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The New York Times recently used new data indicating increased rates in interracial marriages to highlight the "plight" of single black women who can't find a good man.
In a nutshell, the Pew Research Center reports that 13 percent of Black men had a non-black spouse, compared to 6 percent of Black women. And in 2008, there was a significant increase in the number of Black men who married women who were not black.
The Times article's headline, "Black Women See Fewer Black Men at the Altar," makes it seem like the piece was blaming black female singlehood on men who choose to marry non-black women? Supposedly, black women don't make it to the altar because their men have already jumped the broom with Becky or Suzy.
Blaming the swirl action for single black women just isn't cutting it. Though more than ten percent of black men chose to marry a non-black woman, it clearly doesn't account for the majority. What about the 87 percent of black men who do marry black women? If I've got my math straight, 87 is greater than 13, so more black men have embraced their women than the ones who haven't.
This article reminds me of the recent 'Nightline' special, in which black men and women had a "face off." Fingers were pointed at each gender as they tried to explain away why many successful black women end up without a spouses.
We don't know the reason many black women will remain unmarried but, any argument or dialogue that has a tone of pitting black women and men (or black women and non-black women) against one another can be dangerous and create further rifts between us.
The Pew study reports interracial marriage between all groups is at a record high. 9 percent of Whites, 26 percent of Hispanics and 31 percent of Asians married a person of a different race in 2008.
Clearly, interracial marriage isn't something that's limited to black folks. Even more interesting was that Asians and Hispanics married interracially at even higher rates.
Where's the discussion or the 'Nightline' town hall meetings on the nearly half of American-born Asians who marry non-Asians?
Also, what we define as "swirl" action (i.e. a black and white couple) isn't as prevalent as we may have thought or been lead to believe. Though interracial marriage is on the rise, the pairing of a black and white mate is the least common combo, according to the study.
Though the Pew Research Center presents interesting data that reflects the changing trends in marriage, it's hard not to question how and why the Times chose to peg the article in such a way and why the impact of interracial relationships on other groups isn't looked at as well.
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Interracial Celebrity Couples
Sanaa Lathan and Steven Rifkund
This acting beauty and her music executive man have been dating on the low for months and rumor has it they recently became engaged.
Garcelle Beauvais and Mike Nilon
Actresss Garcelle Beauvais married CAA agent Mike Nilon in 2001. But the marriage might be on the rocks following reports that Beauvais caught Nilon cheating.
Zoe Saldana and Keith Britton
Ms. Saldana's been dating this fellow actor for 10 years -- long before she became a megastar with blockbuster hits like 'Star Trek XI' and 'Avatar.'
Iman and David Bowie
Somalian supermodel Iman and rock luminary David Bowie have been married 19 years and have one daughter, Alexandria Zahra -- they make an amazing power couple.
Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry
Halle Berry and French-Canadian supermodel Gabriel Aubry are parents to Nahla Ariela, born March 16, 2008. They announced their split in May of 2010.
Paula Patton and Robin Thicke
This sexy couple met when he was 14 years old at a teen club in Los Angeles. They lived together for 11 years before marrying in 2005. Patton was featured nude on his 'Beautiful Girl' album and appears in two of his videos.
George Lucas and Mellody Hobson
Super producer George Lucas has since the 2007 Academy Awards, been out and about with Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management, a billion dollar Chicago based investment fund.
Alfre Woodard and Roderick Spencer
Woodard's been married to her writer hubby for 27 years. They have two children, Mavis and Duncan.
Aisha Tyler and Jeff Tietjens
Aisha and Jeff met as undergrads at Dartmouth College and wed in 1992. Tietjens, an attorney, and actress Tyler both love each other and beer -- they're avid home brewers.
Thandie Newton and Ol Parker
Bi-racial British actress Thandie Newton married her writer/director/producer husband in 1998. The pair have two daughters, Ripley and Nico.
Comments: (314)
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By: SALLYGREEN on 6/07/2010 8:51AM
♥¸.•*´¨`*•.¸♥•.¸♥¸BlackwhiteCupid. C/O/M♥ ¸.•*´¨`*•.¸♥•.¸
Interracial romance a sign of the times
♥¸.•*´¨`*•.¸♥•.¸♥¸BlackwhiteCupid. C/O/M♥ ¸.•*´¨`*•.¸♥•.¸
Interracial romance a sign of the times
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By: Cookie on 6/07/2010 10:14AM
@Nic,....so true. This IS old news, and tired.
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By: Patty on 6/04/2010 6:08PM
Black men are getting tired of all the drama black women bring. So they defect to the other side.
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By: toyna on 6/04/2010 6:56PM
@ PATTY, THAT GOES BOTH WAYS?
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By: kultkonn98 on 6/05/2010 1:02AM
Oh boy here we go again, there always has to be someone who brings up nonsense. The reasons black men marry outside their race are as varied as the women they end up marrying. Black women don't care nearly half as much as these articles would like to point out. It's simply a ploy to drive our race further apart. Like the article noted, you don't see anything in the news about how 40% of Asian women marry outside their race, so come on, if you can't see this reporting for what it is, I really don't know what to say to you
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By: jjvt37 on 6/05/2010 7:04AM
White women bring drama, too. What's your point?
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By: britt on 6/05/2010 7:16AM
LOL, I heard the same thing about white women from white men...you are a dumb bitch, patty, to think that black women are the only ones to bring alot of issues to the relationships...
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By: Deborah on 6/05/2010 9:38AM
>>>>Black men are getting tired of all the drama black women bring. So they defect to the other side.
As a black woman, who has been married 22 years to a wonderful, intelligent black man, the statement above is one of the most ignorant statements in this world. First of all, you do not speak for all black men. Black men still marry black women statistically. Inter-racial marriages, are only a very small statistic. Stop blaming and making it seem like black women are the problem because all people bring drama and problems to every single relationship. As black women have their issues, so do black men. Stop stereotyping black women as diffcult drama queens because if you want stereotypes, it can be said that black men are criminally inclined, thugs who do not complete school, do not enter college and inpregnate severaly women at a time, and leave children all over the place, that they do not support.
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By: Zewoditu on 6/05/2010 11:43AM
Not only do Black women have drama -- ALL women have drama! Please do not limit the drama to only Black women! Are you crazy?
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By: cl on 6/05/2010 3:44PM
Patty, truth be told, it's not that black women bring drama, any woman bring drama for the same reasons.If those small amount of black men who date non-blacks were so happy why in the h--- do they go around the corner and cheat? and some of the women they cheat with are black!(that's if he can find one who wants him). And, how many women did Tiger have? and yet he supposed to be happy with a non-black? wake up! these men are fooling themselves!and frankly who really cares that a black man dates non-blacks? most races love the black woman anyway, it's the black man that they don't like! and, as far as the drama why the drama? it's because black women don't take no s---from him she demands respect, he has to have a job, car, or something! but with other races, he play all kinds of games on her and she falls for it. So he rather take the easy way out, than have a challenge from his own kind. He know he has to be a real man with black women, but with non-blacks he can be soft like a girl.I have a non-black friend who told me that it is like reverse slavery, because the non-black female does everything for the black man, and he still cheats on her. I think all women, no matter what race, should not let black men or no other man have her doing everything for him, get away with not respecting her, and everything else. Stand up all women and make his black a-- respect you or get on down the road! I wonder how do white men feel to know that white women nearly bow down to the black man? (not to imply all white women)
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