Helping Single African

American Mothers Find Hope

Suzette M. Smart, BSW, MHA

Abstract
Many factors hold hostage the African American woman from achieving educational success in a collegiate
environment. However, not all African American women in oppressed communities remain oppressed, or are relegated
to a life of crime for survival or success. There are many inspiring stories, proving the more powerful the knowledge
of this population by health care providers, and those who provide services for their well-being, higher the chances
African American women in Lithonia, GA have better the opportunity to become empowered.
Contrary to many studies, it is the blatant realities of sexism, racism, and poverty that actually encourage the
single African American mother to enroll in college as a response to a sense of despair, and a strategy for managing
challenges. Following is an exploration of this population authored by Suzette M. Smart, BSW, MHA, (2014). I have
given full permission for the purposes of this training for this research paper to be used in its entirety.

Introduction
Many factors hold hostage the African American woman from achieving educational success in a collegiate
environment. Historically, studies defined the single African American mother as one who faced a life of calamity, primarily
because she was a single mother, and that her life and that of her children had mostly negative conclusions. The negative
outcomes often associated with this population per these earlier studies were higher rates of depression, oppression,
dependence on safety net programs, and their inability to focus on higher academia due to these quandaries. More recently,
Butterworth and Rodgers (2007) reported that African American single mothers have a high incident rate of exhibiting
behaviors that lead to poor parenting and place them at high risk for poor mental health (Holmes, Lynette & Hinton-Hudson,
p. 105, 2007). The insinuation prevails that simply being an African American single mother, is the underlying motive for their
failure. However, contrary to these studies, in fact, it is the blatant realities of sexism, racism, and poverty that actually
encourage the single African American mother to enroll in college as a response to a sense of despair, and a strategy for
managing challenges.

Single Mothers
Statistics relating to the single mother are startling; their annual income is less than $25,000 and they are
40.9% more likely, as of 2011, to live in poverty (Legal Momentum, 2011). Overall levels of income for single
African American mothers are more devastating, whereby one in two women in this category raise their children
in poverty, with an estimated annual income of $22,000 (Legal Momentum, 2011). The USDA (2011) asserts that
it cannot be assumed these single mothers maintain sustainable healthy lives when almost half of this population
is food insecure, and one seventh must rely on food pantries to feed their children (Coleman-Jensen, Nord,
Andrews & Carlson, p. 10, 2011). Furthermore, a decay in quality of life for African American single mothers
amid the population of families headed only by single mothers of other races, are burdened the most with issues
relative to homelessness. Eighty percent of all homeless families are led by single women, and almost 50% of
those homeless families are led by African American single mothers (Legal Momentum, 2011).

Racism, Sexism, and Poverty

African American women in general, and historically, have faced oppression from a variety of sources, such as
workplaces, within the legal systems, and media genres(citations). These sources have the potential to be influential in
how they affect this population on both institutional and personal levels. However, simply researching the unique
needs associated with various aspects of racial identity with African American women negates the oppression often
witnessed by sexism. In fact, an African American woman's identity encompasses both her gender and race, often
referred to as double jeopardy, whereby the AAW must learn and incorporate methods to integrate these identities.

Although single mothers have the highest rate of employment as compared to married mothers, there remains an
oxymoron why this population stagnates at the poverty level. A cross-national study by The Women's Legal Defense and
Education Fund (2011) concluded that 65.9% of all single mothers work more than 30 hours per week (Legal Momentum,
2011). As expected however, these employment rates decrease for this population who have children younger than six years
old. In contrast, single fathers have an exceptionally higher employment rate of 76% (Legal Momentum, 2011). The crux of
this paradox however, might be readily seen more through the lens of the inequities of wages. These wage gaps directly
correlate with the National Women's Law Center's (2012) findings that single African American women in general only make
64 cents to each dollar that white, non-Hispanic males earn (p. 1). Even more so, these apparent wage gaps support the
antiquated Three-Fifths Compromise, in which language within the U.S. Constitution connotes that Black people were less
than human, and therefore were used as political pawns (Constitution, 2013). This covert racist mentality continues as single
African American mothers attempt to forge forward for the welfare of their families.

Life Happens
For African American single mothers, attending college requires more than simply the matriculation through the system,
attending classes, and submitting quality course assignments. Multiple socioeconomic circumstances have the potential to
reduce or completely terminate the African American single mother's progression through college. Cervan, Park, Nations and
Nielsen (2013) report, through a recent study of community college single mother students, that often classes were missed or
completely dropped due to obstacles with finances, childcare, and transportation (p. 1). More important, of these 600 study
participants, 38% reported homelessness as a major deterrent to their college progression (Cervan et al., 2013). In 2009,
homeless single mothers accounted for approximately 80% of all homeless families counted by the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (Legal Momentum, 2012). Over 170,000 families in emergency shelters, and approximately 18,000
living on the streets were accounted for on any one particular day (Legal Momentum, 2012). These statistics do not convey
however, the large percentage of single mothers who reside in double up dwellings, which is defined by The Women's Legal
Defense and Education Fund as "...often a precursor to homelessness" (National Womens Law Center, 2012).

Despite higher homeless rates, lower wages, and social obstacles, the single African American mother continues to
rival her White single, and married mother's college attendance, and also that of the single fathers college attendance.
The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund (2009), for example, reported that 49% of African American single
mothers attend college, whereas conversely, only 33% of Hispanic single mothers attend . Albeit such an exponential
college attendance by single African American mothers, in comparison, only 16% attain completion of a Bachelors
degree, versus 37% for married mothers (National Womens Law Center, 2012).

Womanist Identity Development Model

Single African American mothers entering community colleges and universities have been on the rise; the overall
attendance and conferment of degrees doubled between 2000 and 2010 by African American women in general (Johnson,
2010). Whereas bell hooks (1984) fights to redefine the feminist theory in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center to
incorporate the Black female, Hooks would suggest this trend is the result of the single African American mother finding
herself through education as the, the practice of freedom (Merriam & Brockett, p. 157, 2007). However, this trend for
the African American female more closely aligns with that of the womanist identity development model of Professor J.E.
Helms (Carter & Parks,1996). The womanist identity development model of Helms in conjunction with multiple identity
models for women of all races, specifically addresses the unique experiences and viewpoints of the African American
woman. This model also focuses on the diversity within this population, such as single parenting, and their personal
experiences that guide them to womanhood.

The Preencounter, Encounter, Immersion-Emersion, and Internalization stages are the premise for explanation of the
womanist identity model identified by Helms (1990). Progression through each stage prepares the African American
woman to move from that of passivity within society and her race, to acceptance and self-definition of her womanhood.
The Preencounter stage denies that racism and sexism negatively affects her life, and she continues to move forward
accepting the two as the norm and customary of womanhood. In the second phase, Encounter, a woman begins to question
the inequities placed against her by society, and seeks to challenge that which she does not believe is fair. There are two
phases within the third stage of Immersion-Emersion; the woman begins to reject the devaluing of her womanhood by
society, and in the next phase, she begins to devise a plan that rejuvenates this negativity into positive views of her
womanhood. Finally, the Internalization stage becomes omnipresent as the woman defines what she perceives to be her
personal and unique declaration of womanhood (Carter & Parks, 1996).

The womanist identity development model differs from that of the feminist approach of Bell Hooks in that it removes the
focus from merely just being a woman, but allows the single African American woman to also recognize her strengths of
survival and emotional welfare. This model allows for the incorporation of education within the single African American
mother's experience as one that has the potential to be interactive, not segregated, from her gender, race, or economic class.
Remarkably, this theory has a certain level of spirituality, although there is no one particular religious component to
adopting this model. However, the spirituality involved is one of personal choice, and claimed by some theologians that
by practicing this model helps "move the individual towards knowledge, love, meaning, hope, transcendence,
connectedness and compassion" (Lorge & Hofacker, 2013).

African American women face multiple societal negative images irrespective of their level of education, such as that of
being subservient, hypersexual, overly dominate in relationships, and inferior to the White race. Single African American
mothers face additional negative images of being "welfare queens, welfare chiselers, and lazy" (Johnson, p. 1, 2010).
These stereotypes have the potential to produce sentiments within the environment of academia of a specific population
unable to acquire intelligence, therefore rendering them unfit to complete degree programs from the start. For a culture
that has historically strived to attain autonomy, they also, and often, are not cognizant of the hidden negative images of
African American women in academia. Margolis and Romero (1998) concluded that frequently this population is met by
faculty and students under the assumption these women have been granted admission to the institute of higher education
based on lowered admission standards or as a recipient of an affirmative action policy.

Implications for Adult Education

The African American woman in general has faced tremendous disparities in higher educational environments, simply
at the hands of antiquated negative images imposed upon them due to their race, gender, and economic status. As the
educational system progressed, however, there was a recognition that by mentoring and co-mentoring single African
American mothers, support of degree completion was beneficial. However, more understanding towards the relevance of
how their personal struggles of racism, sexism, and economic position intersect with their ability to attain conferment of a
degree, requires more than simply one course in cultural diversity by faculty. The historical race and gender legacy of single
African American mothers lead to a current oppressive environment within higher education when faculty does not further
probe into the multidimensionality of the single African American mother's struggle.

The womanist identity development model promotes strategies that facilitate modeling tools of
empowerment, which is core to resisting oppression. In addition, this model, if used
effectively by faculty with single African American mothers, encourages this population to
seek and exhibit community building skills, which stand at the forefront of a strong support
system to help maintain their perseverance and commitment while attaining their degree.
Finally, an imperative mission for faculty in institutions of higher learning who work with
single African American mothers, should be a strong intent to focus on strategies that help this
population build self-determination. Self-determination motivates these young women to fight
the struggle to identify, overcome, and uphold a new sense of an integrated vision of their
womanhood.