Why Finding Eligible Single Black Men is Getting Tougher for Black Women

For quite some time now, relationship trends in the US African-American population  have focused on the increasing imbalance between the numbers of single men and women. Black women complain of an ever-shrinking pool of black eligible men who are available for dating and marriage. There are various reasons why finding single black men is getting tougher for black women in America.

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A lot of black males of the marriageable age are in prison

Although black people account for only 12 percent of the U.S. population, an estimated 44 percent of all prisoners in the United States are black according to data from US 2000 Census. In fact a news report in the online edition of BBC from February 2000 mentions a study according to which one in three African-American men aged between 20 and 29 were in jail, on probation or on parole as opposed to one in 15 of their white counterparts. Indeed in cities like Baltimore and Washington, at least half of all young male blacks were in prison, parole or probation.

More recent statistics put the number of black men between ages 20 and 34 who were behind bars at one in nine, according to a 2008 study by the Pew Center on the States which compiled and analyzed data from several sources, including the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Prisons and each state's department of corrections. The huge proportion of young black men in incarceration vastly cuts down the number of single black men who are available for relationships. And even for those who are not in prison, being on parole or probation and the loss in educational and occupational opportunities due to past incarceration again significantly reduces their ability to date and be in long term relationships.

Lack of educational and professional qualifications in many black men

Yet another reason why black women are not coming across enough potential partners from their own race is the lack of educational and professional qualifications in many black men. According to a July 2006 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation fewer than 8% of black men graduated from college as compared to 17% of white and 35% of Asian origin men. Even when black men had the same educational levels as their white counterparts they tended to earn less at every level according to the same report. Unemployment rates are also relatively higher among black men in the US. The unemployment rate for young African American men is over twice the rate for young white, Hispanic and Asian men, according to figures quoted in the KFF report.
In addition, fewer African American men between the ages of 16 and 29 are in the labor force compared to white, Hispanic and Asian men in the same age group. Over 20% of young African American men live in poverty compared to 18% of Hispanic, 12% of Asian and 10% of white men. In a curious reversal it is the modern young black woman who has been able to take greater advantages of the educational and professional opportunities in the wake of Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. According to the US  Census Bureau, in 1980 the total number of Blacks employed in professional occupations was 829,648. Of that number an overwhelming 66.5 percent (551,701) were women. Contemporary black women are going to college and getting a degree in greater numbers as compared to their male counterparts. Consequently they expect their partners to be on an equal social and educational footing if not higher. But unfortunately, due their educational and professional levels, the majority of single black men are often unable to match up, thus creating a scarcity of “marriageable” or “suitable” black single men.

Interracial relationships and marriages

A recent news report in the New York Times titled, ‘Black Women See Fewer Black Men at the Altar’ traces the limited availability of single and eligible black men to an increasing number of them marrying women of other races. The report mentions the results of a study according to which around 22% of black male singles - that is at least one in five – who married in 2008, chose female partners from among whites, Asians or Hispanics. This represents a significant increase from previous rates like 15.7% in 2000 and 7.9% in 1980. Not only that, the rate of black men marrying outside their race is also higher than the 9% rate of black American women who were marrying non-black men. Sociologists believe that the trend of black men marrying from outside their race further shrinks an already limited pool of potential partner for single black women seeking marriage within their own race.  Says Prof. Andrew J. Cherlin, director of the population center at Johns Hopkins University, “The continuing imbalance in the rates for black men and black women could be making it even harder for black women to find a husband,”.

Cultural predispositions

Cultural predispositions could be another factor why modern young black women are no longer happy with what their male counterparts have to offer. As these women achieve greater success in their profession and society, it becomes difficult for black men with traditional notions of the man being the ‘lord and master of the house’ to accept these women as their partners. Oscar winning actress Whoopi Goldberg who has often been in the news for her interracial relationships perhaps echoed the thoughts of many modern young successful black women when she said in an interview to Newsweek, “a woman with power is a problem for any man, but particularly a black man because it's hard for them to get power. I understand that, but I have to have a life, and that means dating the men that want to date me”. Moreover more and more black women are finding out to their pleasure that many white and professionally established young men are keen on asking them out. It is all about choices feels psychologist and writer Julia A. Boyd. “White men are asking us out," she says. " and we're looking at our options”.