ABOUT SINGLE MOTHERS IN AMERICA
A report by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that more than 80 percent of black single mothers have completed high school – an achievement that not only can aid them in raising families but one that goes a long way in debunking the stereotypes of single black mothers as welfare queens and drug abusers.
The number of single-mother families increased from three million in 1970 to 10 million in 2003, while the number of single-father families grew from less than 500,000 to 2 million. Of the 10 million single mothers, over 3.1 million are Black single mothers.
Why so many single mothers? The rise in single-parent households developed, the study claims, for three main reasons – a larger proportion of births occurring in unmarried women in the 1990s than in the 1960s and 1970s, the rise in divorce among couples with children as well as the increase in Black and Latina men leaving their families due to incarceration.
The U.S. Census Bureau released these statistics about Black Single Mothers in America based on data collected in a 2002 study:
Ø Approximately 1,169,000 black single mothers – or 37 percent – had graduated from high school only, compared to 2,235,000 or 35 percent – of white single mothers.
Ø The number of black single mothers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 315,000, was significantly lower than that of white single mothers with comparable education, 904,000.
Ø Twenty percent of black single mothers in the study had been divorced, but 62 percent had never been married – suggesting that black single mothers – more than any ethnic group – were most likely to have never been married.
Ø Nearly one-third of all single mothers – 32 percent – live below the poverty line. However, the condition is more acute for black single mothers; 38 percent, or 1.2 million of 3.1 million black single mothers raise families below the poverty line