Among blacks, nearly 5 million children, or 54%, live with only their mother

Twelve percent of black families below the poverty line have two parents present, compared with 41% of impoverished Hispanic families and 32% of poor white families. In all but 11 states, most black children do not live with both parents. Black families differ from other racial groups in that the average black single mother has more children, not fewer, than her counterpart with a father present.