Click Here for Issues & Views: The Civilizing Power of Marriage and Family

"For reasons that have been endlessly chronicled and analyzed, tens of thousands of black men have removed themselves from playing productive roles as fathers and husbands. These men are in prisons across the country, roam the streets of cities and towns, and are attached to activities that undermine the cohesion of every community they pass through. It is this missing masculine drive and energy that is at the heart of why the poor black community continues in its downward spiral, seemingly to oblivion. The loss of productive masculine input is an incalculable one. The condition of the black masses will never be altered until men are restored to their right and proper place within the bonds of family life. "