Why marriage is important to the African American community... (862 hits)

As the statistic that 70% of black women are single prompted me to write this book, I've made amazing discoveries, I wasn't aware of before... My second book "Food for the Soul" is available at www.amazon.com; www.authorhouse.com and Barnes & Noble.

I feel the universe is in perfect balance, and what comes around goes around. When you look at the fact we have a President with African blood-lines (and I say this because I believe we are Africans living in America, as that's where our roots lie, despite the fact, the majority of us can not trace our roots, and the fact Obama is biracial), when you look at that fact, and remember our history in America, that started in slavery, is it any wonder that one day we would have a black man running this country? When you remember history, and how America first belonged to the Indians or Native Americans, and realize that Mexicans have descended from the Aztec Indians, is it any wonder that Mexican Americans far out populate any other ethnicity in America today? That said, when you take into account Mexican culture and how significant and important family is to their culture, we can learn something from them...

Given the following statistics, family, which is produced in its most healthiest forms, through marriage, makes marriage an important factor, especially to our community:

"The marriage rate for African Americans has been dropping since the 1960s, and today, we have the lowest marriage rate of any racial group in the United States."

"Today the number of children born into a black marriage averages less than 0.9 children per marriage. 'The birthrates of black married women have fallen so sharply that absent out-of-wedlock child-bearing, the African American population would not only fail to reproduce itself, but would rapidly die off."

"African American women are the least likely in our society to marry. In the period between 1970 and 2001, the overall marriage rate in the U.S. declined by 17%; but for blacks, it fell 34%."

Higher rates of black child poverty are linked to higher levels of black single parenthood.

"Divorce and marriage play a much bigger economic role for black children than white children in the U.S. In the first 2 years following a divorce, family income among white children falls about 30%, while it falls by 53% among black children. The difference increases dramatically in the long run. 3 or more years after the divorce, about a 3rd of the loss in whites' household income is recouped, but the income of black families barely improves..." -UC Davis economists, Marianne Page & Ann Huff Stevens

If you want to know more, a link to my book is: http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemD...

Commentary welcome, and thanks for listening... I hope this sheds light on my marriage reformist notions for our community... Posted By: Maryanne Campbell
Friday, February 13th 2009 at 12:13AM
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