The case for Black marriage

Ss. Tricia Hylton writes: "Out of every ethnic group in Canada, Black Canadians marry the least. If marriage remains the foundation of a strong and stable family and community then clearly, this foundation is missing from our culture....

"When we look at a number of Canada's ethnic groups, a startling picture emerges. In 2001, 59 per cent of Chinese Canadians, 66 per cent of South Asian Canadians, 57 per cent of Filipino Canadians, 60 per cent of Arab Canadians, and 57 per cent of Korean-Canadians [households]were headed by married couples. The divorce rates for these groups were three per cent, 2.5 per cent, 2.6 per cent, 3.6 per cent, and two per cent respectively.

"Among Black Canadians, however, the situation is turned upside down. Here we have the lowest marriage rate at 41 per cent, coupled with the highest divorce rate at 8.6 per cent. Among ethnic Canadians, we marry the least and divorce the most; as a result our family structure is the weakest.

"As we continue to look at the Black Canadian family, some other interesting trends emerge. Of significance, in 2001, the percentage of lone-parent families was 27 per cent compared with 15.6 per cent of Canadian families overall. This rate was not only highest among ethnic groups, but highest among all Canadians."

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