Black Motherhood(s) Contours, Contexts and Considerations

Overview

This book considers Black Motherhood through multiple and global lenses to engage the reader in an expanded reflection and to prompt further discourse on the intersection of race and gender within the construct of motherhood among Black women. With an aim to extend traditional treatments of Black motherhood that are often centered on a subordinated and struggling perspective, these essays address some of the hegemonic reality while also exploring nuance in experiences, less explored areas of subjugation, as well as pathways of resistance and resilience in spite of it. Largely focusing within domains such as narrative, identity, spirituality and sexuality, the book deftly explores black motherhood by incorporating varied arenas for discussion including: literary analysis, expressive arts, historical fiction, the African Diaspora, reproductive health, religion and social ecology.

Author Biography

Karen T. Craddock, Ph.D. is an Applied Psychologist and Principal Researcher whose more than 20 year study and practice concentrates on the socio-cultural context of human development, organizational capacity building, relational frameworks, community-based training and program evaluation research, particularly within the fields of Health and Education. Her exploration of psychosocial functioning, maternal/child health, race/gender disparities, violence prevention, social-emotional wellness and neuroscience focuses on creating healthy relationship, effective partnership and network cultivation. Areas of interest extend into constructs of intersectionality, integration of traditional and expressive healing practices, expanding entrepreneurial opportunities and cohesive systems of support especially among and for women and ethnoculturally diverse groups, and particularly within her own African-American and Native-American communities. Dr. Craddock is faculty and lead scholar of Relational-Cultural Theory and Social Action at JBMTI Wellesley Centers for Women where she is investigating the ethno-cultural context and connections between relationship and brain science to inform social justice equity platforms and programs, such as co-developer of the S.T.O.P model – a relational neuroscience frame to understand and counter social pain and exclusion. She is author developer of the Profiles of Resistance to Marginalization an analytical framework examining the impact of societal stressors and varied strategies to resist them. Karen is founder and president of KCollaborative Connections, a relationship-based consultation, training and action research practice informed by collective impact models to provide services across multiple sectors. She is Chief Operating Officer of the Sodina project (The Avielle Foundation) a national storytelling and mapping initiative developing pathways for healing by engaging a diverse network of people who have suffered loss due to violence. Author and instructor of a range of works on topics including adolescent parents in juvenile justice, personal narrative, mothering and mentoring among Black women in the academy and Native American engagement in STEM, she also holds several editorial and advisory roles, including Harvard University Achievement Gap Initiative’s Seeding Success campaign and is chair of the domestic violence advisory for the Wampanoag Women’s Center (Aquinnah) of which she is also an enrolled tribal member. Karen is fueled by her desire to collaboratively build bridges between innovative thinking and creative effective action that support and catalyze sharp awareness, vibrant compassion and healthy networks to enhance and enrich lives across all communities. Dr. Craddock earned her Ed.M. at Harvard University and Ph.D. at Tufts University.