Ensuring Inequality: The Structural Transformation of the African-American Family
Throughout history, African-American’s have struggled with equality. This article describes the different varieties of impacts that affected all the lives of African-Americans: slavery, gender, the decrease in employment, the northern migration, poverty, and much more. During the time of slavery, it was a lot easier to be married on larger plantation than smaller ones. The large plantations had a bigger variety to choose from and the slaves did not come into contact with their owners as much. However, in small plantations it was very lonely for some slaves because there was not a lot women or men to choose from. “Normally on small plantations, children became pregnant at a young …show more content…
What formed a family during slavery was two diversities: single parent and two-parent. Also, when freed the government promoted the male African-Americans as head of house hold and gave them more land and money. Being a single mother meant nothing to the government and they gave them little to nothing, which started the poverty line. Although a lot of poverty started after slavery, the northern migration increases poverty because it caused a major loss in finances. According to Hill (2000), “ Northward migration itself produced poverty, because it entailed significant financial loss for African Americans and diminution of the traditions of family support that already was in the South (p.360). So, therefore, there was many aspects that affected the family and relationships amongst African
Throughout history, African-American’s have struggled with equality. This article describes the different varieties of impacts that affected all the lives of African-Americans: slavery, gender, the decrease in employment, the northern migration, poverty, and much more. During the time of slavery, it was a lot easier to be married on larger plantation than smaller ones. The large plantations had a bigger variety to choose from and the slaves did not come into contact with their owners as much. However, in small plantations it was very lonely for some slaves because there was not a lot women or men to choose from. “Normally on small plantations, children became pregnant at a young …show more content…
What formed a family during slavery was two diversities: single parent and two-parent. Also, when freed the government promoted the male African-Americans as head of house hold and gave them more land and money. Being a single mother meant nothing to the government and they gave them little to nothing, which started the poverty line. Although a lot of poverty started after slavery, the northern migration increases poverty because it caused a major loss in finances. According to Hill (2000), “ Northward migration itself produced poverty, because it entailed significant financial loss for African Americans and diminution of the traditions of family support that already was in the South (p.360). So, therefore, there was many aspects that affected the family and relationships amongst African