Average Family Structure

Average family structure - Almost 70% of black children are born to unmarried parents - easily the highest of any racial group. As my parents divorced while I was growing up, I have a sense for both single- and dual-parent environments. Every person and family situation is unique, and there is no attempt to attach any value judgment or moral edict to the very private decisions men and women make around the conception of a child. However, it is very clear that having a higher average rate of children being raised in single-parent homes (often by mothers, already facing financial stresses) correlates with many of the other disparities listed here. Intuitively, given the antecedent relation of birth circumstances to life experiences, one may credibly expect race-based differences in average family structure to share a causal relationship with average racial inequities. Queue fireworks, this is a controversial statement I know - but we have to have the whole conversation about racial inequity if we are going to make real progress. There is a discussion African Americans need to have about how babies - and their parents - are loved that is as central to racial equity as racial bias. I submit without this conversation and progress in parallel, investments in racial equity will woefully underperform, and US economic growth will lag under the weight of a poorly performing population that can no longer be 'safely' marginalized. Like all children, African American children need strong families to thrive.