by Nisa Islam Muhammad
Staff Writer

WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com)�Jolene Ivey is a wife and mother of five boys. She�s college educated with a Master�s degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland. But what distinguishes her most is that she is part of a small but growing number of Black women who chose to stay home and raise their children.

"When I met my husband and we discussed marriage, I told him that I wanted to get married, have children and stay at home," Mrs. Ivey, founder of Mocha Moms, a support group for stay-at-home-moms of color, told The Final Call.

By deciding to stay at home and raise her children, Mrs. Ivey admittedly has chosen the road less traveled by Black women.

While new Census data show a decline in the number of women with infants in the workforce from a record-high 59 percent in 1998 to 55 percent in 2000, there was no decline in the Black community.

In contrast to the overall trend, younger mothers (under age 30), Hispanic mothers and mothers who had a high school education or less did not experience a decline in their labor force participation rates between 1998 and 2000.

"This was the first significant decline since the Census Bureau developed the indicator in 1976, according to a report released Oct. 18, by the Commerce Department�s agency.

"The declines occurred primarily among mothers in the workforce who were 30 years old and over, white women, married women living with their husbands and women who had completed one or more years of college," said analyst Martin O�Connell about the report, "Fertility of American Women: June 2000."

Ellen H. Parlapiano, author of "Mompreneurs: A Mother�s Step-by-Step Guide to Work-at-Home Success," told The Final Call why the decline exists: "We are seeing growing desires in mothers for flexibility. More moms are deciding to work from home in order to be their own boss. Mothers want to control the shots and have the ability to run to school to see their child in a parade without having to ask their boss� permission."

What about mothers in the Black community? Don�t they want the same thing?

"Black women don�t see being at home as an option. For years we were expected to stay home and raise someone else�s children. Even after we reach a certain education level, we�re expected to enter the workforce. Staying at home is not an acceptable option in our culture," said Mrs. Ivey.

Historically, according to "Black Working Wives" by Bart Landry, Black middle-class wives successfully developed and implemented a progressive family pattern in which they extended their role into the marketplace while white families of all classes held firmly to the separation of spheres: breadwinning and homemaking.

"At a time when society was firm that a woman�s place was in the home, middle-class Black women were breaking ground," said Mr. Landry. "This move into the professional marketplace was not about financial need. Instead, much like with their white counterparts in the �70s, this was about challenging themselves personally beyond the confines of the home."

Mr. Landry analyzed Census data from the 20th century and saw that the employment rates of Black middle-class wives were always about two decades ahead of their white counterparts.

In 1940, almost 40 percent of Black middle-class wives worked, compared with 17 percent of white middle-class wives. By 1970, those numbers increased to 70 percent of Black middle-class wives and 45 percent of white wives. By 1994, those numbers were 87 percent and 78 percent. Mr. Landry also found that, contrary to patterns among Caucasian wives, Black wives did not drop from the workforce upon marriage and motherhood.

But now, more Black wives are seeing the value of staying home.

"I started Mocha Moms because I was lonely being the only Black stay-at-home mom. After a point, all of my friends went back to work," explained Mrs. Ivey. "I started a newsletter and the demand grew. We now have 33 chapters supporting moms who want to stay at home," she said.

In the Black community, the desire by mothers to stay at home is complicated by the fact that the Census reports out-of-wedlock births reached 70 percent. It is difficult to be a stay-at-home mom if you are the primary breadwinner in the family.

"We mentor teen moms to help them see a different way of life. One of our goals is to strengthen marriage and families. We want to give something back to the community," said Mrs. Ivey.

Mothers staying at home and raising their children provide an atmosphere for children that can�t be duplicated with after-school programs. In some states, 90 percent of the men incarcerated come from single parent households with working moms.

"My stepmother retired when I was in middle school. When I think of the trouble I could have gotten into, I didn�t because she was there," said Mrs. Ivey.

Susan De Ritis, public relations director for Mothers At Home, Inc., told The Final Call, "Women are recognizing that there are lots of benefits to mothers, children and society by staying at home and raising their children."

According to Mrs. Ivey, "It�s nice for a child to come home to mom after school."

What does she say to her detractors who wonder why she furthered her education just to stay home with her children?

"I wanted my children raised by someone with an education. That�s me," she said.