ABSTRACT
Demographic changes in African-American marriage and in black immigration to the United States have been accompanied by dramatic changes in American attitudes and social norms regarding gender and marriage. This chapter argues that the experience of black marriage is not only culturally different from marriages among other racial-ethnic groups in America, but also among black couples with different ethnic origins. The process of assimilating after immigration to America may seem to some like a simple process, but it can be taxing in number of ways. This chapter explores the sociological vision of black marital life and pinpoint ways in which black marriage can be strengthened through effective, feminist social policy. It provides an attempt at balance—a vision of contemporary, heterosexual black marital life that ebbs and flows and that is diverse. Child outcomes have often been central to considering the health of black marriages, though the focus is on how parents negatively impact the health and welfare of their children.
