The dismal outcome may be seen first in economic terms. These data show compelling evidence that race is not the central factor in poverty. According to data from The Fatherhood Initiative, the impact of illegitimacy is staggering. School performance is likewise affected. Most disturbing of all is the striking correlation between single-parenthood and high American infant mortality, which may be taken as an index of the multiple failures and challenges facing the child of illegitimacy.
Recent data show an instructive pattern.
Infant mortality rates are not comparable across racial groups. In 1994, the mortality rate for black infants was 16.5 per 1,000 births, contrasted with 6.9 per 1,000 for whites. The standard response is to note the role of poverty and racism in accounting for this disparity. But they are inadequate as variables. Chinese-American infant mortality, for instance, is only 4.8 per 1,000, demonstrating that racial minority status is not the principle social determinant.