Posted on 08/16/2022 2:54:48 PM PDT by grundle
Don Lemon stated on July 27, 2013 in a commentary on CNN:
"More than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock."
CNN's Don Lemon says more than 72 percent of African-American births are out of wedlock
In the middle of a national conversation about race following the George Zimmerman acquittal, CNN anchor Don Lemon gave an on-air commentary that went viral on social media. The focus of the commentary was a five-point list of recommendations. "Black people," Lemon said, "if you really want to fix the problem, here's just five things that you should think about doing."
The No. 1 item on that list -- "and probably the most important," he said -- had to do with out-of-wedlock births.
"Just because you can have a baby, it doesn't mean you should," Lemon said. "Especially without planning for one or getting married first. More than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock. That means absent fathers. And the studies show that lack of a male role model is an express train right to prison and the cycle continues."
Lemon’s commentary inspired a firestorm of criticism on social media -- the website Mediaite published a sampling -- and bloggers took aim at his conclusions.
"If Lemon really wanted to help the black community, he could start by adopting a deeper understanding of the history, sociology and psychology of his own people," wrote Washington Post blogger Rahiel Tesfamariam. "Offering made-for-TV analysis about deeply complex social issues in the manner in which he did is irresponsible and lacks intellectual rigor."
We can’t check Lemon’s opinions, but we did want to take a look at the one verifiable fact he offered. Is it correct that "more than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock"?
We turned to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which publishes a report every year that includes a wealth of data about births in America. The most recent report, published in August 2012, is based on data from 2010.
The report broke down statistics by ethnic groups. Here’s a summary
Racial or ethnic group - Percent of births considered "non-marital"
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 17 percent
Non-Hispanic whites 29 percent
Hispanics 53 percent
American Indian and Native Alaskans 66 percent
Non-Hispanic blacks 73 percent
So Lemon is correct that "more than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock." To make sure we weren’t missing something, we asked two population experts -- Tom W. Smith, a senior fellow at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, and Douglas Massey, professor at Princeton University's Office of Population Research -- and they agreed that the statistic is the best available.
Lemon did overreach somewhat when he went on to say that the 72 percent "out of wedlock" figure "means absent fathers." The 72 percent figure refers to children who are born to women who are not married; it would, however, include unmarried couples in which the father is present.
That said, the rate of African-American children living in single-parent homes is almost as high as the rate for non-marital births.
The chart below summarizes 2011 Census Bureau data compiled by Kids Count, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The group defined "children in single-parent families" as kids under 18 who live with their own single parent; it includes children living with a parent and a cohabiting adult, but it does not include children living with married step-parents.
Racial or ethnic group - Children in single-parent families
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders 17 percent
Non-Hispanic whites 25 percent
Hispanics 42 percent
American Indian and Native Alaskans 53 percent
Non-Hispanic blacks 67 percent
We should note that this data doesn’t suggest that 67 percent of African-American children have no contact with their father (or a father figure), but rather that their father does not live in the same household with them.
Our ruling
Lemon said that "more than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock." Federal data confirms that 73 percent of African-American births in 2010 were out of wedlock. Estimates for the percentage of African-American children growing up in single-parent households are slightly lower, at 67 percent. Finally, black children counted in these statistics may have contact outside the household with their biological father. But Lemon's statistic was accurate, and we rate his statement True.
If you think that's something, look up Bill Cosby's speech on the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. the Board of Education decision...
They are all taught how to game the system.
Well being Lemon is gay..none of his semen spawned any of those kids
I know of 65 years; I remember a social worker in Flint, MI (Her father was the pastor of our church) tell our youth group about this situation.
Mass sterilization may be the only answer.
(Even bigger news is Don Lemon reporting something factual.)
Indeed. That is shocking 😃.
I’m gonna look out the window for flying pigs. This is an historic moment. 🤣🤣🤣
🐷🐷🐷🐷🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️
An EVIL SOB....
This was 9 years ago. Is that the last time Lemon told the truth?
Trump’s fault.
Trump’s fault.
It is high, and true.
Take a look at the number of adult black males that have visited jail and prison.
Take a look a the violence level of adult black males. Close to 50%, yet 5% of the population. Those figures have been skewed recently because of the cartels and border invasion.
He said this 9 years ago. Imagine what the percentage is now.
It wasn’t always that way. If you go back to 1940, the percentage was around 15%.
Government welfare incentivizes the break-up of poor families. Blacks are disproportionately poor. The effect of welfare is greatest among Blacks.
Democrats have always pushed for this kind of government welfare, so destructive of the Black family and people. It is one of their systems that collectively constitute systemic racism.
Democrats have been hard on Blacks. That includes slavery, forced segregation of the races, Jim Crow laws, the KKK, and today’s systemic racism.
It’s well into the 80’s in many inner city ghetto’s.. what a sad commentary. Kids need fathers.
Yup
Been over 70% since at least 2007
I’ve got an acquaintance who is black, married and has a kid. We were talking family time day and I asked why he doesn’t wear a ring? He said they don’t need a symbol to shoe their commitment.
I told him that he needed one to show other black men what that commitment is.
He liked that idea.
Don The Lemon won’t be generating any out of wedlock births anytime soon.
Probably immigrants.
Each new child brings in more free money.
Would you use birth control? Mindset.
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