Happenstance is forcing Black America into the Mainstream American Melting Pot

 

By

 

Sherman N. Miller

7/30/2006

During America’s racial segregation era some black mothers taught their sons the danger in having love affairs with white females because once the interracial relationship became public the black male could expect to get hung for rape to preserve the public image of the white female. On the other hand, today as the racial segregation psyche continues to be displaced by racial integration an unexpected consequence is that black females find themselves in a very competitive market for the available mainstream caliber black male spouses.  High black male incarceration rates coupled with their low educational attainment and the US Supreme Court knocking down the miscegenation laws decriminalizing interracial relationships have helped to diminish the pool of marrying aged black males for indigenous black families.

            Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, offers a prospectus on today’s growing white female pursuit of interracial marriage with black males. “African American men are 2.5 times more likely to be married to a white spouse and 3.3 times more likely to be cohabitating with a white person, as compared to their African American female counterparts. Research yields that 7% of married African American men are with white wives and 15% of African American men cohabit with white women.”

            We get a feel for the impact of this white female competitive threat on high potential black males when we ponder the August 2005, Census 2000 Special Reports, “We the People: Blacks in the United States” by Jesse D. Mc Kinnon and Claudette E. Bennett reporting on college graduate black males. “The proportion of Black men (13 percent) with a bachelor’s degree was one-half that of men in the total population (26 percent). The proportion of Black women (15 percent) with a bachelor’s degree was two-thirds that of women in the total population (23 percent).”

            Mc Kinnon and Bennett continue, “In 2000, a higher proportion of Black women (30 percent) than Black men (20 percent) was in management, professional, and related occupations. A higher proportion of Black men (28 percent) than Black wome7n (10 percent) was in production, transportation, and material moving jobs. The highest concentrations of employed Black men were in these two occupation groups.”

            Yet their black marriage statistics are troubling. 31.2 percent of black females were married and 39.7 percent were never married. 41.5 percent of black males were married and 41.5 percent were never married. Clearly marriage is an exception instead of the rule for black females. Hence, one might expect black females to become very protective of their marriages or relationships.

            In July 2006, I chatted with six marrying aged professional black women in Western Alabama to understand their concept of marriage and relationships. These ladies made it clear that they found male players to be totally unacceptable for partners or spouses.

These black ladies stunned me by giving vivid depictions of what bodily harm they would do to a man attempting to be a player while in a relationship or marriage with them. It was bone-chilling to listen to their proposed aggressive actions such as mutilating players. Since the reputation for revengefulness of a scorn woman is well known, I took these ladies’ comments very seriously and I worried about the foolish chaps who might underestimate their resolve.

            I asked one young lady who appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties what she would do if her husband walked in on her in a compromising position. She responded, “He should understand I don’t want you anymore.” She did not expect this man to take aggressive action similar to what they had been espousing during much of the conversation. The other women quickly corrected her by pointing out that she should expect a similar bodily harm from her spouse or boyfriend as to what she had been espousing.

            A young black fellow, in his early thirties, joined in the conversation. When this young fellow attempted to offer the male prospectus on relational deviance these black women turned like a school of piranhas and they mercilessly torn into his positions. This young chap was forced to retreat out of the conversation.

I stood my ground even when these ladies aggressively challenged my every point. I decided to throw these black ladies a curve to put a fissure in their strategy of unified female attacks on male positions.  I said, “I always loved nerdy girls. My wife of forty-two years is a nerd. I needed someone that I can learn from in a conversation. I abhor bimbos.” They first attempted to question my spousal selection, and then they told me they respected my ability to stand my ground. These ladies also said my wife was a very lucky lady to have someone to love her for such a long time.

I also chatted with two black ladies in the state of Delaware on marriage and relationships. The single lady said that she had just had a baby but she did not speak of marriage in her immediate future. The other lady spoke of the high stress in her relationship.  When I shared that my wife and I had been married for forty-two years without the high stresses she shared, she said, “You must be the last of the Mohegans.”    

What was clear is that the above Southern black women will not tolerate the sexual prowess of today’s black male players. However, in our confutative discussion, the Southern Black women appeared to hope for a nativist black relationship or marriage.

In recounting our discussion, it seems that in the spirit of today’s evolution of racial integration into Mainstream American popular culture the Southern black women were not espousing other races as potential spouses. Nevertheless, I am starting to see some professional black women marrying white males. Some white males are marrying Asians. Thus, happenstance may be starting to force Black America into the Mainstream American Melting Pot where tomorrow’s dreams of solely indigenous black marriages and relationships may become viewed as tantamount to holding onto vestiges of yesteryear’s American racial segregation era.     

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