The Path Forward
Almost five decades after Daniel Patrick Moynihan issued his report on black families, the United
States still struggles with many of the problems he identified. Although social progress has created
opportunities for many talented members of the black community, success has been made more
difficult by the high barriers many blacks face. Black poverty and unemployment rates are far higher
than those of whites, black children are far more likely to be born into and raised in single-parent
households than white children, and black teens and adults are far more likely to be imprisoned.
Untangling the myriad factors impeding the progress of black families and increasing social and
economic opportunities for blacks remains an important task for policymakers and community
leaders today.
Moynihan argued that reversing the decay of the traditional two-married-parent family was the
key to improving blacks’ prospects. In the intervening years, however, more children of all races and
ethnicities have been raised in one-parent families and cohabiting unmarried-parent families. Even
50 years ago, black poverty and social inequity was not simply a result of single parenting. Today’s
more complex social milieu requires a much broader strategy and set of initiatives to address the
multitude of factors impeding black economic and social progress.
Untangling the web of obstacles that ensnares black families and undermines social equity
requires efforts on three fronts: (1) reducing the structural barriers to black economic progress, (2)
enhancing the incentives for working in the mainstream economy, and (3) improving family
dynamics. Progress on these fronts can involve federal, state, local, and even individual policies and
practices.
Structural barriers to black progress include criminal justice policy, residential segregation and
concentrated poverty, the state of public schools in predominantly black communities, and lingering
and pernicious racial discrimination. As noted earlier, the War on Drugs has taken an enormous toll
on black men and families. While drug addiction and drug-related crime and violence are highly
destructive to individuals, families, and communities, the mass incarceration of black men for
nonviolent drug-related offenses has clearly contributed to the labor market struggles of black men
and the continuing decline of traditional nuclear families in the black community, with the attendant
negative consequences for children. Rather than continuing to pursue these criminal justice policies,
policymakers should consider alternative punishments for minor drug-related offenses and increase community resources for drug treatment.
Residential segregation and concentrated poverty disproportionately limit the economic opportunities of blacks. Historically, public policies played a central role in establishing and enforcing patterns of racial segregation in
American neighborhoods, alongside discriminatory practices by private-sector
institutions and individuals. But no single causal process explains the persistence of
residential segregation and concentrated poverty in America today. Discrimination, information
gaps, stereotypes and fears, and disparities in purchasing power all work together to perpetuate
segregation, even though many Americans—minority and white—say they want to live in more
diverse neighborhoods.
Because the causes of segregation are interconnected, no single intervention can succeed on its
own. Instead, the evidence argues for a multipronged strategy that includes (1) fair housing
enforcement—to combat persistent housing market discrimination; (2) education for homeseekers
of all races and ethnicities—about the availability and desirability of diverse neighborhoods; (3)
affordable housing development—to open up exclusive communities to residents with a wider range
of income levels; and 4) community reinvestment—to equalize the quality of services, amenities, and
infrastructure in minority neighborhoods.
Although blacks have closed the gap in high school graduation with whites, they still lag behind
whites in college completion. Policymakers perpetually decry failing schools and promote a wide
variety of potential reforms, from more accountability to smaller class sizes to charter schools and
vouchers. While there is no consensus on the best way to reform education, intensive programs that
engage parents before their children are even ready to start school and support those children
through high school, such as the Harlem Children’s Zone, illustrate the type of effort that may
increase the educational and future economic opportunities for black children.
If we are serious about healing families, building families, repairing our communities, we have got to be willing to commit ourselves to the abolition of this system of mass incarceration as a whole. And that means ending the drug war once and for all. There is no path—no path to healing our communities, rebuilding families
and ghettoized communities—that includes this War on Drugs.
Although the level of overt discrimination in the United States has diminished markedly since
the 1960s, race remains a factor in determining economic opportunities and outcomes. Whether
discrimination is overt, subconscious, or based on statistical profiling, it impedes black economic
progress. Continued, aggressive enforcement of antidiscrimination statutes as well as affirmative
action policies are required to ensure equal opportunity.
Raising the rewards of working, particular for younger, less-skilled individuals not living with
children, could have particularly strong socioeconomic benefits for blacks. A minimum-wage job
today does not pay enough to keep a family out of poverty. And while low-earning custodial parents
can use the earned income tax credit (EITC) to greatly supplement their families’ incomes, the EITC
for single adults is rather meager. As such, unmarried men who have no children or are living apart
from their children and can only secure low-wage work may find working in the mainstream
economy not worth the effort. Increasing the EITC for single adults could encourage more work
among single men. Those men may then become established in the mainstream economy and be
better positioned to support their future families financially.
Family structure and family dynamics influence children’s development and future prospects.
Children born into single-mother families are far more likely to be poor and persistently poor than
children born into two-parent families. Providing information and access to contraception to lowincome
couples so they can avoid unintended pregnancies could reduce nonmarital childbearing. In
addition, improving access to relationship resources through school, church, and Internet-based
platforms could help young parents form more stable cohabiting and marital relationships. Such
changes could improve the social and economic well-being of children and lead to better adult
outcomes for those children.
Child support enforcement can channel much-needed resources to low-income women and
children but may have adverse effects on noncustodial fathers. Men who are unable to pay their full
child support amount or their arrears may opt out of the mainstream labor market to avoid
automatic garnishment of their wages. As a result, less money flows to the child, and the father loses
mainstream job experience that could help him support a family in the future. More flexible awards
that adjust as the father’s economic circumstances change as well as policies that allow time spent
with children to constitute part of the award may keep noncustodial fathers more engaged in their
children’s lives both emotionally and financially.
Finally, the decline of the traditional two-parent household among all racial groups has given rise
to very complex families. Even in a family in which a mother and father live together, the mother
may have a child from a previous relationship that lives with her and the father may have a child
from a previous relationship that lives elsewhere. The adults and children in such households are
interacting with adults and children living elsewhere who all have claims on their affection, time, and
resources. Community service and other organizations need to be equipped to help complex families
navigate the emotional, logistical, and financial challenges that come along with their complexity.
Debates about the status and progress of black families in the United States started before the
Moynihan report and have clearly raged since. The report focused on how black family structure
contributed to a host of factors that all impeded progress toward social equity. In the decades since
its release, many of the social trends that concerned Moynihan have worsened for blacks and
nonblacks alike. Today it is clear that no one factor by itself holds the key to economic and social
progress. Policymakers, community leaders, and individuals themselves must act to enhance
economic opportunities and social equity for black men and families. Otherwise, we may spend the
next 50 years lamenting our continued lack of progress.
