Before The World Ended, I took a course on the economic life of women which demonstrated to me that, historically, marriage has been an economic booster for all parties involved but especially for women (many reasons for this but consider the system of primogeniture as well as the cultural and economic consequences of patriarchy and their adverse effects on the economic lives of women). Curious to discover how this economic booster functioned contemporarily for black women in the United States, my research and final paper led me to one Ralph Richard Banks—a professor at Stanford Law School and the author of a rather controversial (for that time, and perhaps even for our current times) book on the African American marriage decline.

"Is Marriage For White People?: How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone" is set among a broader trend of marriage decline overall in the United States, but acutely focuses on how this decline impacts the black community and African American women in particularly.

This is an important conversation and one I hope you'll join us for, Changemakers!

You can listen to more interviews with some of the most interesting and inspiring people around on The Catalyst's website. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter here. As always, Changemakers, welcome.