US Poverty a Race Issue?

April 13, 2006

• Countless studies show that fatherlessness, not race, is by far the most accurate predictor that a child will end up in poverty or in prison. And today, about 70 percent of black children are born into fatherless homes compared to 25 percent of white children.
• 85 percent of all black children living in poverty are raised in single-parent homes.
• The incomes of fatherless black families are only about one-fourth as high as the incomes of two-parent black families. A similar disparity exists among white one- and two-parent families.
• Ever since 1981, black families with two college-educated, working adults have earned more than similar white families in every age group and in every region of the United States. As early as 1970, black two-parent families outside of the South were already earning more than comparable white families.
• Black full-time workers today earn slightly more than white workers of the same age, sex, and I.Q.
• Because of affirmative action, black applicants are much more likely than white applicants to be admitted to the college of their choice, even though whites score about 200 points higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Source

Many argue that blacks have higher rates of child poverty because they are victims of racial discrimination. However, the fact that black children do not have higher poverty rates than whites raised in similar circumstances argues against that view. The reality that poverty rates are the same for black and white children raised in similar circumstances suggests that society treats both groups equally and that discrimination has no direct impact on poverty differences. While complex the destruction of poverty starts with men, moreso black men, making stronger efforts to sustain the family unit.

April 13, 2006 | Filed Under Politics

Comments

One Response to “US Poverty a Race Issue?”

Carol Meaninglis Giannone on April 13th, 2006 9:21 am

So, to sum this up is to say that the biggest problem blacks have with the number of black youth dealing with gangs, drugs and prison is the precentage that come from fatherless homes and not the fact that they are black and discriminated against? So, why are so many black men not taking responsibility for the families they created? I have heard numerous talk shows featuring black wives and mothers who were mad at this very situation.

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