Black Lives: Illusion
Teenage motherhood, single-parent families, and the child poverty trap
Many African American children are born to teenage mothers and grow up in low-income, single-parent families that struggle to give them the attention they need. This pushes these kids to repeat the pattern of single-parenthood and poverty.
Single mothers generally head African-American families. Although Black parents want to provide the best for their children, single parenthood and teenage pregnancies make it difficult for them to escape poverty.
In Episode 6, RTD hears from the son of a crack addict who had a daughter when he was seventeen, and a newly divorced mother who lost her job after her car broke down. These parents want to provide their children with a better future, but what’s more important for setting their kids on the right path: the right attitude or enough welfare support?