Author Delano Squires argued that major Black organizations are overlooking the decline of marriage and two-parent households. He made the case during an appearance on “Cite Your Source,” hosted by feminist commentator Angela Rye, where several panelists pushed back.
Squires said he had checked the agendas at conferences held by groups including the NAACP, National Urban League, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and Congressional Black Caucus. He said he rarely saw the state of the Black family or falling marriage rates addressed. He added that he had attended a recent Congressional Black Caucus event and heard no discussion of marriage.
Rye responded that preserving families matters to the panel, but said discussions of family often take place alongside other issues rather than as a standalone topic. She pointed to her experience at an NAACP event and said family-related concerns were still being discussed through an intersectional lens.
Squires countered with birth statistics, saying that 70% of Black children in the United States are born to unmarried parents. He cited figures of 75% in New York City, 77% in Washington, D.C., and 83% in Baltimore, as well as 82% in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.
When Rye asked him to cite his source, Squires said the figures came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s final birth data. He clarified that his point was not that Black organizations ignore every issue affecting families, but that declining marriage rates and family structure are not priorities for institutions that claim to represent Black Americans.
A panelist questioned what Squires meant by “marriage and family structure policy,” asking whether he was referring to jobs, health care or education. Squires replied that children should have everyday access to their fathers, which he said is more likely when their parents are married.
After watching the exchange, BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock asked Squires why marriage seemed to matter less to Black Americans than it once did, and how that might change without attributing the issue mainly to unemployment or incarceration.
Squires said the panel’s reaction did not surprise him. He described it as a pattern of denial, defensiveness and deflection among Black leaders, and said the discussion showed a reluctance to take responsibility for issues people may have some ability to influence. In his view, the panel did not seriously engage with his central argument.
