Are black single mothers just as successful as any other single mom out there? Single mothers who are Afro-American may face a different set of challenges, but overall they are able to raise their children the same as any other minority. Here are a few black single mothers statistics
The U.S. Census Bureau released these statistics about Black Single Mothers in America based on data collected in a 2002 study:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
That may have been almost ten years ago, but things are only getting better for black single mothers. The reason these statistics are so important is because around 72% of African-American children are raised in single parent homes. This includes children who are raised by a single mother or a single father. The United States alone has 25.8% of children being raised by a single parent, while the world wide average is 14.9%
The real question is why are there so many single parents out there? A lot of people thought that when they said “I do” that is was forever, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes alcohol and drugs get into the mix and moms need a reprieve.
Should black single mothers worry about these statistics? No, a lot of professionals say that you should let go off the fear and statistics and focus on your situation. In today’s day and age, there are scholarships for black single mothers and grants for single black mothers, so you have no problem getting into a college and bettering your situation.
What about black single mothers today? What about them? In real life, there is no color anymore, it’s all about opportunity. It does not matter if you are black, white, yellow, purple or pink. It was that a situation was handed to you and you had to deal with it. Now you can change your circumstances and your situation. There has never been as much help for single mothers (black and white) as there is today. It’s time to stand together as a group of parents and make our children have a better life. Seize the opportunities and ignore the statistics, unless you choose to become one of those statistics.