MYTH #1: Black people don’t get married.
One of the most pervasive myths about romantic relationships involving black couples is that their relationships rarely end in marriage. The media and society at large propagate this silly misconception. Some researchers, however, denounce this claim, maintaining that properly analyzed census data would arrive at different conclusions.
Howard University researcher Ivory A. Toldson says,“The often-cited figure of 42 percent of black women never marrying includes all black women 18 and older.”
After examining census data from 2005 to 2009, Toldson and Bryant Marks of Morehouse College found that 75 percent of black women marry before age 35. Moreover, black women in small towns have higher marriage rates than white women in urban centers such as New York and Los Angeles, Toldson said.
MYTH #2: Black men, especially the rich ones, choose women of another race over black women.
While plenty of rap stars, athletes and and other celebrities may choose to date or marry interracially after reaching fame, the opposite is true for most successful black men. When it comes to married brothers with six-figure annual incomes, 83 percent of them tied the knot with a sister, according to Toldson’s census research.
In fact, 85 percent of black male college graduates wed black women, and 88 percent of married black men – of all education and income levels – have black wives. It’s safe to say that most brothers still prefer black women over other races.
