The African American Marriage in the US - Essay Example

In a recent survey, it is clear that the marriage rate among African Americans is declining at an alarming rate. The survey also shows that marriage levels of the Afro-Americans in the 1960s were around 70%, as compared to the 21st century, where marriages between the Black Americans have significantly dropped to less than 50%.

This led to critics questioning whether there has been a change in the critical perception people had about marriage. However, after a careful study by one of the NY Times correspondents, it was apparent that African Americans took marriage with the same seriousness as the Whites (Perry).  

This has prompted critics to examine the cause of this decline in Black American marriages, as opposed to the whites who are constant in their marriage trends. One of the aspects of this trend is that currently, society perceives most African American males as licentious, and thus they appear unable to sustain marriages (Perry). As such, there is an increase in children born outside marriages resulting from either premarital affairs (mostly in teens) or extramarital affairs (Belgrave and Allison 218).  

Moreover, the current trends show that female blacks have rapidly climbed the social ladder. It is evident that in the socio-economic setting; most African American females are in the middle-class level while the largest numbers of their male counterparts confine themselves to the poverty level. This results from the fact that most African American females put more emphasis on education during their youth stages than their male counterparts do when most of them engage in criminal activities (Perry). As a result, during the marriage, the male African Americans feel threatened by the powerful females. As a result, the African American males end up not marrying. Consequently, their spouses get married to other suitors (Belgrave and Allison 219).   Moreover, even if a poor male marries a socially well-up woman, the marriage will most likely end up in divorce. Moreover, educated Black women will feel superior to their male counterparts, thereby creating marriage tensions.

Moreover, due to their financial inability, most African American males do not see the value of marriage. Moreover, African American children from married parents appear equal to their counterparts of single parents, both at school and financially.

This trend will have severe implications for African Americans in the end. One of the severe consequences of this may be societal disintegration. The public believes that marriage is the fundamental unit of society (Perry). As a result, marriage is imperative in uniting a society together. Therefore, marriage decline among African Americans means that there will be societal degeneration.

Moreover, with this trend going on, Black children will be among the key losers, since they will lack proper upbringing found within the marriage setup. They may have emotional distress since they lack the proper care of both parents (Belgrave and Allison 220). As a result, they may end up not marrying, thereby exacerbating the predicament further.

Studies have shown that married people usually manage their finances better than non-married persons do. Moreover, couples are able to support one another financially. This implies that failure of marriage among Black Americans results in financial insecurities. In addition, most non-married partners and people in non-formal marriages usually have affiliations to crime. Moreover, most incarcerated individuals in the US are Black, non-married males. Consequently, most unmarried couples seem to be prone to the ill effects of drugs and crime.

Additionally, most unmarried Black people have indulged themselves in promiscuous activities. By doing so, they risk contracting various diseases, most of which are fatal. This means that non-married Blacks are prone to severe health risks, as opposed to their married counterparts (Belgrave and Allison 218). This has severe long-term consequences for the entire African American community.

 The decline in the marriage rates among African Americans poses significant challenges to the entire Black community in the US. As a result, measures need the implementation to mitigate this predicament.  Some of the measures include the provision of employment to African American youths. In this way, they will be financially stable and will thus be able to sustain their families. Moreover, this will eliminate the inferiority complex among most male Blacks over their female counterparts (Belgrave and Allison 218).  

Moreover, concerned parties should implement measures that promote education, since this will bridge the gap between the poor African Americans and the middle-class and upper-class Black Americans. As a result, the poor African Americans will have equal opportunities with their middle-class counterparts, thereby creating a suitable environment for interactions that lead to marriage.