A Movement for Revival and Restoration

Rebuilding the family for a successful future

Renewal

A MOVEMENT FOR REVIVAL AND RESTORATION

Rebuilding the family for a successful future

Kendall Qualls

On February 7, I published an article on this platform, “A Declaration for Revival and Restoration,” encouraging black Americans to join our organization, TakeCharge. This initiative seeks to transcend political affiliations and invite black Americans to a back-to-basics movement—one that honors our ancestors, rebuilds a functional black culture, and restores hope and pride for future generations.

The timing is relevant because next month, March 2025, marks the 60th anniversary of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s Report: The Negro Family: The Case for National Action, commonly known as the Moynihan Report.

Sen. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) testifying before Congress about his 1965 report, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action.

In this groundbreaking analysis, Daniel Patrick Moynihan warned that high nonmarital birth rates among black Americans—24% in 1965—were contributing to a matriarchal society that weakened the role of black men. He cautioned that social welfare programs would further erode family structures, leading to diminished male authority, an abdication of responsibilities as husbands and fathers, and a cycle of generational dysfunction.

At the time, Moynihan was widely dismissed as a racist intellectual, and his report was ignored by many black leaders and the broader society.

Unfortunately, his predictions not only materialized—they have far exceeded what anyone could have imagined. Today, instead of 24% of black children being raised in single-parent households, the inverse is true: only about 24% of black families have two parents in the home. This stark reversal has left black culture struggling—functionally, morally, and financially.

A study from the University of Michigan further highlights the crisis: 59% of African American mothers have children with different fathers, the highest rate among all ethnic groups. The researcher behind the study noted that “raising children who have different fathers is a major factor in the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.”

A Culture in Crisis

The breakdown of the family has fueled devastating consequences across Black America, with ripple effects into surrounding communities.

• Homicide: (a) In Minnesota, where I live, black Americans make up just 8.3% of the population, but they account for 66% of criminal homicides. Similar disparities exist across the country. (b) Moreover, homicide is the leading cause of death for black males ages 0–20, the highest rate among any ethnic group in the U.S.

• Abortion: black women account for 38.4% of all abortions, the highest percentage of any ethnic group and vastly disproportion to their share of population, given that black women of child-bearing age represent roughly 4.5% of all Americans.

• Health Disparities: The Black community leads the nation in preventable health conditions, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and sexually transmitted infections.

Despite six decades of decline, the institutions and leaders responsible for advancing black Americans’ well-being—such as the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP, and the National Urban League—have failed to address the root cause of all the issues enumerated above, which is the collapse of the two-parent family. From its founding, even Black Lives Matter explicitly sought to “disrupt the nuclear family.”

Unfortunately, a large percentage of black pastors have had one foot in the pulpit and one foot “dancing with the Democrat Party,” which has enthusiastically promoted the agendas of Black Lives Matter, the NAACP, the National Urban League, and other failed or harmful organizations. Only pastors that have remained true to the Christian faith and taught biblical instruction have credibility locally and regionally with our TakeCharge initiative.

The past 60 years have shown us the cost of inaction. The future depends on our commitment to reversing this decline and restoring the foundation of strong families and a functional culture that positively contributes to American society. For these reasons, we urge readers to review the declaration document and add their names to insist on a cultural transformation.

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Kendall Qualls is a Faculty-in-Residence at Crown College, School of Business and Founder/President of the non-profit foundation, TakeCharge. Mr. Qualls is also a former Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota.

Mr. Qualls was raised in a broken home in poverty. He worked full-time to pay for college, and served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He earned his MBA from the University of Michigan and worked as a Global Vice President of Sales and Marketing at an $850MM business unit.

Mr. Qualls recently authored a book, The Prodigal Project: Hope for American Families. He is also on the President’s Advisory Board of the Heritage Foundation and the Advisory Board for the National Medal of Honor Center of Leadership. His message has reached millions of people as a speaker and through his articles published in the New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Federalist, Real Clear Politics, The Christian Post, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. His previous article in the Journal of FBT was “The Scandal Hidden in Plain Sight.” He has appeared on the FBT Podcast with host Connie Morgan in an episode titled “Bucking the Narrative.”

Mr. Qualls has been married for 38 years and he has five children.