rly America were denied the privileges and protections of patriarchal authority afforded to white women. The reproductive labor of women of color was performed for the economic benefit of upper class white society. For example, black slave women were encouraged to give birth because it added to the slave labor force of their masters. Family ties often went unrecognized if the master desired to sell the slave offspring. This repressive system affected both male and female slaves adversely. Black males were not afforded the patriarchal authority that was the privilege of white males: "The equal enslavement of husband and wife gave the slave marriage a curious kind of equality, an equality of oppression" (Dill 223). Consequently, a system of black matriarchy evolved.
Social scientists such as Daniel Moynihan contend that black matriarchy is responsible for the underachievement of African Americans in modern society (Collins 879). Moynihan finds that black women are not as economically dependent upon their spouses as are white women. Black women's relative economic independence "undermines the position of the father and deprives the children of the kind of attention, particularly in school matters, which is now a standard feature of middle-class upbringing" (Collins 879-880). Moynihan advocates restoration of black patriarchal authority through renewed economic dependence by black women. In some situations this would mean abandoning welfare. Collins argues that Moynihan ignores the existence of political and institutional barriers to the economic achievement of African Americans (880). She cites research by Maxine Baca Zinn that attributes the fundamental cause of black male unemployment "economic marginalization" stemming from "structural changes in the political economy" (Collins 880). Moynihan is one of many social scientists who rely on cultural explanations to justify the privileges of white male society over the econo...