Rick Banks Asks "Is Marriage For White People?" In New Book On Black Marriage (VIDEO)

Ralph Richard Banks, a Stanford Law Professor, examines race and marriage in his latest book "Is Marriage for White People?: How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone."

He notes that more than two out of every three African American Women are unmarried. Nearly twice the number of African American women than men graduate from college and 70% of African American children are born to un-wed parents.

Mr. Banks takes a controversial stance by suggesting that African American women should seek marriage outside of their race.

In the video above he presents data regarding race and marriage filtered through his lens of restitution. He believes that many African American women are unable to find suitable spouses and instead of valuing education and class over race, they would rather seek an African American husband in a lower tier than an interracial relationship.

Thinking about his stance via a supply and demand framework results in African American women having more opportunities for relationships with a decrease in demand for African American men. African American women will find that they have more power within relationships once the demand is lessened on African American men.

Some might argue that we should work towards changing some of the societal injustices that have resulted in fewer available African American men. Perhaps African American women should expand their search radius beyond America's borders? You might even argue that blame should not be placed on racially minded African American women but with prevailing standards of beauty and race that present African American women as less beautiful and desirous than other women.

Whatever your stance is on the issue, it's clear, as Mr. Banks points out, that marriage is on the decline for everyone in America and that children are the ones who lose out in the end.

Comments

[lanerush]

05:05 AM on 11/10/2011

I'm a black woman and I've dated outside my race 10% of the time. Now I 'm married and my husband is white. Of all the men I dated the 10% are the only men who even wanted to talk about marriage. My husband told me early on in our relationship that he wanted marriage. I separated from my husband for year during our marriage and we saw other people. He dated white women and I dated black men. Though I am attracted to black men I was unhappy with the dating experience. It was impossible to find men without children (I have no children). Few had marriage experience or even considered marriage. I feel that some of Rock Banks points are valid, especially about black women moving forward and black men falling behind. I think this is due to many social obstacles that mainly black men face. This is not true for all black men of course. But a lot of my girlfriends are still weirded out that I married a white man. Honestly this is the best relationship I've ever been in. On their side, of those who date exclusively black men (black women not non-black women) NONE of them is married. Many have children and are in a long term relationship with a black man. I don't understand what the reason for this is and I'm not sure that Rock Banks knows either.

[Jamal Alexander]

11:20 AM on 11/09/2011

While his arguments are valid, much of what he argues about the institution of the Black marriage can be also argued when studying other races and nationalities.

[DMGMD]

09:29 AM on 11/09/2011

Where the good professor's thesis breaks down is with the "outside of ones race" thing. I would have figured someone at Stanford (my hometown University) would have tapped him on the shoulder and explained that bit of pseudoscientific nonsense (race) has been obsolete for years.

Also, and news flash Professor...human beings have been "marrying" outside of their respective "tribes" for millennia. Suggesting this is a panacea for the socioeconomic ills of women of this demographic is really very silly and seems to be predicated on black men not being up to the job.

Professor...get out of Palo Alto more often. Please.

[kemcha]

03:04 PM on 11/08/2011

Here's another thought. Ladies, don't sleep with other people after you get married.

[DMGMD]

09:21 AM on 11/09/2011

So...I guess it's only the women doing the "sleeping" before marriage. Are you trying to say all of these women are lesbians and not sleeping with men?

[kemcha]

09:49 AM on 11/09/2011

Where in my comment did you see that? I mentioned nothing about these women being lesbian and I would never say such a thing. Most married men and women cheat on their spouses, which accounts for the extremely high divorce rate among young people.

Women, on one hand, tend to seek out married men for some odd reason ...

[kemcha]

09:50 AM on 11/09/2011

I simply find the title of his book to be offensive and racist.

[JM Brodie]

02:46 PM on 11/08/2011

Here's an idea. Marry the person you love. Just a thought...

[zuzuzpetals]

02:39 PM on 11/08/2011

I think he's not asking the question at a high enough level of category. It may be that the *nuclear family* is obsolete for everyone in the 21st century downturn in capitalistic economies and use of resources.

The nuclear family is relatively recent in human history and we have usually grouped together in extended family/small tribe groups. This actually sounds more survival positive on a number of levels. And I think we'll return to it over the next 40 years.

And if that's so, then like all great social/economic upheavals, Black Americans are *always* hit hardest and the canaries in the coal mine. But rather than marrying outside race to create again conventional nuclear families--the solution is to redefine the model of marriage itself.

[libertas55]

01:40 PM on 11/08/2011

I, for one, am glad that my wife did not date outside her race. If she had, I would not have found the most wonderful woman in the world, my best friend in the world, and my soul mate. We have had this special relationship through two wonderful children and over 26 years. Hard work? Definitely. But anything worth having is worth working for.

[version]

03:21 PM on 11/08/2011

She is a lucky lady!!!

[noudidnt]

01:09 PM on 11/08/2011

The answer is no. Its for people who are interested in marriage.

[WriterInThePink]

11:14 AM on 11/08/2011

I've dated outside of my ethnicity. I don't understand why more black women don't. Plenty of black men do, but for women, it is still a stigma to do so. I will not be the one passing up Mr. Right just because we aren't the same race. Love doesn't have a color requirement. I'm not sure why that is still difficult for people to understand.

[Shelly Santiago]

12:49 AM on 11/08/2011

I have to agree with him. I don't understand why black women stop dating just because they can't find a black man. I never had any problems with race. It’s all about finding the right person. I dated Italian, German, Korean, White American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Dutch, and African American. I wanted to see what each guy had to offer. The Italian guy wanted me to learn his language, and he was afraid to get married because his mom hated black women. The German guy drank all the time. The Korean guy was starting to get a little too clingy. We only saw each other for six months and he was talking about love…No not good at all.

The white guy was okay, but no real fireworks. The Mexican American..well we will just say it could never work out..I don’t think we could have been able to have children..for reasons I won’t say. The Dutch guy was cute with blonde hair and blue eyes…however he was a cheater. The African American was possessive. I married the Puerto Rican .