Keli Goff of TheLoop21 writes in her blog that policymakers should celebrate Beyoncé's pregnancy. She says that her marriage to Jay-Z highlights stability at a time when statistics show single parenting as the norm.
… when I found out that Beyonce Knowles is expecting I was actually happy to hear it, and not because I'm one of her many devoted fans. (Before they all gang up on me let me say for the record that I wouldn't call myself a non-fan, but musically speaking I'm more of a Stevie Wonder and Stevie Nicks kind of gal, although I do have a Jay-Z song or two on my iPod.) But I was happy to hear the news of Beyonce's pregnancy because fans of hip-hop will finally have two high-profile role models who are having a child within a committed, financially stable relationship, and not just a relationship, a marriage.
We've all heard the statistics, but they bear repeating. In the last ten years the number of children born out of wedlock has skyrocketed by 25 percent. Now, nearly 40 percent of kids are born to single mothers and among African-Americans the number is higher than 70 percent. And contrary to the myth the majority of these kids are not being raised in the luxury and security that Angelina Jolie's kids are or any other celebrity who makes single parenthood look easy and glamorous. What we often don't see behind the glamour are the nannies, maids and in-home tutors that few parents, particularly single parents, can afford. (And in Jolie's case she now has Brad Pitt as a life partner, a luxury in itself — in more ways than one.
Read Keli Goff's entire blog entry at TheLoop21.
Keli Goff is The Root’s special correspondent. Follow her on Twitter.