# Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys (NYT article)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extensive-data-shows-punishing-reach-of-racism-for-black-boys-nyt-article/811722>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [April 3, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extensive-data-shows-punishing-reach-of-racism-for-black-boys-nyt-article/811722 "2018-04-03T15:11:34Z")\
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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extensive-data-shows-punishing-reach-of-racism-for-black-boys-nyt-article/811722/7 "2018-04-03T16:00:39Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> What is your evidence that it is racism that has a disparate impact on black boys, and not some factor like being raised in a female-headed household that has a disparate impact on black boys?
> 
> Most black children grow up in a single-parent household ([cite](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/jun/23/barack-obama/statistics-dont-lie-in-this-case/)) and most single parents in the US are women ([cite](https://singlemotherguide.com/single-mother-statistics/)). It seems at least plausible that having an absent father is going to impact boys more than girls in terms of learning how a man behaves when he grows up, than that racists think “I hate black people, except for women”.
> 
> Regards,  
> Shodan

According to the article, whether 1 or 2 parents are in the household doesn’t affect this disparity:

> [@](#):
>
> One reason income gaps between whites and blacks appear so large at the household level is that black men and women are less likely to be married. That means their households are more likely to have a single income — not two. For this reason and others, many point to differences in family structure as a primary driver of racial income inequality. If black children don’t have married parents, the argument goes, they’re more likely to grow up with fewer resources and less adult attention at home.
> 
> This study found, however, that broad income disparities still exist between black and white men even when they’re raised in homes with the same incomes and the same family structure.

There’s a graphical representation of this, too. So according to this data, your hypothesis fails, since black boys raised by two parents at income X are no more likely to be financially successful (as compared to white boys) than black boys raised by a single mother at income X. Of course, with two parents in the home, incomes are likely to be higher, but this is no different for white or black boys. Whatever is affecting black boys and men is separate from this phenomenon, according to this data.

In other words, whatever is holding back black boys is holding back black boys who are raised by two parents in the home in about the same amount as it’s holding back those black boys raised by a single parent.

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