Hero Mom Of Baltimore Is The Sad Face Of Too Many Black Mothers

When the black, unwed and unemployed mother of six was videoed disciplining her son who was attempting to riot in the streets of Baltimore, she was literally hailed by many as the "mother of the year".  Then, a day later, she was demonized for abusing her child.  In my opinion, she is the face of a major problem for black women in this country: Unwed motherhood.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 73% of all black children are born to women absent a husband (this based on 2010 data published in 2012), and it is a problem that is only getting worse.  In 1960, the black unwed motherhood rate was only 22%. By 2006, 46 years later, it was slightly more than double the 1960 rate at 56%.  Just 4 years later, it exploded to 73%?  This means that out of nearly 635,000 births in 2013, at least a half million are without a father figure or without the social structure of a family.  Of course, this assumes that the 73% has held since 2010, but if the past is any predictor, it is probably safe to assume that it is even higher. For all we know, it could now be be well above 80%.

Obviously, there must be reason that so many in the black community reject the normal family structure so important to raising children.  One would think that, if you grew up in a poor single-parent family, you wouldn't want the same for your children. Apparently not. The reason is most likely because of the expansive welfare system that allows poor single mothers to survive without a husband, no matter how many children she has.  The woman in the video, despite being unemployed with 6 kids, was well dressed and so was her son.

Following the 1996 welfare reforms signed into law by Bill Clinton, black poverty in this country fell to its lowest rate in history.  The belief by Democrats that the poor would be dying in the streets never materialized.  Since President Obama took office, he has made every attempt to dismantle those 1996 reforms, and now we have record numbers in poverty and an explosion in the rate of black children born to unwed mothers.  If this isn't proof that Democrat-backed social programs aren't safety nets but, rather, programs that institutionalize poverty and destroy the family unit, I don't know what is.


References:

Mom of the year? Baltimore woman isn't a hero to all: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/29/baltimore-mom-smacks-son-riots/26574143/

Politifact:  CNN's Don Lemon says more than 72 percent of African-American births are out of wedlock:  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/jul/29/don-lemon/cnns-don-lemon-says-more-72-percent-african-americ/

Number of Births by Race in 2013: http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/births-by-raceethnicity/

How Obama has gutted welfare reform: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-obama-has-gutted-welfore-reform/2012/09/06/885b0092-f835-11e1-8b93-c4f4ab1c8d13_story.html

2003: The Continuing Good News About Welfare Reform:  http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2003/02/the-continuing-good-news

That's rich: Poverty level under Obama breaks 50-year record: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/7/obamas-rhetoric-on-fighting-poverty-doesnt-match-h/?page=all