Across the Boundaries of Race & Class : An Exploration of Work & Family among Black Female Domestic Servants

African American women who spent a major portion of their lives in domestic service reflect on the strategies they used to manage work, family, and the relationships involved; and how they conceptualized such social structural factors as race, class, poverty, and a low-class occupation. Originally

First published in 1994. Almost fifteen years after this study was written, many social changes have occurred affecting domestic service; yet some things remain the same. Among the changes are the increased labor force participation rates of women and the resultant rise in the demand for private household help. This volume is part of the Studies on African American History and Culture series, looking at the role, occupation, impact of race and employee relationships of black domestic servants. It also includes three case studies, stories of resistant and families and children. Across the Boundaries of Race and Class was one of the earliest attempts to examine the ways the structure and organization of housework as women’s work influenced the work and family lives of domestic workers. As pointed out in the book, the women who were the subjects of this study exemplified a pattern of domestic work that was fading even as it was being studied: most worked for one family for twenty to thirty years.