Backbone: Single Black Motherhood Reappraised

Despite increasingly rapid social change, stigma around single parenting persists. Black single motherhood continues to be harshly judged due to negative racialised tropes. As part of Black History Month, this myth-busting talk explores black women’s complicated experiences of single motherhood. It highlights the societal difficulties encountered by households but also uncovers and celebrates various modes of resistance.

Miranda Armstrong is a writer and a Research Associate based at the University of York. Miranda has held the prestigious Economic and Social Research Council PhD scholarship, taught sociology and criminology at Goldsmiths College and worked on research projects at the Open University and the University of Cambridge. A recipient of a Resourcing Racial Justice Award for her work on single black motherhood, Miranda provides talks and workshops on the topic for a variety of organisations. She is author of the graphic pamphlet, Beyond the Myth: Single Black Mothers and their Sons. Her writing on single motherhood has been published by outlets including Discover Society and Black Ballad, and she is a contributing essayist to the pioneering anthology, Motherhood Untold.