African Americans, Family, Sociology, Homelessness & Poverty, Social Issues, Discrimination & Racism 

"Carol Stack's All Our Kin is the best analysis I have seen of family and kinship organization in a ghetto black community in the U.S. It shows how inadequate most writings on the subject have been, even by social scientists, and demonstrates the importance of the anthropological approach which emphasizes living with people, learning their way of seeing things, and learning how to operate acceptably in accordance with their standards for dealing with one another. Her book should be widely read by the general public (it has good trade potentialities) and is ideally suited for use in introductory anthropology and sociology courses. I plan to use it in my undergraduate introduction to cultural anthropology." -- Ward Goodenough, Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

"A perceptive analysis of the adaptions [techniques] poor urban Blacks utilize to survive. As one of the first authors to explore the functions of the Black kinship network, Carol Stack allows the reader to take a view or look inside the homes and lives of the residents of The Flats. All Our Kin is important because it does not 'blame the victim.' Its indictment of an insensitive social structure which reinforces welfare dependency and chronic unemployment takes the mighty jump from traditional anthropology to social criticism and public policy; it goes to the roots.... An engaging book, very readable and humane." --Joyce Ladner, Associate Professor of Sociology, Harvard University, Washington, D.C.