Imagine the culture and society of the 1950s compared to today: what's different? Cars, technology, communication, forms of money, even social and moral values. You name it! If it existed in the 1950s, it has adapted to the world we live in. Since the 1950s, attitudes towards women, children and family have changed. The morals and values ​​that once formed the fabric of our society have become weak. Even marriage no longer enjoys the same esteem. The so-called “American Dream” of a house surrounded by a white picket fence and a family playing in the yard is too simplistic for our modern society. Many are trying to become part of the ultra-elite wealthy individuals in our society. However, the change in moral fabric has also been shown to lead to a lack of overall wealth in some ethnic groups. Increasing out-of-wedlock birth rates, technology, and social media are all factors that contribute to the decline of our moral fabric and have a direct effect on the overall wealth of our African-American underclasses. As late as the 1990s, when children were in elementary school, it was very common for most of your classmates to have a traditional family. Most children you knew had a mother and father who were still together and were faithful to each other. It was also very common to be in contact with or very close to grandparents and first cousins. Only from the 90s to today have things changed considerably. Most of those traditional families you were used to have broken up. More and more marriages continue to fail and more and more children grow up without adequate role models in their lives. Especially in minority groups like African Americans. Author Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote “Forty and a half acres of paper......to lead our future generations by example rather than throwing them into the deep end and hoping they float. Our economic struggle in the African American underclass goes hand in hand with the lack of initiative shown by parents. Parents cannot continue to set a bad example and live paycheck to paycheck focusing on the instant gratification lifestyle made so easily accessible by technology and expect their children to amount to more than they have ever been exposed to. The lack of moral fabric of the African-American lower classes will continue to fail if they continue to increase out-of-wedlock birth rates and are not even willing to attempt to be a role model for their own children by continuing to abuse modern technologies. If parents are not willing to properly build the foundation, the structure will never reach its full potential.