Do Black women marry interracially for upward mobility? Let's talk about it!
Recently there was an op-ed published in the New York Post titled “Why more black women should consider marrying white men, written by a Harvard Law Professor by the name of Ralph Richard Banks a black man.
In the opinion piece he gave examples of Kamala Harris and Ketanji Brown-Jackson. Both being very powerful, smart black women, who are married to white men.
The author suggests that if black women want to get ahead in this world that they should perhaps marry a white man.
His rationale for this is that the effects of racism have left black women who tend to be more educated as a group as opposed to black men, has left black women only a small segment of black male partners who are comparable.
The education and wealth gap
Among Black students in higher education, women are more likely than men to earn degrees: Black women get 64.1% of bachelor’s degrees, 71.5% of master’s degrees and 65.9%of doctoral, medical, and dental degrees.- AAUW.org
The article quotes statistics that say that black men are less likely than black women to have completed high school and a lot fewer black men go on to complete a four-year college degree. This creates an education and wealth gap that may disadvantage black women in their relationships with black men.
But getting ahead is only one consideration some black women think about when looking at potential partners. This almost paints Black women as proverbial "gold diggers".
Black women are least likely to get married and most likely to be divorced
BlackDemographics.com published “In 2019 only 30% of African Americans were married compared to 48% of all Americans. Half or 50% of African Americans have never been married compared to 34% of all Americans. After viewing the available data, we can see that although fewer black women are “now married”, more black women than Black men have been married at least once. This is because a higher percentage of Black women are divorced and widowed than men. Also, in 2019 just under half or 48% of black women had never been married.”
In some states like California, the dating pool in the black community is as shallow as the water drought. Blacks only make up about 6 percent of the population. With the majority located in Northern California.
When you subtract women, those black men who are married, incarcerated, uneducated, unemployable, distance, or homosexual, you begin to see how limited choices can be within that 6%.
There is also a disparity between the numbers of black women to men in African American communities nationwide that some blame mass incarceration for. Nevertheless, some reports estimate there are 7 available black women to each black man. 7:1.
Black women who do not date out will either be single for their lives, or they will eventually settle for someone who is very beneath them. - Ralph Richard Banks
De-construction of the Black family unit
When individuals speak about diversifying or dating interracially one always must question that narrative. The black family unit is almost non-existent as it is. But some of these opinions are coming from within the black community. Black Lives Matter even called for the de-construction of the family unit.
Who is to say whether someone should marry in or outside of their own race? People marry who they are attracted to and compatible with. Yes, race can be a basis for compatibility. Some blacks are only attracted to other blacks, that’s natural.
Some black women feel like they can only love a black man, and that’s okay too.
Do white men love and financially support black women better than black men?
Black Americans experience dramatically lower upward mobility than white Americans do. - (Reference) National Bureau of Economic Research
Despite generational gaps and disadvantages, many Black men have attained some amount of upward mobility and wealth and have much to offer their mates even if the degree letters are not behind their names.
Black men often demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit stronger than most. This is because of the many circumstances and challenges they have been through growing up in a system that was not necessarily hospitable to their survival. The Black man’s hustle is real and palpable.
Black women are also flexing their entrepreneurial muscles as Forbes reported in 2020, "Black women are the fastest growing entrepreneurs". Also, Black men and women share a history and culture. Black men can offer support in more ways than one and in ways other races of men might not really be able to connect with.
The share of recently married blacks with a spouse of a different race or ethnicity has more than tripled-Pew Research
Meanwhile interracial marriage rates continue to rise. And black men do their fair share of dating and marrying out as well. Various personal and societal factors are causing both black men and women to date out.
Do white men love and financially support black women better than black men? The discussion is open on this topic.
Unlike the premise suggested in the op-ed piece, Black women seem to be doing well either way.
What are your thoughts on black women marrying out for upward mobility? Leave comments below.
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A man I met online asked to move in after 2 weeks. He was a broke, homeless romance scammer.
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