How Do You Fix Black Family Instability?

Intact families are the foundation of society. Family instability leads to generationally entrenched out-of-wedlock pregnancy and fatherlessness, which lead to social pathologies.

Close to 75 percent of black children in this country are born to unmarried women. These children face a higher risk of doing worse in school and ending up in the criminal justice system. 

Children living with their married, biological parents generally are better off emotionally, financially, and physically than children raised in female-headed and other kinds of households.

The Douglass Leadership Institute (DLI) will hold a forum on Saturday, March 19, at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, to discuss how to strengthen black families. From the DLI:

DLI is a new 501c(3) organization launched this year with the express purpose of educating, equipping and empowering faith-based leaders to embrace and apply biblical principles to life and in the marketplace. Turning the Tide is DLI’s first initiative. This initiative has three pillars 1) Strengthening the Black Family, 2) Supporting Criminal Justice Reform and 3) Securing Economic Opportunities. Content and training will be delivered via social media, DLI’s website and community forums.

Although they have held a few training events in the Virginia area, this is their first public event. Not only is the forum being held on the campus of Hampton University but one of their guest panelist is Dr. Linda Malone-Colon, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Hampton and the Executive Director of the National Center for African American Marriage and Parenting. Dr. Malone-Colon will be joining the Chairman of the Douglass Leadership Institute, Rev. Dean Nelson. Other community leaders will also be speaking: Martin Brown – Former Commissioner of the Virginia Dept. of Social Services and Special Advisor to the Governor for Prisoner Reentry and Family Reintegration; Rev. Dr. William Keen – VA State Chapter President of SCLC and Dr. Ray Johnson D.Min, MBA, M.Div, M.A. Law & Public Policy; Pastor, Calvary Revival Church Peninsula; Overseer 1st Diocese, CACM; Former State Board Member, Virginia Dept. of Social Services.

The Strengthening the Black Family event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. See the DLI events page for more information.