Dr. Umar Johnson believes that polygamy is a lifestyle founded by African women to ensure the well-being of their communities.
Unlike the depiction of it being a relationship choice for those seeking to explore committed connections with multiple people or religious practice simultaneously, the Pan-Africanist says that the act of a man having multiple wives can be traced back to an African value system centered upon humanity as a whole and not self-gratification.
“It was the women who said that men are going to have more than one wife,” Dr. Umar told Nick Cannon during one of their “Counsel Culture” sessions. “They came from a principle of Ubuntu: ‘I am because we are’; I’m not winning unless my sister winning. And since men die sooner than women on average — and of course, they die because of war and other unnatural factors; we’re normally outlived by women — we gotta make sure the community is stable.”
Dr. Umar said that a lack of men would cause the destabilization of the community, arguing that polygamy is not about personal preference, instead, “it’s about making sure all the children got a dad and all the women got a husband.”
Correlating Western women’s desire for a man, he then said, “I don’t care how Christian they are, how Muslim they are, how Hebrew they are, they will share a married man. And one of the contradictions that Black women have to deal with, who claim that they are not for polygyny, if you are not for polygyny, why is it we can often find single Black women being the mistress to a married Black man? If you are against plural marriage, how did you manage to end up as his mistress, and he’s married?”
He went on to say, “You’re not against polygyny, you’re against being accountable for it. You don’t want nobody to know you are a co-wife, you see. As long as it stays under radar.”
Moreover, he declared Black women have an issue with accountability and carry shame with their decision to share a mate. Dr. Umar would also go on to state that he has not found a civilization that subscribes to monogamy. As the clip circulated on Instagram, it set off a debate about the multi-partner relationship and men using it as a crux to defend infidelity and to father children with multiple women.
One critic of Dr. Umar’s argument wrote, “The truth is that Most men who talk about polygamy know nothing about responsibility. They just want to use it as an excuse to seek pleasure.”
Another user said, “there were also tribes that had many husbands but you not bringing that part up just that men who had many women huh ok.” Women who assume more than one husband are considered participants in polygyny, whereas polygamy refers to men with wives.
Others, however, were dissatisfied that the conversation involved Dr. Umar and Cannon. In 2021, the “Psycho-Academic Holocaust” author married two women in a ceremony held in New York, where it is illegal to practice polygamy.
Nick Cannon knows he's the posterchild of polygamy these days — a role he's embracing with common sense jewels for everyone who follow in his footsteps.
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 20, 2024
Read more 👉 https://t.co/U6ovDx0E6t pic.twitter.com/iXOU3bzRGy
The “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” actor has 12 children with six different women, including ex-wife Mariah Carey, and has caught flak in the past for his lack of a traditional family set-up. He has hit back at the criticism by lamenting that he is a present father figure to his kids despite his disinterest in a “paper” marriage.
“Nick ain’t married none of those concubines,” read a comment. Another reaction stated, “We need some new representation of the black man !! Tf because this ain’t it!!”
The two men have sparked a few discourses with their conversations ranging from interracial dating, which Umar is very against, to Black male entertainers crossing the line by wearing women’s clothing for laughs.
