Hopefully as time goes on more and more people are becoming aware that BLM is against the traditional family as it is stated in its manifesto. A few questions here:
Is the dissolution of the traditional two parent family happening?
Is it a good thing?
Is BLM actually on to something?
First; Is there an ongoing dissolution of the traditional two parent American family. Stats from a recent piece by Star Parker answers that question…”Yes.”
In the 1960s, less than 1% of couples living together were not married. Today, it is over 12%.
And the percentage of births to unmarried women has risen from 5% in 1960 to 40% in 2018.
In 1970, 85% of children lived with two parents. By 2019, this was down to 70%.
In order to have a typical traditional family there has to be both a man and a woman. (Note that I did say traditional.) Therefore it stands to reason that if women are not getting married in the same numbers that the number of marriages will go down. Is this happening?
Again these stats are from Star Parker:
In 1962, 71% of women ages 15-44 were married. By 2019, this was down to 42%.
In 1962, 5% of women ages 30-34 had never been married. By 2019, this was up to 35%.
The reasons for this are multifactorial (less religion, easy welfare, better job opportunities, etc.), but it is a fact that less women are marrying.
Is the decreasing number of two parent families a good thing or a bad thing? To me the simple answer is that it depends . . . It depends on whether or not children are involved.
The percentage of births to unmarried women has risen from 5% in 1960 to 40% in 2018.
In 1970, 85% of children lived with two parents. By 2019, this was down to 70%.
Yeah! So what? Does having one or two parents make any real difference?
For those whose concerns are more secular, the collapse of marriage is of concern because its practical results are negative. The statistics comparing how children do from a single parent family compared to those from a two parent family are dramatic . . . err, better said “DRAMATIC!!” … those from a two parent family are impressively better in a number of categories – less drug addiction, less likely to go to prison, more likely to be able to earn a decent living, etc.
After reading all of the above stats can anyone explain to me how BLM is supposed to help black people? To me it appears that the tenets of BLM are antithetical to the success of black youth.
In that same Star Parker piece I read something that I had read before but is worth repeating again and again.
“There is the oft-quoted observation of Brookings Institution scholar Ron Haskins that American adults who follow three rules — finish high school, get a full-time job, and wait until at least age 21 to get married and have children — have a 2% chance of being poor and a 75% chance of being a middle-class wage earner.”
This should be posted in every school throughout the nation.
Perhaps BLM should incorporate these three things into its manifesto … but only if it is really interested in making black lives matter.
BTW: Star Parker is black.