And just when I thought I couldn’t be surprised by anything…

I got this email in my Inbox at work today: (I’ve deleted all identifying information except the speaker)

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Marital Relationships and Well-being:
An Examination of African-American Couples

Chalandra M. Bryant, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/hdfs/faculty/bryant.html

(Date and Time Deleted)

(Location Deleted)

ABSTRACT:

Among African Americans in the United States, 44% of men and 37% of women are married, compared to 63% of White (non-Hispanic) men, 59% of White
(non-Hispanic) women, 63% of Asian men, 65% of Asian women, 57% of Hispanic (any race) men, and 60% of Hispanic (any race) women. Moreover, African Americans are more likely to experience marital dissolution. Among African Americans, the divorce rate is more than 75% higher than that of Whites or Latinos. Most divorces occur within the first 10 years; however, the divorce rate peaks during the third year of marriage. There is a decline in the divorce rate at that point, until about the tenth year of marriage. The first few years of marriage are, therefore, critical time periods to study changes in marriage. Beyond the demographic information gleaned from Census reports, relatively little is known about marriage and marital relationships among African Americans. The ability to form and maintain happy and stable intimate unions is associated with well-being. Conversely, the inability to form and maintain such unions may result in negative social, behavioral, physical, emotional and financial outcomes. Given that marriage has the potential of providing significant benefits to well-being, the aforementioned statistics suggest the need for a careful examination of African American marriages, because this group may not reap the benefits to the same degree as other groups. Despite differences in marital patterns by race, the vast majority of studies of marriage and well-being have focused on Whites. While the early and vulnerable first years of marriage are subject to a universal set of stressors, African Americans are additionally subject to stressors associated with having minority status in this country.

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I am FLABBERGASTED!! Sure, the marriage rate may be lower, and the divorce rate higher, but there is still a divorce rate for other ethnic groups, so why is no one studying why they’re getting divorced? As long as there is ANY divorce rate, it would seem that someone should be concerned, so why is it that no one is holding seminars and giving speeches on why whites and/or latinos are getting divorced? " the inability to form and maintain such unions " - What does this say to blacks? What does it say ABOUT them? It’s incredible that someone is not only studying this, they’re going to give a speech about it, and I’d be willing to bet that the audience will be SRO; and it will be whites who attend. Half of them will be going because it affirms what they have always believed, that blacks are lessor human beings, and the other half will go because they think they’re somehow to blame for it, and they want to learn what they can do to "help". STOP treating blacks like second-class citizens, that would be a good start! Stop treating them like they are somehow different from everyone else. Blacks are human beings, just like anyone else on this entire freaking planet, and I wish people would stop putting them in a separate category. They don’t need "Ebonics", they don’t need separate SAT tests, they don’t need special classes or training. They don’t need affirmative action, they don’t need studies and surveys, and they damn sure don’t need other people telling them that they get divorced more than anyone else! TREAT THEM THE SAME WAY YOU TREAT EVERY OTHER ETHNIC GROUP, and maybe eventually the phrase "One nation, under God" will be true. Treat ALL ethnic groups the same, as if there is no distinction, and maybe eventually the phrase "All men are created equal" will have some meaning.

Until the day when the color of a man’s skin has no more meaning than the color of his eyes, there will be no peace. (Haile Selassie I, paraphrased)

And that’s Live from Bikini Bottom….