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DROP IN BLACK MARRIAGE HURTS FAMILIES
By BENIN DAKAR Atlanta Journal Constitution 12/11/05
In a very real and unsentimental way, the future of
an empowered, effectual and enduring black America is wedded to our
efforts to increase black marriage rates.
Marriage
is the most enduring present that Otis and Elaine Dickerson of
Duluth have given themselves and their four children.
On Dec. 18, 1953, on the first birthday of their baby boy Eric, the
young and determined African-American couple were married in the
modest home of Otis' mother in a working-class Baltimore
neighborhood.
Their commitment to rear their children — son Eric (now known as
Sitawi Jahi), of Baltimore; and daughters Marcia Dickerson, 50, of
Duluth; Sheila Conway, 44, of Columbia, Md.; and Leslie Pickett, 43,
of Alpharetta — as a faithful husband and wife provided the
emotional support and economic wherewithal for the couple and their
offspring to find their way into the middle class.
Although the Dickersons' marriage had some of the usual rough spots
that even good marriages are certain to experience, Otis and Elaine
remain steadfast in making it work, not just for themselves but as
an example to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Otis, a 73-year-old naval veteran and a retired civilian courier for
Naval Services in Washington, and Elaine, a 71-year-old retired
cryptanalyst from The National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md.,
say their partnership enabled them to succeed in the workplace, to
become homeowners and to rear stable and productive children.
What makes the story of Otis and Elaine Dickerson exceptional is
that fewer and fewer young black couples who find themselves in a
"family way" are following their lead to the altar.
The decline of marriage, especially in many low-income black
communities, is cracking the foundation of the black nuclear family
and worsening poverty and child welfare. According to The Brookings
Institution, 70 percent of African-American children are born out of
wedlock and up to 85 percent of African-American children will spend
some or all of their childhood in a single-parent home.
This is important because the emotional and economic security of
children is greatly reduced in single-parent homes. Of course, there
are noteworthy exceptions to the rule, but by and large, children
from two-parent homes simply fare better.
The reasons for declining black marriage rates are varied and
complex, said Lorraine Blackman, associate professor of social work
at Indiana University and director of the African-American Family
Life Education Institute.
The women's movement of the 1970s enhanced opportunities for many
black women and changed their expectations of marriage, Blackman
said. Simultaneously, because of a changing economy, job
opportunities for non-college-educated black men have decreased.
Furthermore, Blackman said, the government has inadvertently
discouraged marriage among lower-income black women by denying them
such safety net supports as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
and food stamps if there is evidence of a man in the household.
Surprisingly, many black clergy who stood at the forefront of
opposing same-sex marriage are eerily quiet when it comes to
addressing the crisis of declining African-American marriage rates.
The irony is that while same-sex marriage has little, if any, impact
on the well-being of the black community, decreasing marriage rates
between a black man and a black woman threaten to erode black social
and economic progress.
Despite the intricacy of understanding and addressing the issue of
declining marriage in the black community and the fact that there
are no quick fixes, we still can hope that other young black couples
will choose to emulate Otis and Elaine.
In a very real and unsentimental way, the future of an empowered,
effectual and enduring black America is wedded to our efforts to
increase black marriage rates.
**************************
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• Benin Dakar of
Duluth is a writer and owner of a property management company. This
is the first of a series of articles on Black Marriage.
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