Even CNN’s Don Lemon talks about the fact that 72% of African-American kids are born out of wedlock. We don’t need reparations, we need to end the welfare system that encourages couples not to get married, so that women would get benefits
Posted on | April 6, 2019 | No Comments
CNN’s Don Lemon says more than 72 percent of African-American births are out of wedlock
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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.
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