Couples Renew Vows on "Black Marriage Day," Do We Really Need Another Black-Themed Observance?

Houston celebrates "Black Marriage Day" in push to increase marriage in the black community. Do we really need another black-themed observance?

I was surprised to learn that we have another "black" event. This time, it's called Black Marriage Day. It was a day that black couples renewed their vows and activists urged more Texans, specially black Texans, to get married. This observance has been in effect since 2003, and "The Obama Effect" is playing a big role. You know, President Barack and Michelle Obama became the poster couple for black marriage.

According to 2009 U.S. Census Bureau reports, black females ages 35 to 44 are the only American women in their child-bearing years with lower marriage rates than men of the same race or ethnicity. By their early 40s, 31 percent of black women have never been wives, whereas nine percent of white women, 11 percent of Asian women and 12 percent of Hispanic women have never been married. The outlook for the traditional family is also bleaker for black Texans, who have the state's highest divorce and out-of-wedlock birth rates, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services figures.

In 2005, black Texans had a divorce rate – 21.9 percent – nearly double the rate for Hispanics, 11.4 percent. Sixteen percent of Anglos were divorced. In Texas and nationwide, two-thirds of black children are born to unmarried mothers. Nearly half of all Hispanic mothers are not married when they deliver, compared with one in four white Texas mothers, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Source: Houston Chronicle

There are a myriad of problems in the black community and a break-down of the family structure is one of the primary problems. These problems are bigger than just having a day to take these issues seriously. There are many prominent blacks who were reared in a single-parent household and have risen above the hardships experienced during their youth, but that was then. Today, there are far too many young black men running afoul of the law because they do not have a male figure in their home. Still, there are exceptions to this. I have no doubt that marriage must be encouraged in the black community that has seen its marriage numbers erode because some eligible black men are either incarcerated, homosexuals, in interracial relationships or have delayed marriage for a variety of reasons. My position is that another black-themed observance isn't the way to fix what ails our community.

Black Marriage Day, created by journalist Nisa Muhammad, was started in response to low rates of black marriage. Muhammad's, executive director of the Washington-based Wedded Bliss Foundation, efforts were featured on CNN's Black in America 2 documentary.