The Importance of Black People Marrying Between Themselves
Marriage is a very sacred bond that its sanctity should be preserved, especially to people of culture. That isn’t always the case with most people living in the West. Growing up in Africa, we’ve always been told that a man should work hard to ensure that he takes care of and controls his family in a way that will promote togetherness and oneness.
Growing in an African family unit means that a man will take care of his family and make decisions directly affecting them. This belief has been imbibed into Africans before the slave trade and even up until now.
But black people in the West are not as inclined to get married as their white counterparts.
Let us examine why it’s so important that black people marry within their black community rather than pursuing interests within other communities.
Culture is Key
Black people always believed in the jumping the broom tradition when getting married. The broom is, first of all, waved over their heads to ward off evil spirits. Then, later on, both the bride and the groom will jump over the broom, symbolizing that they are ready to enter into their new lives as a family while the wife is ready to take on her husband’s courtyard as her new home.
Everything about marriage rites is traditional for a black man, and they are symbolic.
This is why black folks in the West that know their history attach much importance to encouraging their offspring to marry within the community so that their spouses will imbibe traditional African values in their children. This is not to say that white people do not believe in marriage. The only difference is in the cultural value attached to it.
Familiarity of Family Values
For black people who know their history, being in a family is all about tradition and the cultural practice of man being the breadwinner, and that takes care of his family.
This also means that a black man will get to run his family with the manner and discipline reminiscent of the black community. Therefore, well informed black families fear that intermarrying can alter that tradition, and their children will stop following that usual way of life.
Discipline and respect are always crucial for any black child that grows up within the black community. That same tradition has continued to be passed down to generations after generations of black children. Intermarriage might not eliminate that, but it will surely diminish it. This is why the black family unit is so vital to an average black man.
Matching Behavioral Patterns
When in a family, knowing how to behave, act and conduct is critical to any black family. There are certain behaviors that they may exhibit that an average native white man may not understand. For instance, a white man may not understand why African families insist that a husband is not just marrying a wife for himself alone but his whole family. That sense of togetherness may seem foreign for anyone outside the black community.
Blacks who appreciate their history, in every part of the globe, continue to prefer marriages within themselves to not persuade outside spouses to buy into their behavioral patterns without experiencing a culture shock. Maintaining the black family unit is a matter of continuity rather than nepotism or racism for an average black family.
Why Are Black Men More Inclined to Marry Non-Black Women?
As time passed, the inclination of the black man to marry within the black community has started to wane, and many more black men have begun courting the idea of marrying outside the community. This trend started gradually but has recently become a frequent occurrence in the West. The reasons behind these can only be said to be one of those that we will explain below:
- The impression that black women are vindictive and uncouth: Many times, some black men have thought that black women are unreasonable and unnecessarily strong-headed. This has been a demonization agenda that black women have been suffering that discourages young black men from marrying within the black community.
- Another reason is that most young men nowadays feel like marrying non-blacks will make them more accepted by the West. Often, this tactic has worked for some, and this has encouraged even more black men to pursue love interests and marriages outside the community.
- There are instances that young black men in career modes choose to marry outside their social status to get promotions at work. They see this as a means of battling systemic racism. Unfortunately, this is influenced heavily by the West.
- Other factors may be socially and politically influenced because we’ve seen cases where blacks marry outside the black community to climb the social class in the society. This is sad but, unfortunately, true.
Ulterior Motives Behind Non-Black Women Marrying Black Men
The spike in the preference for black men for marriages in some white circles has left people wondering whether there is an ulterior motive by the white person, which may or may not be true since there are cases where mixed marriages between blacks and non-blacks have gone on to be successful. Therefore, to fully understand why some white ladies prefer black men, it is wise to observe what they deem worthy in them before deciding to settle down with them.