Scholars explore marriage
African American nuptials declining due to lack of males
By Tiffany McElroy
Daily Bruin Contributor
According to research conducted by UCLA Professors M. Belinda
Tucker and Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, there are fewer "available"
African American males in America than 50 years ago.
In their recent book, "The Decline in Marriage Among African
Americans," Tucker, an associate professor of psychiatry and
biobehavioral sciences, and Mitchell-Kernan, vice chancellor of
academic affairs and professor of anthropology, psychiatry and
behavioral sciences at UCLA, attribute this decline to the changes
in American culture, values and marriage.
"Fifty years ago, African American women and men were far more
likely to have married by the age 22 to 24 than the general
American population with nearly 60 percent of black women and 40
percent of black men having wed by that age," the authors stated in
the book. "Today, one-quarter of black women and less than one of
eight black men have married by their early 20s."
One of the most significant reasons for the decline is the
decreasing sex ratios between African American males and African
American females. According to Tucker and Mitchell-Kernan, "black
males are more likely to die young," and "higher death rates
resulting from disease, poor health care and violent crime, as well
as ever-growing incarceration rates," are depleting the male
population.
Although sex ratio is a major factor in the decline of
marriages, the stresses and strains of economics play a large part
in the choices young African Americans make. For example, African
American males are forced out into the labor market at an earlier
age than their white counterparts, according to Tucker. Increased
joblessness has robbed them of their economic viability, rendering
them not only less desirable as mates, but also less inclined to
take on the responsibility of marriage, Tucker added.
Also, many industrial jobs where African Americans had high
rates of participation have gone overseas. As a result, African
Americans hold the lowest paying jobs and have difficulty affording
marriage, so many African American couples postpone marriage for
economic reasons. These stressful social situations carry a large
impact on the structure of family life. There has also been the
phenomenon of outward marriages involving all groups.
Thirty years ago, outward marriages were inhibited by social
factors, but with changing attitudes toward marriages, these
boundaries have changed and many people are expanding their marital
opportunities.
"Our society does not help to make people employable," said
Tucker. "People with only a high-school education cannot live off
of minimum wage with a family to support, and not having a job
affects families and communities.
"Our society should not be so accepting of the fact that people
without a college degree can barely make ends meet, nor should they
be so accepting of the high male mortality rate in African American
communities," Tucker added.
Tucker and Mitchell-Kernan hoped that influential policy makers
will read the data compiled from economists, anthropologists,
sociologists, psychologists, political scientists and lawyers and
realize the constraints on the pursuit of marriage among African
Americans are modifiable and can be addressed through societal will
and clarity about desired goals.
"The book shows that most choices are shaped by larger forces
other than black females being too choosy or black males not
wanting to marry," said UCLA alumna Angela James, now a sociology
professor at the University of Southern California. "It shows that
these outside forces can determine traditional practices even in
something so personal such as marriage."
The authors will have a book signing on Feb. 14, at 3 pm at the
James West Alumni Center Conference Room.
"…most choices are shaped by larger forces … than black
females being too choosy or black males not wanting to marry."
Angela James
USC Sociology Professor
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