The No. 1 item on that list — “and probably the most important,” he said — had to do with out-of-wedlock births.
“Just because you can have a baby, it doesn’t mean you should,” Lemon said. “Especially without planning for one or getting married first. More than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock. That means absent fathers. And the studies show that lack of a male role model is an express train right to prison and the cycle continues.”
Lemon’s commentary inspired a firestorm of criticism on social media — the website Mediaite published a sampling — and bloggers took aim at his conclusions.
“If Lemon really wanted to help the black community, he could start by adopting a deeper understanding of the history, sociology and psychology of his own people,” wrote Washington Post blogger Rahiel Tesfamariam. “Offering made-for-TV analysis about deeply complex social issues in the manner in which he did is irresponsible and lacks intellectual rigor.”
We can’t check Lemon’s opinions, but we did want to take a look at the one verifiable fact he offered. Is it correct that “more than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock”?
We turned to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which publishes a report every year that includes a wealth of data about births in America. The most recent report, published in August 2012, is based on data from 2010.
The report broke down statistics by ethnic groups. Here’s a summary
| Racial or ethnic group | Percent of births considered “non-marital” |
|---|---|
| Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders | 17 percent |
| Non-Hispanic whites | 29 percent |
| Hispanics | 53 percent |
| American Indian and Native Alaskans | 66 percent |
| Non-Hispanic blacks
|
73 percent |
29839 Sta Margarita Pkwy, 
Videography by Barbara Rosenfeld 
2:10 p.m., Sunday June 21
Orly Taitz: wrote:
I saw the rally on TV, there were easily 15,000 people. Many were standing on the field. If they were to be seated, most seats would have been occupied. Leave it to Democrats to lie. Moreover, look at Biden’s rally recently in Pennsylvania, about 3 people showed up to listen to Biden’s demented gibberish. Even Michael Moore admits that there is no enthusiasm about Biden’s campaign. He is just another corrupt globalist puppet, who made millions of his public positions and will continue selling out this country and it’s workers should he be elected. American patriots know it and I believe majority will vote for Trump. For truthful information on this election go to TaitzReport.com