The state of the African American family structure has been talked about much in recent years. A trend of single-mother homes has been an issue for quite some time. The risk here is that the household will suffer in financial stability because there is only one income. With regards to African American women, sixty-eight percent, or more than two-thirds, were not married when giving birth. In the Asian community, this rate is eleven percent of women; in the Hispanic community, it is forty-three percent; and with whites, the figure was found to be twenty-six percent (Rampell, 2013).
As of 2013, almost seventy percent of single parents had a job nationwide. Low wages are very common for single parents, particularly women. Juggling a job and family makes it difficult to advance. In 2012, the median income for a family with a single mother was thirty-one percent of the income of a two-parent household. To contrast this figure with poverty rates, the rate for children in single parent homes is triple that of two-parent homes (Legal Momentum, 2014).
This migration trend presents an interesting challenge since there is already a disadvantage when it comes to economic prosperity in terms of a family structure. Being located further away from economic opportunities as the real estate market shifts could prove to be a real challenge for African Americans in employment opportunities if they live on outskirts of cities where mass transit is not as accessible. This shift will be even more challenging if the population is not educationally geared to meet the demands of its market.
Jobs in the core of cities are more likely to be highly skilled positions, which are higher paying. Finance and technology are prime examples of these industries. Jobs for the lesser-educated will tend to be working-class positions, such as retail or construction. These jobs are more likely to be in the suburbs, with the latter being hit hard by the recession (Miller, 2015). Here, blacks could be challenged by personal education attainment. Blacks are nearly twice as likely to not finish high school as whites. When it comes to a earning a post-baccalaureate degree, blacks are half as likely to do so (Bessler).
These neighborhoods will not stay neighborhoods for long if the occupants cannot find a job to pay the bills. As higher education tends to pay off in the long run with a higher salaries, there is a more immediate social impact of a shifting socioeconomic economic population. Here, perception comes into play because the neighborhoods may no longer be viewed as neighborhood. Rather, they could suffer on a large scale due to a possible perception of being “ghettos.” This merely illustrates that this trend of redevelopment does not actually help the social problem of inequality but rather displaces the issue and exacerbates the problem and plight of African Americans.
As African Americans continue to be at an disadvantaged, they have worked harder to overcome and to grow. There is a tradition of resilience and perseverance that was given birth during our ancestors captivity in slavery, which was not that long ago in our nation’s history. Want to know more? Go to www.thepowerisnow.com and join the buyer’s and seller’s club for free to get free support, consultation and information from me and my team. You have the power to change your life now because The Power Is Now.
Eric Lawrence Frazier MBA
President and CEO
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