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. "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). Pittman 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 this role. Grandmothering While Black illuminates the strategies used by grandmothers to manage legal marginalization vis-á-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"-- Provided by publisher Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction 13 1. Mothering While Black 51 2. Black Grandmothering: Role Expectations, Meanings, and Conflict 83 3. How Grandmothers Experience and Respond to Coerced Mothering within Informal Kinship Care 114 4. How Grandmothers Experience and Respond to Coerced Mothering within Formal Kinship Care 145 5. “He Don’t Get Enough Money to Do All That. And I Don’t Either”: Grandmothers’ Economic Survival Strategies 179 6. Managing the Burden and the Blessing 213 Conclusion 246 Appendix: The Five-Tiered System of Kinship Care 263 Notes 283 Bibliography 305 Index 331