Description:
Centers families of color in family law, revealing their pivotal role in shaping justice, equality, and social change and how their perspectives reframe the scope of family law
Centering Families of Color argues for the reframing of how we define "family law." Centering the voices and perspectives of families of color, it expands and contextualizes how the law functions in relation to families. It exposes the impact of structural inequalities as they differentially and hierarchically impact families. This groundbreaking volume thus reorients how we think of family law, offering the experiences of families of color as critical to both the diagnoses and solutions for structural inequality. While conventional treatment of families of color marginalizes their role socially and politically as add-ons, this volume centers them as essential. Leading scholars across disciplinary groups unearth and expose the hidden norms of family law, identify the critical history of how the law impacts families of color, and detail their dynamic contributions to social transformation. Families of color offer affirmative, resilient strategies for social justice and reform. At a time of diversity among families and dramatic changes in the pattern of life, this volume provides a critical examination of the legal structures that impact families from the much-needed perspective of families of color. Centering Families of Color showcases how families of color are central to understanding what family is and how families interact with the law.Brief description: R. A. Lenhardt is Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Race, Law, and Justice and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Georgetown Law. She is the co-editor of Critical Race Judgments: Rewritten U.S. Court Opinions on Race and the Law.
Review Quotes: "Centering Families of Color is an urgently needed labor of thought and love. The book is a gift to those that want to understand the systems that harm and render children and families invisible. It engages the mind and touches the heart, bringing to light the challenges faced now and importantly presents pathways forward not only for law but a more embracing humanity."--Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Linda D.Timothy J. O'Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy, Georgetown Law