A New Look at Black Families

Charles Willie’s A New Look at Black Families has introduced thousands of students to the intricacies of the Black family in American society since its publication in 1976. Now, with Richard Reddick, Willie has produced a substantially-revised fifth edition of this standard text on the subject. Using a case study approach, Willie and Reddick show the varieties of the Black family experience and how those experiences vary by socioeconomic status. In addition to examining families of low-income, working, and middle classes, the authors also look to the family experiences of highly successful African Americans to try to identify the elements of the family environment leading to success. The authors also puncture the myth of the Black matriarchy prevalent in the popular imagination. For a nuanced, readable, accurate picture of the state of the family in African America for scholars and their students, this New Look will be essential reading.