Historical Development of the Single-Mother Family
The institution of slavery has fostered the concept of the “single-mother family” for years, according to Andrew Billingsley’s book “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder: The Enduring Legacy of African American Families.” Enslaved families were often broken up by slave owners who sold an enslaved woman’s lover. The children were then identified by white masters through the mother, and the presence of a father figure remained extremely rare for the families.
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