The Black Family-Discussion Moynihan-Gutman
More than any other document, the Moynihan Report has influenced political decisions for a generation after its publication in 1965. Attributing the legacy of slavery as one of the root causes of the black family’s (by this he meant heterosexual nuclear family) poor outcomes (out-wedlock birth and fatherless homes), he advocated for stronger federal programs to ameliorate this issue. His conservative detractors scoffed, blaming the poor outcomes of the black family on personal choices made by black men and women. The government should stay away.
Read the following:
Slavery and the Black Family
Slavery and the Black Family
Answer the following:
Bear in mind, this person has an agenda but his portrayal of the scholarship is accurate. Which argument do you find most compelling and why: revisionism or economics?
works cited
James Q. Wilson is the chairman of AEI’s Council of Academic Advisers. This article is adapted from his book The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Has Weakened Families (HarperCollins, 2002).