Sharing is Caring...

Word on the street was that our reading, "Changing American Families" by Judy Root Aulette was going to be a bit boring. While reading it, however, I found myself mildly entertained. Call it a bad sense of humor or whatever, but I found it almost humorous that some people's prejudices actually went as far as the Moyniham report. I can also take a look back and see how far our country has come since then, and that something like this would be condemned in today's society.

The Moyniham report suggested many different things about African American families. One of the main points stated that black families were dominated by women, and that was the reason that the majority of these families were below the poverty line. This report had a huge effect on how the public viewed African American families, even though it seems to have been based off of opinions and not that many facts. In our reading, Aulette counters the Moyniham report by presenting the research of Carol Stack. This research shows that African American families were more of a network that worked to benefit everyone, instead of a basic nuclear family that we are used to. This research pretty much discredits the Moyniham report.

With all of these flaws, how could the Moyniham report become so popular? I believe that the average american had not been exposed to the black community, and therefore was somewhat ignorant of it. This would cause the middle class to believe what they heard about African American families. Another big reason that the report gained so much momentum was the fact that it came from our government. During these times, the level of patriotism was quite extreme compared to today. When people believe that their government is so great, why would anyone question a government report about a culture that most people knew nothing about? The Moyniham report was obviously flawed, and it should teach us a lesson to not belive everything we hear.