THE MARRIAGE MOVEMENT AND THE BLACK CHURCH: A Brookings Institute roundtable

BROOKINGS WELFARE REFORM & BEYOND INITIATIVE PUBLIC FORUM:

"The Marriage Movement and the Black Church"

Wednesday, June 2, 2004
9:30 a.m. - 11: 30 a.m.

Falk Auditorium
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

Introduction: RON HASKINS, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

PANEL ONE
Moderator: ROBERT FRANKLIN
Presidential Distinguished Professor, Emory University

Panelists:
Rev. LESLIE BRAXTON
Senior Pastor, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Seattle, Washington

Rev. MICHAEL NABORS
Senior Pastor, New Calvary Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan

Rev. THABITI ANYABWILE
Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy, Washington, D.C.

Rev. Dr. CHERYL ANTHONY
Founder and C.E.O., Judah International Christian Center, Brooklyn, New
York

PANEL TWO
Moderator: RALPH SMITH
Senior Vice President, Annie E. Casey Foundation

Panelists:
DIANN DAWSON
Director, Office of Regional Operators, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

W. BRADFORD WILCOX
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

RONALD MINCY
Professor of Social Work Policy and Practice, Columbia University

ROBERT WOODSON
Founder and President, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise

In the growing national debate over marriage, the role of the black
church is attracting increased attention. The African American family
has undergone major changes in recent decades: nearly seven of ten black
children are born to unmarried parents and marriage rates have
plummeted. Despite a recent increase in the number of black children
living in two-parent families and a 40 percent decline in the birth rate
among black teenagers over the last decade, about 85 percent of black
children are still expected to spend some or all of their childhood in a
single-parent family.

The black church could play a vital role in educating young people and
parents about the importance of marriage and about the consequences of
nonmarital childbearing, especially by teenagers. Because faith-based
organizations are among the most important social institutions in many
black communities, the support, resistance, or level of participation of
black faith leaders in programs that encourage marriage could either
foster or forestall those programs.

At a June 2 symposium at Brookings sponsored by the Welfare Reform &
Beyond initiative, several prominent African American ministers will
present their views on whether the black church should focus its
attention on promoting marriage and reducing nonmarital childbearing
and, if so, how the church should go about achieving these goals. After
the presentations, a panel of researchers, policymakers, and community
activists will provide context for the marriage debate in the black
community and respond to the ministers' remarks.

RSVP: Please call the Brookings Office of Communications, 202/797-6105,
or by email at communications@brookings.edu or visit us online at
http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/20040602.htm.
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