Black Families Matter: Research Related to Child Trends' 100 Year Review of Research on Black Families. Research on Black Youth

The first volume of the report tells the story of research concerning Black families from the 1920's through the 1960's. The report describes how this research originated from Black scholar documenting the sociological, demographic, and economic shifts related to the beginning of the Great Migration. Research continued to develop in parallel to these shifts, but the prevalence of structural racism and ideologies largely prevented research from this early period from impacting social policy in a beneficial way for Black families. Research increased in nuance and sophistication throughout this period as methodologies progressed and advanced. Interest in the role of the traditional family unit in American society resulted in research that touted the family as a protective element against youth delinquency in Black families, and positioned the family as an institution that ensure the transmission of traditional values. The volume ends with an examination of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s report, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action, and the long-ranging impact of its pathologizing of the Black American family.

The second volume of the report covers trends in research over 50 years, spanning from the 1970s through the first two decades of the 21st century. They note that research and policy shifted to accommodate the social revolutions of the 1970's and often took a look at how perceptions of Black families both challenged and confirmed conservative values through the 1980s. Research was often approached through a gendered lens in 1980's and 1990's, focusing research on the roles of Black fathers and single Black mothers in relation to societal conditions of the times. Research in the 2000's and 2010's brought with it a critical and intersectional framework which concentrated on the effects of health disparities and mass incarceration on Black families while broadening the scope of research to reflect the diversity of Black families, including immigration status, LGBTQIA+ identifying Black families, and Black families of multiple racial/ethnic identities.