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OF EDITORIALS
December 11, 2003
A diminution of status
Many of those who oppose the recent state Supreme
Court ruling that granted same-sex couples the right to marry
cite the predicted negative impact on the family and the institution
of marriage as the reason for their objection. While African Americans
might oppose the ruling for other reasons, there is little evidence
to support concern of whites for black families over the years.
In 1965, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan who was then undersecretary
of labor produced a report entitled, “The Negro Family:
The Case For National Action.” In this report Moynihan acknowledged
that “the family is the basic social unit of American life;
it is the basic socializing unit. By and large, adult conduct
in society is learned as a child.”
He then went on to assert that the policy toward blacks in the
United States has been destructive of the family since the time
of slavery. In Brazil slaves were encouraged to marry and become
members of the Catholic Church. Once they had performed the sacrament
of marriage the family could not be broken up for sale. There
were no such protections in this country.
With emancipation blacks attained liberty from slavery but equality
has been perennially elusive. Jim Crow persecution of the black
male during reconstruction rendered him less capable of providing
properly for his family. Black wives and mothers were often forced
to be the breadwinners when the men were unemployed for long periods
of time or were incapacitated.
Moynihan cited as the consequence of America’s hostile racial
policies that almost 25 percent of black women living in cities
were divorced or separated from their husbands and that 23.6 percent
of black children were illegitimate. Also, 14 percent of black
children were receiving welfare aid.
The report shows a correlation between family income and the incidence
of illegitimacy, female-headed families, narcotics use and the
inferior performance of black children in school. All of this
resulted, according to Moynihan, from society’s unwillingness
to provide work for blacks at a salary level adequate to support
families.
The disrespect shown to black families over the years has now
contributed to the degeneration of marriage as an institution.
The data used by Moynihan indicated that 88 percent of white families
had both parents present. Today married couple households have
slipped to only 50.7 percent of the total. White women have the
same percentage of illegitimate births now as was considered to
be unacceptable for blacks in 1965. And almost half of first marriages
are expected to end in divorce.
What began as disdain for the black family and the institution
of marriage as it applied to slaves has spread to the rest of
society. The rights and duties of the husband and wife in a marriage
have changed substantially since Moynihan’s report. Nonetheless,
many of the young and star struck are still attracted to the institution.
However, many others are not, now that cohabitation has lost its
moral sting. The number of unmarried heterosexual couples living
together has climbed from 523,000 in 1970 to 4.9 million today.
With the Supreme Judicial Court ruling, marriage can no longer
serve as the ideal structure for heterosexual family life. But
the institution has been so modified over the years that society’s
respect for the institution had already declined. Opponents of
the ruling will have to find other reasons to support their protest.
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