Critical Thinking Matters

Thoughtful Discussions of Contemporary Issues

Graphics and Tables

"Before we moved into Pruitt-Igoe, the welfare department came to our home, they talked with my mother about moving into the housing project, but the stipulation was that my father could not be with us. They would put us into the housing project only if he left the state. Mother and father discussed it and they decided that it was best for the twelve children for the father to leave the home, and that’s how we got into the projects."
—Jacqueline Williams, Pruitt-Igoe resident

The 2020 US Census puts the black population at between 12 and 16% of total population (depending on how mixed race is counted). Sadly, as the below table shows, black males alone account for almost 50% of US murder victims. This is predominantly black-on-black murders--gangs, drugs, arguments, etc. Is there a link between this heart-breaking statistic and the absence of fathers?

Murder Victims in the US by Race and Sex, 2020

	Total	Male	Female	Unknown
Total	17,754	14,146	3,573	35
White	7,029	5,123	1,904	2
Black	9,913	8,469	1,440	4
Other/Unknown	812	554	229	29