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Downward Residential Mobility In Structural-Cultural Context: The Case Of Disadvantaged Black Mothers, Katrina Bell Mcdonald, Bedelia N. Richards

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Sorting out the various macro and micro causes of Black mothers’ downward residential mobility is extremely difficult, though past research has been fairly successful in identifying and explaining the mechanisms by which structural factors constrain Black residential change. The socio-historical context in which Black mothers operate, however, is largely ignored in these studies. We argue that past scholarship on Black women’s social history offers some helpful insights into the “residential desires and decision making” related to Black women’s social location. This paper pinpoints instances of downward residential mobility among a sample of disadvantaged Black mothers and works to elucidate both …