Black Women in the New World Order: Social Justice and the African American Female

(Hardback)

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Description

This book employs a sociological perspective to examine the situation of the African American female in light of changing global economic, political, and educational events. The legal forum is utilized along with social statistics to describe the worsening plight of women and minorities in the face of intensified ethnic competition and decreased world resources. A multiplicity of methods are used to clarify and detail the negative influence of global forces in the forums of the courts upon the Black woman. In addition, the negative impact upon the working classes is implied in describing the devastation from the agenda known as the new world order. The author combines the disciplines of law and sociology to provide a grassroots approach to understanding exactly how policies which are unresponsive to the needs of working people actually inhibit global growth.

Reviews

Hemmons offers a detailed, macro and micro examination of the mutually reciprocal functions and interdependent relationships of social institutions (politics, economy, education, social services, family, health, and criminal justice) detrimental to black women in the US under the 'New World Order.' She provides a view of the multidimension disadvantage, through institutionalized racism and sexism, that black women disproportionately face. The macro-level data is very insightful, especially when presented with comparative data for black men and white women and men. Other strengths include discussion of the often unacknowledged advantages that the privileged receive ('legacies' in colleges and universities, Social Security income, 'standardized' tests for educational placement) and the extensive use of court cases to illustrate how the status quo is maintained. . . . This book is disheartening because, Hemmons notes, as 'minorities' become more numerous in society and as the economy continues to be based on service occupations (i.e., low-pay, low-skill, part-time work with few benefits), the institutionalized suppression of black women will intensify. * Choice *

Author Bio

Willa Mae Hemmons is a lawyer and sociologist. She received her PhD in Sociology from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from the University of Illinois School of Law. She is a practicing attorney in the areas of criminal law, domestic relations and contracts, and is also a professor in the Department of Social Work at Cleveland State University.