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Page A4
November 8. 2006
O pinion
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views of The Portland Observer
America Holds On To Its Family Values
Single parents spend
more time with children
by .It
ixa G r ig M athis
For the last 20 years or so w e've
been told - by the m edia,
policym akers and conservative
groups alike that the increase in
crime isadirect result of the growth
in single parent households. Chil­
dren dt> poorly in school and get
into trouble, w e've been led to be­
lieve, because their single mothers
have to focus theirenergy on work­
ing and have little to no time left in
their day to effectively parent.
like - that have failed our children
and our communities.
Without the conservative double
talk that seeks todraw our attention
away from the real issues by shift-
Two generations ago, 60 per­ lies are led by just one parent.
cent of American children lived in a
Over the years, ascrime increased
house where the father went to and children became increasingly
work and the mother stayed home harder to reach, many began to
and took care of the house. Today, blame the changing face of the
We can now loss those theo­
American family, with single moth­
ries out of the window. A new
ers taking the hardest hits. But,
study shows that both married
according to a book recently pub­
and single parents spend about
lished by the American Sociologi­
the same amount of time with
cal A ssociation, today’s single
their children as parents did 40
mothers spend more than 11 hours
years ago. Knowing this, what,
per week with their child.
then, can be blamed for the
In 1965, single mothers report­
increase in high school drop
edly spent less than 8 hours per
out and crime rates? It's time to ing blame, perhaps this country about 30 percent of the country’s
week caring for theirchild and mar­
finally take a close look at public can finally work to fix the broken children live in such a house. More
ried mothers spent just under 11
institutions - schools, government organizations that serve our com- mothers work than ever before and
hours per week with their kids. It
human service agencies and the munities.
about 26 percent of American fami- seems that single mothers, in an
effort to spend more time with their
chi Idren, don ’ t obsess as much over
housecleaning and other chores.
Many focus their energy on their
children, and rightly so.
Conservative groups have long
maintained that 'family values' were
the key to a safer, better America.
America hasn’t lost its family val­
ues; though the idea of family has
changed, the core beliefs - support,
love, unity - still hold true for many
of us. Some politicians, though, have
twisted the ideas behind such val­
ues and used them to further their
Our single mothers - and
fathers - shouldn't be used as
scapegoats fo r the country's
troubles.
i,
own agendas. While the country is
distracted, busy debating divorce,
single parentfuxxJ and gay marriage,
money is being cut from the national
education budget and added to the
defense budget, social service pro­
grams are beingeliminated altogether
and prisons, instead of community-
based intervention programs, are
being built. America’s family values
are still in place, it's the ethics of
many of our leaders that are out of
whack.
The need for stable two-parent
households, especially in the Afri­
ca n -A m e rica n
co m m u n ity ,
shouldn't be trivialized. However,
our single mothers - and fathers -
shouldn’t be used as scapegoats
for the country’s troubles. Now
that we know today’s single par­
ents are working just as hard - and,
in some cases, harder - than even
married mothers did years ago, it’s
time to really start addressing the
social issues that plague this coun­
try today. We don’t have time for
any more excuses.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
A National Tragedy
Being priced out of college
M arc H. M oriai .
Whereas the U. S.once led
At the National Urban
the world in termsof students
League's annual confer­
seeking higher education, the
ence in Atlanta in July, Time
nation now ranks 13th in
WamerChairman Dick Par­
affordability and 4th in ac­
sons identified education
cessibility among European
as the "sine qua non."
and North American coun­
"It is the thing without
tries, according to the group's
which nothing good happens," he report.
said.
Increased costs in the face of
That is why recent conclusions reduced government aid appear to
by a U.S. Education Department have hurt African American stu­
advisory committee are so disturb­ dents more than their white coun­
ing. It finds that the cost of higher terparts; The price tag for attending
education is deterring more and a public institution amounts to 37
more low- and moderate-income percent of median household in­
students from going tocollege. And come compared to 24 percent for
in the United States, people ofcolor whites. It requires 86 percent of
tend to be disproportionately rep­ household income for blacks to go
resented in the low- and moderate- to a private school, compared to 54
income range.
percent for whites, according to the
From 1990 to 1999, between I report.
million and 1.6 million potential
What enabled Dick Parsons to
bachelor's degrees were lost among rise through the ranks of Corporate
college-qualified and -prepared America? Greater access to oppor
high school graduates from low tunity than his father and grandfa­
and moderate-income families, ac­ ther had. That means access to a
cording to the study. From 2(MX) to good education with the expecta­
2010, that number is expected to tion of college graduation. We can­
increase to between 1.4millionand not make that same expectation for
2.4 million.
Roughly 16 percent of low
income and 27 percent of moder-
,
ate-income students who were eClUC QtlOU tO O tlly
by
I ' L L K E E P OPT TH&
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Limiting higher
thOSe WhO
aff°rd
pared to 43 percent and 65 per- / /
O tlly S e r v e tO
cent o f middle-and high-income
students.
In an increasingly global mar­
ketplace, our nation's workers can­ future generations ¡four nation does
not just depend on a high school not invest in their higher education
education to tackle the tasks de­ and their ultimate success in life.
manded of them today and tomor­
"The fact of the matter is that
row.
education is not a silver bullet. It's
Higher education is essential for not an overnight phenomenon. It
this nation to remain a player on the takes a long time to educate an
world economic stage. In 2001, the entire population bu, it does pay
Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated dividends," Parsons said.
that jobs requiring postsecondary
Limiting highereduca,ion toonly
education would make up42 percent those who can afford it will only
of total job growth in this decade. serve to exacerbate the gap be­
They accounted for 29 percent of all tween the nation's haves and have-
jobs in 2000.
nots and between minorities and
These students are either drop­ whites.
ping out of higher education or
We cannot expect to compete in
digging themselves into majordebt. a global economic market if low-to
which forces them to put off pur­ moderate-income Americans - a
chasing homes, starting families, d isp ro p o rtio n a te sh are being
investing for their retirements and people of color - are relegated to
pursuing advanced degrees.
low-wage jobs with little future. It
From 2(XX) to 2005, the average will produce starker disparities in
cos, of tuition increased nearly this nation that will imperil our com­
$2,800or 42 percent while median petitiveness as well as threaten the
household income for African stability of our democracy.
Americans has fallen 8 percent,
As the United Negro College
according to the Campaign for Fund slogan goes, “a mind is a
America’s Future. The average debt terrible thing to waste." Wasting 1
load of a college graduate is $23,6( X) million to 1.4million minds isana-
in student loans and $2,000 in credit tional tragedy.
card debt. In 2(X)4. two-thirds of
Marc H. Morial is president and
college students graduated in debt, chief executive officer o f The Na­
compared to one-third in 1993,
tional Urban League.
exacerbate the gap.V
1
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or call 1 -8 0 0 -M E D IC A R E
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