the intersection of two related areas of inquiry: the criminalization of Black youth and the institutional scrutiny and punitive treatment of Black mothers. Findings demonstrate that poor Black mothers calibrate their parenting strategies not only to fears that their children will be criminalized by mainstream institutions and the police, but also to concerns that they themselves will be criminalized as bad mothers who could lose their parenting rights. We develop the concept of “family criminalization” to explain the intertwining of Black mothers’ and children’s vulnerability to institutional surveillance and punishment. We argue that to fully grasp the causes and consequences of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on Black youth and adults, sociologists must be attuned to family dynamics and linkages as important to how criminalization unfolds in the lives of Black Americans.

Race and racism play an integral role in shaping mothering practices. Specifically, motherwork examines how Black mothers use strategies and practices to shield children from, as well as help them navigate through, experiences of racism. The necessity of these mothering practices may be fundamental in how motherhood is experienced for Black women. This study used qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews with 35 predominantly middle-class Black mothers of children in adolescence and young/emerging adulthood. A grounded theoretical and Black feminist approach was taken to analyze data. Black mothers take on numerous laborious and exhaustive strategies to shield their children from racism through what I theorize as the concept of intensive motherwork. I define intensive motherwork as the exhaustive efforts and effects of Black mothers protecting and empowering their children and themselves in the face of anti-Black racism. Intensive motherwork can be seen in three broad themes: (1) protective mothering, (2) resistance mothering, and (3) encumbered mothering. This work expands current discourse on Black families by highlighting the overlap between the intensive nature of Black women’s mothering, the laborious practices that are deployed, and the role of race and racism on Black women’s mothering experience.

The study explored the relationship between black mothers- and daughters-in-law in Pretoria North, South Africa. The theoretical paradigm of the family systems theory provides a perspective on the dynamics of the mother- and daughter-in-law relationship. A qualitative approach allowed the researcher to obtain rich data from in-depth interviews with 20 mothers-in-law and 20 daughters-in-law who had been in a mother-daughter-in-law relationship for at least 6 months. Phenomenology was also used as a design that guided the research process to allow participants to express the meanings that they had attached to their own experiences of the relationship. From the analysis, six major themes emerged regarding the dynamics that influence the mother-daughter-in-law relationship. These themes included the quality of mother-daughter-in-law relationship, first meeting, expectations, importance of having a good relationship, roles of the makoti and mamazala, as well as reflections on the mother-daughter-in-law relationship. The results of the study indicated that both mothers- and daughters-in-law perceive that it is important to have a good relationship with each other for the smooth continuity of the family. Furthermore, the results of this study highlighted the complicated family systems that exist within the in-law relationships among modern black South African families.

Objective:To characterize the lived experiences of stress associated with having a preterm infant hospitalized in the NICU among Black and Hispanic mothers.Methods:We performed a qualitative content analysis of secondary data from two prior studies that included 39 in-depth interviews with Black and Hispanic mothers of preterm infants at 3 U.S. NICUs. We used a constant comparative method to select important concepts and to develop codes and subsequent themes.Results:Black and Hispanic mothers described stressors in the following domains and categories: Individual (feeling overwhelmed, postpartum medical complications, previous stressful life events, competing priorities); Hospital (perceived poor quality of care, provider communication issues, logistical issues); Community (lack of social supports, lack of financial resources, work challenges).Conclusions:The findings of this study suggest that stressors both inside and outside of the hospital affect the lived experiences of stress by Black and Hispanic mothers during NICU hospitalization.