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The literature on the black middle class has focused predominantly on married-couple families with children, reflecting a conception of the black middle class as principally composed of this family type. If that conception is correct, then declining rates of marriage and childrearing would imply a decline in the presence and vitality of the black m...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... 2000, 10 percent of black households with householders in the 25 through 54-year-old range were middle class, up from 6 percent in 1980. 9 Table 3 shows seven household types, each with its respective percentage share of all black households. The percentages are given for 1980, 1990 (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44). ...
Context 2
... households grew from 9 percent in 1980 to 14 percent in 2000. In Table 3 we see this growth made SALAs the third largest household type (14 percent) in 2000, after married-couple households living with children (25 percent) and formerly-married households (30 percent). Close to one in seven black households are SALA. ...
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Wealth accumulation is the result of several factors: saving behaviors, inheritance, work and marital histories. In a context of increasing diversity of marital histories over cohorts, this article examines how relationship history may shape long-term wealth accumulation and wealth inequality. It goes beyond household wealth by looking at individua...
Citations
... Some experts on the association between marriage and the economic conditions of families frame culturally and politically incentivizing marriage to revert the current trend as the general solution for improving households' welfare (Kearney, 2023). However, as Cross et al. (2022) and many others have emphasized recently, and as I have noted above, the economic gains associated with marriage derive in no small part precisely from such policies, institutions, and other macro-forces that favour married people directly or the people most likely to marry as a way to incentivize this family form (Coontz, 1992;Marsh et al., 2007;Roseneil et al., 2020). Hence, suggesting that a reversal of marriage trends may be a solution for lifting household saving rates would only gloss over the connection between marriage and broader social institutions and structures (Baker & O'Connell, 2022), and overlook those macro forces' very role in linking the fall of marriage with a decline in household saving rates. ...
The aggregate household saving rate has declined in many nations since the 1980s, partly due to increased borrowing. To explain this puzzling trend, previous scholarship has focused on precarity, welfare state retrenchment, and financial development. Building on research describing marriage’s significance in shaping the capacity and the motivation to accumulate assets, my main contribution in this paper is to theorize that the retreat from this institution was another factor behind the dwindling of aggregate household savings. I also empirically explore this hypothesis using country-year macro data from 19 OECD countries between 1980 and 2014. After controlling for several of the major factors previous research shows contribute to the decline of savings, including interest rates and asset price growth, I find additional effects of declining marriage rates. I estimate that this factor explains between 14 and 32% of the fall in household savings. My argument and results do not suggest promoting marriage to bolster savings. Instead, they invite research on the precautionary strategies of unmarried people, how they may disrupt the role of private savings in contemporary economies, and how policies can adapt to support savings among diverse families. Importantly, this paper also calls for attention to the macroeconomic implications of family change, which remain understudied owing to the enduring traction of the “hostile worlds” view of the economy and intimacy.
... These characters were twenty-something, educated professionals who had never been married, were child-free, and lived alone or with an unmarried friend or two. The demographic represented in these films and sitcoms is known as The Love Jones Cohort (Marsh et al., 2007;Marsh, 2023). ...
... The role of personal choice and freedom (agency), within the context of social restrictions and gender norms are paramount to a discussion about what choices women of color actually have. Marsh et al. (2007) maintain that because professional Black women are now achieving middle-class status without marrying, marriage may no longer be viewed as providing much financial benefit (Marsh et al., 2007). Black women stated that their family of origin influenced their feelings about marriage and yet, we know very little about the social processes that determine Black women's ideas concerning marriage and singleness. ...
... The role of personal choice and freedom (agency), within the context of social restrictions and gender norms are paramount to a discussion about what choices women of color actually have. Marsh et al. (2007) maintain that because professional Black women are now achieving middle-class status without marrying, marriage may no longer be viewed as providing much financial benefit (Marsh et al., 2007). Black women stated that their family of origin influenced their feelings about marriage and yet, we know very little about the social processes that determine Black women's ideas concerning marriage and singleness. ...
This article reviews the changing Black family and households. The core theme is to understand the uniqueness of those single and living alone in the Black middle class-the "Love Jones Cohort"-and how their intersecting identities of race, class, gender, and singleness inform their lifestyle, shape how they manage life decisions, and their relationship to policy as well as family law and family court. This essay moves beyond the popularized and omnipresent inquiry: "Why are Black women not getting married?" or "Why are there so many single professional Black women?" This line of questioning throws the spotlight squarely on Black women's individual dating practices, while often ignoring structural factors that undergird those decision-making processes. It implies that because of the individual actions of the Love Jones Cohort, specifically Black women, they are somehow at a deficiency if they are not married and child-free, rendering them invisible as a family. This article discusses the legal implications of the presence of the Love Jones Cohort. K E Y W O R D S black families, family of one, singleness, structural racism, women of color Key points for the family court community • The concept of the family needs to be reframed, culturally and structurally, to include the growing number of persons who remain single and live alone.
... However, it is probable that differences exist across race. It is probable that race stratifies the ability of parents to transmit their holistic achievements across generations, just as it influences the ability to transmit one-dimensional attainment (Chetty et al., 2020;Hilger, 2015;Pfeffer & Killewald, 2018;Sharkey, 2008;Torche, 2015) and the distribution of families across these factors (Darity et al., 2021;Marsh et al., 2007;Quillian, 2012;Wilson, 2007). ...
... Across many socioeconomic outcomes, Black Americans are more likely to experience downward mobility, and less likely to exceed, or even maintain, the socioeconomic attainment of their parents from a generation before (Chetty et al., 2020;Hilger, 2015;Pfeffer & Killewald, 2018;Sharkey, 2008;Torche, 2015). Additionally, across each of the five areas that we argue are integral to a more holistic measure, is extreme variation in where Black and White families lie in the various distributions (Darity et al., 2021;Marsh et al., 2007;Quillian, 2012;Wilson, 2007). ...
... Second, considering multiple factors contributing to mobility will also help advance racial stratification research that recognizes the role of broader social forces/processes in shaping individual outcomes. Third, estimating the distribution of Black families across the five dimensions we outline will both update and expand work that identifies the tenuousness of the Black middle class (Darity et al., 2021;Marsh et al., 2007). Specifically, these updated findings will provide a more complete picture of the state of the Black middle class, as well as the depth of poverty and the limitations in resources held by the Black socioeconomic elite. ...
Intergenerational social mobility studies have largely explored the relationship between one aspect of parent background (e.g., education, income, occupational status, wealth, or neighborhood context) and the corresponding aspect of that parent's child once they reach adulthood. Studies examining these various measures have provided differing conclusions about the extent that social origins constrain attainment in the U.S. In contrast, the persistence of racial inequality in intergenerational mobility is one consistent finding. For instance, across various measures, research demonstrates Black individuals are more likely than White individuals to experience downward mobility, and less likely to exceed the socioeconomic standings of their parents. In this article, we argue that a more holistic measure of both origin and destination, one that combines the above‐mentioned indicators, is necessary to advance our understanding of the extent that origin constrains future attainment. We summarize lessons gleaned from one‐dimensional estimates, and from other approaches that either combine some dimensions of socioeconomic background or attempt to capture a more holistic background in other ways. We then make a recommendation for methodological interventions to accomplish this more holistic approach and conclude with research and policy implications.
... The low levels of dissatisfaction with singlehood exhibited by Black women are explained by the normative standard of singleness amongst Black communities due to external social factors such as high rates of Black male mortality and incarceration (Moorman, 2020). This shows that when identities intersect, individuals may feel less conflict in adopting certain identities (see also in: Council et al., 2023, Marsh et al., 2007. By considering these intersections, researchers can gain a more nuanced and inclusive look at the diverse experiences of single individuals in building their identities. ...
Very little attention has been paid in the literature to singlehood as an identity. Existing research can be divided into the reasons for singlehood on one side and the implications of being single on the other side, while mostly leaving singlehood itself a “black box.” Therefore, this article first surveys the two existing scholastic streams. Second, it lays out a growing stream of research where singlehood is found to be a social category and identity in itself. Third, through using social identity theories, this article offers a model of three main categories of singlehood identity: counter-normative, peripheral, and core identity. Fourth, the article demonstrates the far-reaching implications of this identity categorisation for empirical research and topics such as social discrimination, civil rights, and social movements. Thus, the meaning of singlehood is now going through a shift resembling past conceptual revolutions regarding race, gender, and sexual orientation.
... Outcomes measured at the household level are adjusted for the number of household members and economies of scale (i.e., divided by the square root of household size). Research shows that household size adjustments are especially important when making intersectional comparisons, in light of racial and gender differences in factors such as marriage and non-marital partnering, number of resident children, and extended family households (Marsh et al., 2007). All dollar amounts are adjusted to 2017 dollars, corresponding to our most recent data. ...
This article assesses how the economic context of higher education expansion since the mid-20th century has shaped families’ financial lives—in terms of income and wealth/debt—as well as how these trends have differed for Black and White women and men. We use data from the NLSY-79 (comprising trailing-edge Baby Boomers) and NLSY-97 (comprising early Millennials) to show how academically similar students in these two cohorts fared in terms of educational attainment, household income, household wealth, and total student debt accrued by age 35. While we discuss findings across race-gender groups, our results call attention to the education-related economic disadvantages faced by Black women that have accelerated across cohorts. Over time, Black women’s educational attainment has increased substantially, and high-achieving Black women, in particular, have become uniquely likely to progress beyond the BA. But while high-achieving Black women have made many advances in higher education, they also have become more likely than similarly high-achieving White men, White women, and Black men to have zero or negative wealth at the household level, and to accrue student debt for themselves and for their children. Our findings demonstrate that the costs of expanded access to credit for higher education have not been borne equally across race, gender, and achievement, and that these patterns have multigenerational financial consequences for college attendees and their families.
... In the United States, as of 2021, women earned about $.82 for every dollar men earned; Hispanic or Latina women earned about $.58, and Black women earned about $.63 for every dollar White men earned (GAO, 2022). This further complicates our analysis when studying singlehood within the Black middle class, a demographic group comprised of an increasing share of Black women (Marsh et al., 2007). Void of an intersectional lens, the well-documented conundrum that Black women are challenged by both a gender wage gap and a racial wage gap (Harvey Wingfield, 2020;Marsh, 2023;Marsh et al., 2007) obfuscates how these forms of oppression might shape the reasons for selecting, or being selected into, singlehood (Marsh, 2023). ...
... This further complicates our analysis when studying singlehood within the Black middle class, a demographic group comprised of an increasing share of Black women (Marsh et al., 2007). Void of an intersectional lens, the well-documented conundrum that Black women are challenged by both a gender wage gap and a racial wage gap (Harvey Wingfield, 2020;Marsh, 2023;Marsh et al., 2007) obfuscates how these forms of oppression might shape the reasons for selecting, or being selected into, singlehood (Marsh, 2023). ...
This article underscores the importance of recognizing the diversity and intricacy of singlehood and transcending a simplistic view of singles as a monolithic group. By adopting an intersectional approach, researchers can obtain a deeper understanding of singles' experiences and identify their unique needs. Moreover, this understanding has profound implications for social justice endeavors, as singles may encounter compounded discrimination and necessitate deliberate communities and social policies that support them. Specifically, we advance here a four‐fold argument. First, singlehood should not only be viewed as a demographic characteristic but also as a chosen status and identity. In turn, researchers must acknowledge divisions such as race, gender, class, and sexuality within this overarching category. Third, intersectionality must be analyzed in its compound and intricate effects, as singlehood intertwines with other categories in distinct ways. Fourth, this carries far‐reaching implications, and intersectionality can serve as a critical praxis that informs social justice initiatives.
... By opening up the narrow class concept, this line of research included new criteria that better matched the contextual requirements of African settings. New approaches were required for a proper assessment of the diversity of positions and behaviour inside the middle classes. 1 This wider approach follows a similar understanding to that suggested for analyses of the 'black' middle class in the USA (Marsh et al. 2007;Pattilo 2013). ...
Middle classes in the Global South have become topical. They were considered mainly by economists in development-oriented institutions and praised as a factor contributing to economic development and democratic forces. We recapitulate some of the trends and remind the reader of earlier debates. We take stock of the variety of contributions and point to the efforts to have a more nuanced look at the composition and orientations of ‘middle classes’ and their political engagements. We maintain that the initial economistic reduction, measuring monetary income as the main criteria for middle classness, is insufficient and offers no reliable set of indicators as to the social and political as well as cultural positioning of members of such income groups. An appropriate analysis of the nature and role of African middle classes must consider four aspects: the specific class formations of African societies; the link between socioeconomic stratification and sociopolitical orientations; the limited knowledge and theorisation of African societies; and the need to apply a multidimensional and new research including diverse sociocultural elements and their contextual embeddedness. We argue that an intersectional lens can break up the classical competition of the one-dimensional paradigms and suggest decolonising research on protest and middle classes by integrating a perspective and theorisation from Africa. More attention should be paid to analytical concepts such as intersectionality and social milieu for the understanding of African societies and their potential for transformation through protest. This requires overcoming stereotypical and truncated assumptions about the middle classes.
... The relatively recent development of a non-uniform "Black class structure" that Wilson describes since the postwar period, in which affluent and poor Black individuals are increasingly and meaningfully stratified, carries empirical implications in that it necessitates inquires beyond examinations of a monolithic Black experience [22]. This point is undertaken further in subsequent sociological work demonstrating the differentiated and nuanced experiences of the Black middle class [23][24][25][26][27]. ...
Prior research has established the greater exposure of African Americans from all income groups to disadvantaged environments compared to whites, but the traditional focus in studies of neighborhood stratification obscures heterogeneity within racial/ethnic groups in residential attainment over time. Also obscured are the moderating influences of broader social changes on the life-course and the experiences of Latinos, a large and growing presence in American cities. We address these issues by examining group-based trajectory models of residential neighborhood disadvantage among white, Black, and Latino individuals in a multi-cohort longitudinal research design of over 1,000 children from Chicago as they transitioned to adulthood over the last quarter century. We find considerable temporal consistency among white individuals compared to dynamic heterogeneity among nonwhite individuals in exposure to residential disadvantage, especially Black individuals and those born in the 1980s compared to the 1990s. Racial and cohort differences are not accounted for by early-life characteristics that predict long-term attainment. Inequalities by race in trajectories of neighborhood disadvantage are thus at once more stable and more dynamic than previous research suggests, and they are modified by broader social changes. These findings offer insights on the changing pathways by which neighborhood racial inequality is produced.
... By opening up the narrow class concept, this line of research included new criteria that better matched the contextual requirements of African settings. New approaches were required for a proper assessment of the diversity of positions and behaviour inside the middle classes. 1 This wider approach follows a similar understanding to that suggested for analyses of the 'black' middle class in the USA (Marsh et al. 2007;Pattilo 2013). ...
... Our focus here was on the specific income-AL association and the moderating role that race plays. Future researchers should explore socioeconomic measures that include income, education, occupation, and particularly wealth (Marsh et al., 2007). Given that wealth has been identified as the greatest area of inequality between Black and White Americans (Hamilton et al., 2015), it is important to understand how wealth may be associated with AL among U.S. men. ...
Research indicates that income is significantly associated with allostatic load (AL) and that this association may differ between White and Black Americans. Most existing income-AL link work focuses on women and less is known about this association among men. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we examined whether race moderates the association between income and AL among Black and White men in the United States (n = 5,685). We find that, regardless of income levels, Black men have significantly higher prevalence of being in the high-AL group compared with high-income White men. Our findings suggest that Black men do not receive the same health benefits for increased income relative to their White counterparts.
