The Vanishing Black Family - How Welfare and Feminism Made Marriage Optional and Children Vulnerable

By: Delano Squires

Published by Penguin Group, 2026-06-16

From one of the most trusted commentators on the issues facing black Americans today, The Vanishing Black Family exposes the real force holding back black Americans—and it’s closer to home than you think.

Since 2020, there’s been a sustained effort to narrow the divide between black and white Americans. Most of these efforts focus on the systemic racism that discriminate against black Americans, yet one of the starkest differences between white and black children starts at birth: seventy percent of black children are born to unmarried parents, compared to only twenty-five percent of white children. In The Vanishing Black Family Delano Squires argues that this marriage inequality goes a long way to explaining the disparities in education, employment, and criminal justice for black and white Americans. The best way to improve socioeconomic outcomes for black Americans? Reaffirming the sanctity of marriage.

Taking the reader on a journey from slavery and through our modern age, Squires describes the “sinister six” forces that are insinuating their way into our policies and culture, heralding themselves as harbingers of progress while dismantling the traditional family structure that is the true foundation of socioeconomic equality. Squires gives a wide-reaching prescription for starting a “marriage before carriage” revolution that spares no punches while taking on the ills of popular culture, the modern-day church, historically black colleges and universities, the accepted roles of husbands and wives, and even the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Vanishing Black Family is a call to action for black Americans everywhere who understand that the struggle to rebuild the black family is a mission to protect society’s most vulnerable members: our children.