Heritage Foundation Offers a ‘New Blueprint’ to Revive the Black Family 

The Heritage Foundation released a new report Wednesday stressing that marriage must be the foundation of efforts to revive the black family. 

The report, released during an event at Heritage Foundation headquarters in Washington, D.C., featured experts and community members who cast the family as a civil rights issue, described how culture shapes relationships, and the emphasized the role institutions play in strengthening marriage in Black America. 

Delano Squires, a research fellow at Heritage, wrote the report and moderated the event. He said he has been thinking about this issue since he was 15, when he witnessed its impact on his own community.

Squires’ call to action: “Black leaders in religion, politics, media, entertainment, education, culture, and industry must be at the forefront of any effort to revive marriage and breathe new life into the black family.” 

The event featured panel discussions with pastors, CEOs, educators, and leaders in the movement who have made it their mission to restore the black family.  

Pastors P.M. Smith and Tommy E. Quick opened the event by emphasizing the church’s role in the solution. Their conversation was grounded in the belief that God created the family, and when His design is corrupted, the consequences are catastrophic. Both pastors have dedicated their lives and their ministries to the restoration of the family.  

“Family is the basic building unit of every neighborhood and every nation. Family is the smallest unit of government,” said Smith. 

Ian Rowe, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, discussed marriage and family success. He described “the success sequence,” a series of decisions that, if followed in order, lead to at least 97% of individuals avoiding poverty and lead to most entering the middle class. The success sequence includes earning at least a high school diploma, securing a job, then marrying and having children. 

“These are the decisions within your control,” Rowe said. “You have the ability to execute within your life.”

A recurring theme throughout the afternoon was that marriage is a cornerstone—not a capstone—of life. Panelists urged attendees to marry, raise children, and model healthy relationships within their communities.  

Squires’ report arrives 60 years after the publication of the highly controversial Moynihan Report, which provided an early description of the deterioration of the black family.  

Squires highlighted what he says are two indisputable truths: “The family is the foundational institution in every society” and “households built on the foundation of natural marriage—the union of one man and one woman—are the ideal environment for raising children.”   

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