Something notably absent from other answers (so far) has been data on the ratio of cohabiting parents. This Pew Research article using 2017 data (not long after Shapiro's comments) shows a total single-parent rate for Black families of 51%, with 43% having two parents (36% married and 7% cohabiting).

The highest accurate representation of children living with single mothers (including cohabitation) would be 54%. Even if you were to sum all children without married parents (including children living with no parents at all), the resulting 64% would still fall a bit short of his claim. At best, Shapiro was exaggerating to make a point.

An interesting note is that the solo-father and cohabitation rates are much closer across racial boundaries than the married and solo-mother rates.

Something notably absent from other answers (so far) has been data on the ratio of cohabiting parents. This Pew Research article using 2017 data (not long after Shapiro's comments) shows a total single-parent rate for Black families of 51%, with 43% having two parents (36% married and 7% cohabiting).

The highest accurate representation of children living with single mothers (including cohabitation) would be 54%. Even if you were to sum all children without married parents (including children living with no parents at all), the resulting 64% would still fall a bit short of his claim.

At best, Shapiro was exaggerating to make a point. The previous statement cannot be asserted, since we don't know what data Shapiro was referencing; differences in datasets could have resulted in something closer to his claim. When considering the actual data for all children under 18 around the time of his claim, it was not true.

An interesting note is that the solo-father and cohabitation rates are much closer across racial boundaries than the married and solo-mother rates.