Hat tip to Sergio of the Bloodsport blog for emailing this Newsweek piece to our attention. The article, which is entitled "A ‘No More Excuses’ Christmas?," rather succinctly encapsulates the opinions of Mr. Stark and yours truly regarding the future of the Black community (and families of color, more specifically) post Obama. There really are no excuses but let's take a look at an excerpt from the piece (written by the beauteous Maryann Reid) in question, for the sake of specificity:
"I have no more excuses" is what I've been hearing at holiday parties from people who believed the system was designed to prevent black progress. The discussion has gone from talk of race to talk about ourselves and our families. When the president is black, it means so much more than a color; it means a new national consciousness. And I wonder whether attitudes about marriage will change among black couples. As the founder of Marry Your Baby Daddy Day, an annual event where 10 unwed couples who already have children together are chosen to walk down the aisle, I've heard a lot of excuses about marriage.
I organize the all-expenses-paid wedding event, now in its fifth year, as an effort to strengthen two-parent homes in the black community, where the situation is dire. According to the National Institute of Health, almost 70 percent of black children are born out of wedlock; a 2002 study done by the Urban Institute and American University for the Department of Health and Human Services reported that "married couple households were much more likely to avoid poverty than all other types of households," and that "the apparent gains from marriage are particularly high among black households." And the journal Social Sciences Quarterly reported in 2005 that 9 percent of children in married-couple households were poor in 2000, but 54 percent of children living with never-married mothers were poor. Clearly, we're faced with an emergency that points to a deep societal problem. And while it's not a problem one president can fix, I know people can change things if they are prepared to ask for more and to do more.
For more of Ms. Reid's article, click on the link below:
A ‘No More Excuses’ Christmas?
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