Black Family Facts:
The nature of the historically Black family has been misconstrued, misinterpreted, and unjustly compared to the nuclear white middle-class family for racially motivated political gains. The repercussion on society has been an erroneous understanding of the existence of Black family life in America. Black Family Blueprint is committed to elevating the strength and resiliency factors of Black families, while exposing much needed facts about its functions.
Co-parenting as a mutual value
While Black parents are stigmatized with the highest unwed child-births, co-parenting is a valued process that is tied to extended familial ties. As it has been since emancipation, co-parenting with different residency is an ongoing parental practice among Black parents, with increasing numbers in the 21st century. The absent Black father is a myth when families are reviewed from this alternate lens.
— Levs, 2017. Huffington Post
Black marriage and coupling
Recent articles have cited the destitute marital status of Black men and women stating their possession of the highest unmarried status, higher than average divorce rate, and a claim of non-Black preferential spouses. Concrete evidence points to the reality that Black married couples have increased by 12% since 2016; 85% of Black men have a Black wife; and 93% of Black women have had a Black husband.
— Black Demographics (sourced from Census Bureau), 2017
Parent-child dyad
Black parenting practices are too often associated with authoritarian parent-child relationships. Limited data associates this view to discipline tactics without observing the broader connection. Parent-child connectedness within Black families are one of the biggest factors to high school graduation rates. Additionally, this same connection, or lack thereof, is a determining factor to Black children’s anxiety and depression, resilience, and their ability to cope with incidents of racism.