ABSTRACT
Pervasive in the literature on cross-cultural marriages is the concept of the Other or ‘outsider’ in referring to marriage partners from different cultural backgrounds. While Africans who emigrate to America are in some respects culturally different from African-Americans , in the context of the dominance of the politics of race in America, their similar skin colour helps override awareness of their cultural ‘Otherness’ in American society. Research on racial inequities in criminal sentencing, as well as the disproportionate percentage of black men sent to penal and correctional institutions in the United States, also have import for discussions about cross-cultural marriages between African men and African-American women. Cross-cultural marriages between Africans and African-Americans are also affected in several respects by prevailing international policies and relations between the United States and various African countries, as well as the internal politics of the respective African countries.
