Abstract: Structural racism is central for understanding Black families, but structural racism has not been central to quantitative research on Black families. Instead, research on Black families has disproportionately used deficit frameworks and race-neutral explanations that misrepresent the reality of Black families. As an alternative, I offer a novel conceptual model for the study of Black family inequality. I take racism and the social construction of race seriously by focusing on the making, the maintenance, and the manifestation of racial stratification. As an empirical example, I focus on income inequality among Black and White families with children. The current study presents structural racism as an alternative perspective to emphasize the social construction of race and the permanence of racism. To illustrate this, I integrate tenets from Critical Race Theory with concepts from racialized space theory to understand racial income inequality to examine whether income heterogeneity among Black families is better characterized by demographic characteristics (e.g., family structure and education) or racialized space (e.g., residing in predominantly Black or predominately white census tracts). Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, the 2000 Census, and the American Community Survey, results show racialized space, rather than family structure and education, better characterizes income inequality among Black families. Specifically, Black families living in predominantly White spaces have higher levels of income compared to Black families living in predominantly Black spaces, regardless of family structure and education. I recommend family inequality scholars theorize racialized space (as a form of structural racism) for a more holistic understanding of Black Families’ income inequality.

Bio: Dr. Williams is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Sociology. After graduation, he was a postdoctoral researcher in Minority Health Disparities at the University of Nebraska and was hired as a tenure-track faculty in sociology also at the University of Nebraska. Dr. Williams’ research lies at the intersection of racism, families, and inequality. His current work not only critiques conventional approaches on racial inequality in family life but also offers a path forward by applying critical race theory to family research. His work has been published in the Journal of Marriage & Family, Journal of Family Theory and Review, Journal of Family Issues, Family Relations, Social Problems, Population Research and Policy Review among others. He was one of three guest editors for the Journal of Marriage and Family on Transformative Family Research. Dr. Williams is also engaged in public scholarship with publications in The Nation and The Conversation. His research on investigatory police stops and Black fathers was featured on the local news in Knoxville, Tennessee. Dr. Williams was recently selected as a William T. Grant Scholar—a prestigious award that only selects three to five scholars a year. The grant supports career development for promising early-career researchers. His research has also been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.