Sandra L. Barnes is a Sociology Professor in the Department of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt University and the first female African American Assistant Vice Chancellor. She is the author of Empowering Black Youth of Promise (2016), Live Long and Prosper, and The Costs of Being Poor (2005).
Introduction: a black family from Mississippi as a socio-ecological
phenomenon; 1. 'My own land and a milk cow': race, space, class, and gender
as embedded elements of a black southern terrain; 2. 'Bikes or lights':
familial decisions in the context of inequality; 3. 'Getting to the school
on time': formal education and beyond; 4. 'Jesus and the juke joint':
blurred and bordered boundaries and boundary crossing; 5. 'Keeping God's
favor': contemporary black families and systemic change; Conclusion: 'what
would Big Mama do?' Activation and routinization of a black family's ethos.
