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.
One of the biggest issues in America but neither party wants to deal with it
It’s gone down to 28.2% as of 2018. Rates for teens have been tanking since 2015ish while rates for women over 35 have been inching up, resulting in a small net loss.
t’s been about that way for I don’t know how many decades. At least 35 years.”
Before LBJ’s Great Society gift to the black family, black people were far more likely to marry and stay married. LBJ created the great profession for “baby mamas.”
Probably 50 years.
Liberals did a number on the Black American Family. It’s going extinct.
Sisters from different Misters.
Brothers from different Mothers.
I met a black 18 wheel truck driver today delivering a load and, after talking with him a while, he said he was never going to vote Dem again.
His reason...THEY LIE! He says blacks are waking up and they're tired of the BS.
The inspiration has already happened and is spreading.
**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.**
Good point. My wife and I haven’t worn wedding rings for almost 40 yrs. She had been taking them off when washing dishes, but after the firstborn came she didn’t want to scatch the baby’s skin. Not long after being married I told her how a classmate lost his ring finger when he jumped off a moving hayrack. A protruding nail head caught it just right. Shocked by the story, my wife told me to stop wearing it when working. Pretty soon we were forgetting to wear them at all. (We celebrated our 44th anniversary last friday, and didn’t have rings on. Lol)
That’s been true for 30 years. Not a new statistic.
Billy Sol Estes was involved as well. Sometimes I wonder about Dewey Groom... I know some of his grandkids...they have a couple of Ace Hardware franchises around here.
That is quite common with black owner operators. They like owning a business, and being their own boss.
They’re lucky. Nearly half of black babies are aborted.
And “0” divorces. They just go on to the next one.
We are a nation of bastards.
Had a Republican said this they would rate it false or partially true.
I believe it just the other day went above 50% overall (all races) in England.
I work with a black person who grew up in a two-parent household. But then again, that probably has something to do with him being there.
Does he want to solve the problem by aborting them?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.