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.
It started before LBJ’s Great Society. I had a liberal maiden aunt who had been in the state legislature. She had a black servant and companion who told her in the 1950s that the state’s support for unwed mothers was destroying the institution of marriage in her community. A young woman who was unhappy in her family could get pregnant, have her own apartment, and a livable income.
Was he the man who committed suicide with a bolt action rifle shooting himself in the back several times?
LBJ used to unzip his drawers and wave his enormous willy at Jackie O! - that would set her all a giggle
Thanks for the info. I’ll keep an ear open.
Interesting, Don Lemon reported a fact!
Ramped up with the so called great society. LBJ got on thing right. He’d had those ****+++ voting democrat for years.
They’re accused of acting white.
[1] Data from U.S. Census reports reveal that between 1880-1960, married households consisting of two-parent homes were the most widespread form of African-American family structures. Although the most popular, married households decreased over this time period. Single-parent homes, on the other hand, remained relatively stable until 1960; when they rose dramatically. A study of 1880 family structures in Philadelphia, showed that three-quarters of Black families were nuclear families, composed of two parents and children. In New York City in 1925, 85% of kin-related Black households had two parents. In 1991, 68% of Black children were born outside of marriage. In 2011, 72% of Black babies were born to unmarried mothers. In 2015, 77% of Black babies were born to unmarried mothers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_family_structure
[2] From 1980 thru 2008 93% of black victims were killed by blacks. (https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf)
[3] By almost every measure African Americans socioeconomic conditions were better in 1970 than in 1940....Despite these economic and social advances black crime began to escalate markedly in the late 1960s and continued to play a major role in the multi-decade crime boom that followed. (https://www.hoplofobia.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2018-African-American-Crime-Rates.pdf)
[4] homicide-victimization rates for black men were 3.9 times the national average and that 52 percent of all known homicide victims were black (2017 data)In 2018, where the homicide victim was black, the suspected killer also was 88 percent of the time. From 1976 to 2005, 94 percent of black victims were killed by other African Americans...From 2000 to 2015, the mean African-American homicide-victimization rate, adjusted for age, was 20.1 per 100,000. That’s more than three times the Hispanic rate of 6.4 (despite disadvantages comparable to those of blacks) and over seven times the average white rate, 2.7. Moreover, as already noted, from 1976 to 2005, 94 percent of the killers of black murder victims were other African Americans. (https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2019/12/22/the-need-to-discuss-black-on-black-crime/)
Which is a result of culture, not color. . Which a non-PC Berkeley study published in 2007 of the attitude and treatment of recent African immigrants by American blacks serves to illustrate this (FR thread). Excerpt:
"Growing up in Africa . . ., the culture of White racism and prejudice was not part of the African upbringing . . . . [w]e were aware of the history of slavery but, in all cases, we were wil ling to forget and forgive. It never occurred to us that we would be the targets of hate simply because of the color of our skin. Interestingly, ou r Black and brown skins did not open the doors wide for us in the African American community either. We were, and remain to many African Americans, outsiders or beneficiaries of their struggle against a racist society. If we are too successful and live in a nice White neighborhood, then we are accused of betraying our race, being "Black Bourgeois" and wanting to be White. To White neighbors, we are safe because we are Blacks from Africa . . ., not from the South or Brooklyn and, to their stereotypical way of thinking, we do not do drugs or alcohol or have big late night parties."
Just as alcohol abuse can be expected among certain cultures (in this case being much higher among non-black,non-Hispanics) then so behavioral issues can be, and which not must be unreasonably discounted in order to blame disciplinary actions all on racism. Rather, the higher rates of violence in American black culture is related to the decline of the traditional black family which liberal policies fostered.
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.
Unproven. As likely common on any welfare culture, mothers who have resident fornicators tell the welfare agency they are single in order to collect more benefits.
Oh look, DNC talking points arriving at the same time from two different networks. How surprising.
And Patrick Daniel Monyihan worked with Lyndon Johnson to get the civil rights bills known as the “Great Society” passed in the mid-1960’s because the out-of-wedlock rate among blacks was 25% and he thought that was unacceptable. Good work, Patrick!
No money in it!
Precisely. It’s antithetical to condemn abortion and then castigate mothers who deliver their babies at term.
All according to plan. Government needs to control the population, so becoming the grand baby-daddy; government can destroy families. Don’t need a man when daddy government got you covered.
The guys encourage this as I see it. Just shack up rather than marry.
What did we expect to happen? And white liberals were all on board with that.
Yeah, I blame "whitey", to a large degree.
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