A Word: No More “Black Picket Fence”

For decades, there has been a stigma attached to remaining unmarried and childless in the Black community, particularly for women. But a growing part of the Black middle class is single, childfree adults. Does the trend threaten the future of the Black family, or is it time to recognize a different model for family life? On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by sociologist Kris Marsh, author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.”

Guest: Kris Marsh, University of Maryland Sociology Professor and author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.”

Podcast production by Ahiyana Angel

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For decades, there has been a stigma attached to remaining unmarried and childless in the Black community, particularly for women. But a growing part of the Black middle class is single, childfree adults. Does the trend threaten the future of the Black family, or is it time to recognize a different model for family life? On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by sociologist Kris Marsh, author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.”

Guest: Kris Marsh, University of Maryland Sociology Professor and author of “The Love Jones Cohort: Single and Living Alone in the Black Middle Class.”

Podcast production by Ahiyana Angel

You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices