Grandmothering While Black: A Twenty-First-Century Story of Love, Coercion, and Survival

In Grandmothering While Black, sociologist LaShawnDa L. Pittman explores the complex lives of Black grandmothers raising their grandchildren in skipped-generation households (consisting only of grandparents and grandchildren). She prioritizes the voices of Black grandmothers through in-depth interviews and ethnographic research at various sites--doctor's visits, welfare offices, school and day care center appointments, caseworker meetings, and more. Through careful examination, she explores the various forces that compel, constrain, and support Black grandmothers' caregiving.

Pittman showcases a fundamental change in the relationship between grandmother and grandchild as grandmothers confront the paradox of fulfilling the social and legal functions of motherhood without the legal rights of the role. Grandmothering While Black illuminates the strategies used by grandmothers to manage their legal marginalization vis-à-vis parents and the state across a range of caregiving arrangements. In doing so, it reveals the overwhelming and painful decisions Black grandmothers must make to ensure the safety and well-being of the next generation.

Author: Lashawnda L. Pittman
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 05/02/2023
Pages: 350
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.10d
ISBN13: 9780520389953
ISBN10: 0520389956
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Sociology | Marriage & Family
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies | American | African American & Black Studies
- Social Science | Women's Studies

About the Author
LaShawnDa L. Pittman is Associate Professor in the Department of American Ethnic Studies and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Washington, Seattle.