5 Terrible Mistakes
We’ve Made© 2016
Part 1
Ignoring Early Signs
The Family Was in Trouble
Families are the foundation of both a culture and a society. If the family is weakened, so is a culture. Families are places where people and cultures learn values, often for good, but on occasion, for worse. Weaken the family, and you weaken a people’s culture.
In the United States, over 80 percent of black births are to single, black females. No other group in the country can claim an out-of-wedlock birthrate this high. Why does this matter? It matters because even in two-parent families, it can be hard to make ends meet. Imagine what it must be like for a single black female often with a marginal education and marginal income. The child, and the parent, will start out in a financial hole and be weighed down by poverty for decades.
With a poor education, the parent often can only get a poor-paying job. With a poor-paying job, the parent can only afford to live in a poor neighborhood. In a poor neighborhood, the child often will get a poor education, and that poor education, again, will cause a person to live in a poor neighborhood. Malcolm X once described this situation as the “Vicious Cycle.”
Ironically, the black community, over 50 years ago, was warned about a developing trend in our communities. The trend showed that an increasing number of black babies were being born out of wedlock, resulting in a flood of single, female-headed families. The warning came in the form of the “Moynihan Report: The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.” The report was a warning to the black community and the government.
Rather than heeding the warning, the black community was defensive. It attacked the messenger, Moynihan, through the media and in other venues.
The black community didn’t like the message because the messenger was white. It was a huge mistake on our part. Our group failed to appreciate the warning and its consequences. Today, in retrospect, Moynihan was right.
Closely connected to the number of single, female childbirths is poverty. In fact, the number one cause of black poverty is the number of babies born to single females. Indeed, the number one cause of black poverty isn’t those mean Republicans; it’s not even a minimum wage job. Its black children born to single females, who themselves are often poor.
Among other things, the acceptance of out-of-wedlock births has weakened the importance of marriage, and it has contributed to a decline in the quality of parenting. If we want to reduce poverty, let’s start here.
Had we listened to Moynihan, we could have seen the trend developing, and today, our families would be stronger. This was one of the greatest mistakes the black community made in the last 100 years.
We’ve Made© 2016
Part 1
Ignoring Early Signs
The Family Was in Trouble
Families are the foundation of both a culture and a society. If the family is weakened, so is a culture. Families are places where people and cultures learn values, often for good, but on occasion, for worse. Weaken the family, and you weaken a people’s culture.
In the United States, over 80 percent of black births are to single, black females. No other group in the country can claim an out-of-wedlock birthrate this high. Why does this matter? It matters because even in two-parent families, it can be hard to make ends meet. Imagine what it must be like for a single black female often with a marginal education and marginal income. The child, and the parent, will start out in a financial hole and be weighed down by poverty for decades.
With a poor education, the parent often can only get a poor-paying job. With a poor-paying job, the parent can only afford to live in a poor neighborhood. In a poor neighborhood, the child often will get a poor education, and that poor education, again, will cause a person to live in a poor neighborhood. Malcolm X once described this situation as the “Vicious Cycle.”
Ironically, the black community, over 50 years ago, was warned about a developing trend in our communities. The trend showed that an increasing number of black babies were being born out of wedlock, resulting in a flood of single, female-headed families. The warning came in the form of the “Moynihan Report: The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.” The report was a warning to the black community and the government.
Rather than heeding the warning, the black community was defensive. It attacked the messenger, Moynihan, through the media and in other venues.
The black community didn’t like the message because the messenger was white. It was a huge mistake on our part. Our group failed to appreciate the warning and its consequences. Today, in retrospect, Moynihan was right.
Closely connected to the number of single, female childbirths is poverty. In fact, the number one cause of black poverty is the number of babies born to single females. Indeed, the number one cause of black poverty isn’t those mean Republicans; it’s not even a minimum wage job. Its black children born to single females, who themselves are often poor.
Among other things, the acceptance of out-of-wedlock births has weakened the importance of marriage, and it has contributed to a decline in the quality of parenting. If we want to reduce poverty, let’s start here.
Had we listened to Moynihan, we could have seen the trend developing, and today, our families would be stronger. This was one of the greatest mistakes the black community made in the last 100 years.