# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Afeni Shakur, mother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, passed away on Tuesday.

Her death, at only the age of 69, has prompted an outpouring of grief and remembrance. Headlines about her death mostly reference her son: "Afeni Shakur, Tupac's Mother, Dies At 69." And across social media, people are sharing photos of Shakur with her son, or tributes using the song he wrote for her --"Dear Mama" -- a song that has become synonymous with her, her battles with addiction and her son's admiration.

It's undeniable that Tupac Shakur was the man that he was because of his mother. His artistry, his ideology, his activism and his genius were intrinsically linked to a woman who encouraged him from an early age to question everything, and to rail against white supremacy.

But here's the thing: As we remember Afeni Shakur, we must remember that her legacy and impact went beyond her son.

Afeni Shakur was an activist, a revolutionary, a philanthropist and a scholar. An active member of the Black Panther party in the 1960s and 1970s, she faced the scrutiny and surveillance of the CIA and FBI, was jailed under trumped up conspiracy and terrorist charges, and later successfully secured her freedom by representing herself in court.

Shakur was also a community organizer, setting up the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation after her son's death to fund performing arts programs for disenfranchised children. Proceeds from unreleased material by her son also went towards the foundation. And in the the years following Tupac's death, Shakur continued to speak across the United States as an advocate for Civil Rights and reform in black communities.

Afeni Shakur has stood as a kind of symbol of the stoic grace of black motherhood -- a mother who has had to remain strong and keep it together in the wake of her son's brutal murder. She exemplified that grace, the sort of grace that's mirrored in the mother's of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and so many other black mothers of sons who died violently.

But the beauty of black motherhood, too, is that it can transcend that narrative of pain and sacrifice. What made Afeni Shakur amazing and memorable wasn't just her son, or his death, or her activism and philanthropy following his death. What made her memorable, powerful, and inspiring was her consistent, lifelong dedication to her community and her people.

Tupac was just one of many amazing contributions that Afeni Shakur made to the world. She was more than just the "mama" in "Dear Mama." She was a shining example of the power of black womanhood as a whole.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Afeni Shakur Showed The Power Of Black Motherhood

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Afeni Shakur, mother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, passed away on Tuesday. Her death, at only the age of 69, has prompted an outpouring of grief and remembrance. Headlines about her death mostly reference her son: "Afeni Shakur, Tupac's Mother, Dies At 69."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Afeni Shakur Davis passed away unexpectedly due to a possible cardiac arrest in her Sausalito home on Monday night. Best known as 2Pac's mother, this happened almost 20 years after his untimely death in 1996. Not only a mother-figures to one of the most important voices in hip-hop ever and the central figure in one of hip-hop's most revered songs "Dear Mama," she was also a Black Panther as a young adult and later, a businessperson, activist and philanthropist.

Her passing amassed honorable words from many. A lieutenant responsible for the case said that Afeni was a "well-loved, well-respected" member of the community, "a leader," "a person people followed" and that her death was a "tragic loss for this community." Her family statement shared that she "embodied strength, resilience, wisdom and love" and "was a pioneer for social change and was committed to building a more peaceful world." In remembrance of her life, accomplishments and struggles, we've gathered ten facts that you might not know about the honorable Ms. Shakur.

1. Afeni Shakur was born on January 10, 1947 in Lumberton, North Carolina to trucker Walter and homemaker Rosa Belle Williams as Alice Faye Williams. She changed her name when she moved to New York City in 1958 and joined the Black Panthers.

2. After the death of her first husband Lumumba Abdul Shakur, she was married to his brother Mutulu Shakur from 1975 to 1982, then to Dr. Gust D. Davis Jr. since 2004, and has a total of six children/step-children: 2pac, Mopreme, Chinua, Ayize, Sekiywa and Nzingha. 2Pac's biological father was Billy Garland but never found out until he was five; Pac only considered Mutulu to be his real father figure.

3. Afeni was an active member of the Black Panther party from 1964 to 1969. 2Pac was born a month and three days after Afeni was acquitted of charges of conspiracy to bomb multiple city landmarks.

4. When 2Pac misbehaved as a child, Afeni would make her son read The New York Times as punishment.

5. When 2Pac was 13, he and his mother were homeless. During this time, Afeni believes that the theater group that he joined, 127th Street Ensemble, saved his life. This inspired her to start the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, an arts program for young people founded a year after his death.

6. She is a reformed drug addict, having battled with her dependence on crack cocaine during his adolescence. This, along with her absence in his childhood in favor of her work in activism, caused him to lose "all respect" for his mother. They eventually made up after she completed a 12-step drug treatment program; the falling out and reconciliation was the primary topic of 2Pac's hit 1995 song "Dear Mama."

7. While Afeni eventually got her life straight and was seemingly in good terms with the law, his godmother, Joanne Chesimard aka Assata Shakur, is placed on the FBI's Most-Wanted Terrorists list. She is convicted in 1977 of the murder of 34-year-old state trooper Werner Foerster on the New Jersey Turnpike; after the conviction, she escaped prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba.

8. After the passing of 2Pac, Afeni became a co-executor of Tupac Shakur's estate, which had a worth estimated of around $8 to $10 million in 1997 and included a library of unreleased material estimated at a value of over $100 million. Afeni became a businessperson; in 1997 she founded both Amaru Entertainment, Inc. (the holding company for all of Pac's unreleased music) and Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (an arts program for young people) as well as 2Pac's clothing line Makaveli Branded in 2003, with all proceeds going to Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation.

9. She won her court battle with Death Row Records in 2007, preventing the record label from selling any unreleased material from 2Pac. The label allegedly was unable to prove that the 150 unreleased materials were not part of its bankruptcy settlements.

10. Eminem once penned a letter of appreciation to Afeni and drew a portrait of her. It was published in a 2008 posthumous memoir of 2Pac titled Tupac Remembered. In a follow-up piece published late last year, Em shared: "I could put "Dear Mama" in and d*mn near be in tears."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Things You Should Know About 2Pac's Mom, Ms. Afeni Shakur Davis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Afeni Shakur Davis passed away unexpectedly due to a possible cardiac arrest in her Sausalito home on Monday night. Best known as 2Pac's mother, this happened almost 20 years after his untimely death in 1996.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The proportion of children living with both parents, following a marked decline between 1970 and 1990, has fallen more slowly over the most recent two decades, dropping from 69 percent in 2000 to 64 percent in 2012. By 2015, the proportion had actually increased, to 65 percent.

Importance

Both mothers and fathers play important roles in the growth and development of children. The number and the type of parents (e.g., biological, step) in the household, as well as the relationship between the parents, are consistently linked to a child's well-being. [1] (Nationally representative data on adoptive families are relatively new, and warrant a separate treatment.[2] Data on children with same-gender parents are even more limited, at this point, than data on children with adoptive parents.)

Among young children, for example, those living with no biological parents, or in single-parent households, are less likely than children with two biological parents to exhibit behavioral self-control, and more likely to be exposed to high levels of aggravated parenting, than are children living with two biological parents.[3] Children living with two married adults (biological or adoptive parents) have, in general, better health, greater access to health care, and fewer emotional or behavioral problems than children living in other types of families.[4]

Among children in two-parent families, those living with both biological parents in a low-conflict marriage tend to do better on a host of outcomes than those living in step-parent families. Outcomes for children in step-parent families are in many cases similar to those for children growing up in single-parent families.[5],[6] Children whose parents are divorced also have lower academic performance, social achievement, and psychological adjustment than children with married parents.[7] Reliance on kin networks (for example, living with grandparents) can provide social and financial support for some families, particularly single-parent families. However, the evidence suggests that children who live in households with single mothers in some cases fare better, and in other cases worse, when also living with a grandparent.[8]

Single-parent families tend to have much lower incomes than do two-parent families, while cohabiting families fall in-between. Research indicates, however, that the income differential only partially accounts for the negative effects on many areas of child and youth well-being (including health, educational attainment and assessments, behavior problems, and psychological well-being) associated with living outside of a married, two-parent family.[9],[10]

Trends

Between 1960 and 1996, the proportion of all children under age 18 who were living with two married parents decreased steadily, from 85 to 68 percent. This share was stable during much of the late 1990s and into the 2000s, but by 2012 it had decreased to 64 percent. The rate was stable between 2012 and 2015, and was at 65 percent in 2015. ( Figure 1)

In 1960, the proportion of children living in mother-only families was eight percent, but by 1996 that proportion had tripled, to 24 percent. Since then, it has fluctuated between 22 and 24 percent, and was at 23 percent in 2015. Between 1990 and 2015, the share of children living in father-only families has fluctuated between three and five percent, and was at four percent in 2015. The proportion living without either parent (with either relatives or with non-relatives) has remained steady, at approximately four percent. ( Figure 1)

In 2015, seven percent of all children lived in the home of their grandparents. In two-thirds of these families, one or both parents were also present. The proportion living with grandparents increased until the mid-1990s, from three to six percent of children. After remaining at around five percent until 2006, the proportion increased until 2010, but has since remained steady, at between six and seven percent. ( Appendix 2)

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin[11]

Black children are significantly less likely than other children to be living with two married parents. In 2015, 34 percent of black children were living with two parents, compared with 83 percent of Asian children, 74 percent of white children, and 60 percent of Hispanic children. ( Figure 2)

Most children who live with just one parent, regardless of race or Hispanic origin, live with their mothers. This is the case for nearly half of all black children, and more than one-quarter of all Hispanic children; among white and Asian children, smaller proportions (about one in seven, and one in ten, respectively) live with their mothers only. ( Figure 2)

In 2015, eight percent of all black children did not live with either parent, compared with four percent of Hispanic children, three percent of white children, and two percent of Asian children. ( Figure 2)

Cohabiting Couples

In 2015, there were 3.3 million cohabiting couples (unmarried) with children under 18. This number has been steadily increasing: in 1996, it was 1.2 million. However, the number of all unmarried couples (with or without children) has increased even more during the same time period. ( Figure 3)

Compared with married couples with children, cohabiting couples with children tend to be younger, less educated, lower-income, and have less secure employment. In cohabiting couples with children, just over four in ten parents are between 25 and 34 years old, compared with less than three in ten parents in married couples. Less than a third of parents in cohabiting couples are between 35 and 44 years old, compared with four in ten parents in married couples. ( Appendix 3)

Among women in cohabiting couples, 16 percent have no high school diploma, and another 35 percent have no college-level education. Among mothers in married couples, nine percent have no high school diploma, and 21 percent have no college-level education. ( Appendix 3)

In cohabiting couples with children, 63 percent of women, and 81 percent of men, were employed, compared with 66 and 91 percent of mothers and fathers, respectively, in married couples. In eight percent of unmarried couples with children, neither person was employed in 2015, compared with only four percent among married couples with children. ( Appendix 3) Children born to cohabiting parents are less likely than children born to married parents to remain in a stable family: two-thirds of children in the former group experience family instability before age 12, compared with about one-fourth of children in the latter group.[12]

State and Local Estimates

State and local estimates of children's living arrangements are available from the KIDS COUNT Data Center.

International Estimates

Data for selected countries
(1980-2008) are available in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Statistical Abstract. (See tables 1301 and 1302)

Additional data are available from the 2014 World Family Map.

National Goals

None.

Related Indicators

Definition

For this indicator, unless otherwise specified, a two-parent family refers to parents who are married to each other and living in the same household. They may be biological, adoptive, or stepparents. The Current Population Survey identifies all parents who are family or subfamily heads. Where cohabitants are concerned, until 2007, the CPS did not ask whether that person was also the parent of the child. Single-parent families refer primarily to families in which only one parent is present, but before 2007 may include some families where both parents were present but unmarried. No-parent families refer to families where neither parent of the child lives in the household. Data about children living with grandparents reflect those living in households headed by their grandparents, and do not include families where a grandparent is in the household as a dependent. Parents may or may not be present in such cases.

Data Sources

2015 data on cohabiting and married couples: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements". Table UC3, FG1, and FG3. Available at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/.html

All other data for 2008-2015: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements". Tables C-2, C-3. Available at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/.html

Data for non-Hispanic white and Asian children, 2000-2007: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements". Tables C-2, C-3. Available at: http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2000.html

Other Data for 1960-2007: Child Trends calculations using: Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present. Tables CH-1, CH-2, CH-3, CH-4, and Ch-7. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Online. Available: http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/children.html

Raw Data Sources

March Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
http://www.census.gov/cps/
U.S. Decennial Census.
http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html

¹From 2003 forward, data for race reflect only those who selected a single race. 2 Revised based on population from the decennial census for that year.

³ Whether biological, adoptive, or non-biological parents.

⁴ Before 2007, the parent may be residing with an unmarried partner.

Note: Based on Current Population Survey (CPS) (unless otherwise indicated)

Sources: Data for 2008-2015: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements". Tables C-2, C-3. Available at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/.html. Data for non-Hispanic white and Asian children, 2000-2007: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements". Tables C-2, C-3. Available at: http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2000.html. Other Data for 1960-2007: Child Trends calculations using: Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present. Tables CH-1, CH-2, CH-3, CH-4, and Ch-7. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Online. Available: http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/children.html.

¹Same-sex couples with children are excluded from the analysis because, due to differences in state laws, the distinctions between married and unmarried couples are less clear, and vary by state. Additionally, due to the relative rarity of same-sex couples with children, heterosexual married or cohabiting couples with a misidentified gender have an outsize influence on this population. 2 Excludes children who have been married.

Sources: Cohabiting data: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements." Table UC3. Available at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html. Married data: Child Trends calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. "America's Families and Living Arrangements." Tables FG1 and FG3. Available at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html

Suggested Citation:

Child Trends Databank. (2015). Family structure. Available at: https://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=family-structure

Last updated: December 2015

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The proportion of children living with both parents, following a marked decline between 1970 and 1990, has fallen more slowly over the most recent two decades, dropping from 69 percent in 2000 to 64 percent in 2012. By 2015, the proportion had actually increased, to 65 percent.