The Marriage Cure
In 2003, The New Yorker published an article from Katherine Boo (of New America), which discussed "The Marriage Cure", as a possible cure for poverty. You can read the full article here: "The Marriage Cure". A warning that this post is Panama-length, but it's worth it. Trust me.
Some background:
Oklahoma has rarely found itself in the vanguard of antipoverty thinking, but the class to which the two women were heading embodies a vigorous new idea -- something known locally as "the marriage cure." Traditionally, singleness has been viewed as a symptom of poverty. Today, however, a politically heterodox cadre of academics is arguing that singleness -- and particularly, single parenthood -- is one of poverty's primary causes, for which matrimony might be a plausible tonic. For the past few years, the state of Oklahoma has been converting this premise into policy. In an initiative praised by the Bush Administration, which aims to seed marriage-promotion programs nationwide, the state has deputized public-relations firms, community leaders, and preachers (among them the pastor at Holy Temple Baptist Church) to take matrimony's benefits to the people. Last summer, that marriage drive reached Sooner Haven. "Come learn about relationships!" said the recruiter who knocked on the housing project's beat-up doors.
And more (a passage that hits way too close to home):
Her husband had remarried six months after the divorce; Corean had had one second date in twelve years...One unacknowledged consolation of struggling in the inner city is the lack of time one has to indulge romantic discontent. It was letting go of her children, more than losing her husband, that had caused the Reverend Doctor Mom to notice that she was alone.
and more:
As Orlando Patterson, of Harvard, a scholar of black marriage patterns, recently observed, African-Americans remain "among the most un-partnered and estranged individuals in the world."
and even more:
From this counseling, Pastor Young has come to share the belief of many marriage-initiative advocates: that men more than women need convincing on this point. Thus he sees it as an unhappy but unavoidable fact that women are this social policy's beasts of burden. Having already complied with social and economic pressures to work, poor women were now being asked to do something that their government had so far failed at: push their male counterparts into the cultural and economic mainstream.
whew. Ok, the background is set, so I can delve into my thoughts. Meanwhile, you really should read the entire article. Katherine Boo's writing really illustrates not only what is right and wrong with these programs, but a robust portrait of what poverty in post-welfare reform affected areas (Oklahoma, South Georgia, etc.) really looks and feels like.
My thoughts after the jump...
I came through the door, and said it before:: It's imperative to our community to fix our relationship issues. The marriage-initiatives provide another reason why: to combat poverty. And whether you think it's a holdover from an organized plot formulated and executed by the government, or a symptom of a shift in overall societal values that hit the African-American community a bit harder, it's beyond dispute: we as a people aren't getting married. Hit the archives above if you want more info. But the article either explicitly or implicitly states some important points that I'd like to revisit:
Black Men & Marriage:: getting women to the table for this discussion is the easy part. It's the menfolk that need convincing. After all, "Marriage is for White People". Ask black men why they aren't getting married, and they'll say having grown up in single parent households, they have no examples of the benefits of marriage, the don't understand the spiritual significance of marriage, it's impact on raising children and they fear that one woman can't satisfy all their needs.
Don't get me wrong. Marriage definitely isn't a cure-all.
economics, the Chicken or the Egg?:: The article illustrates other reasons, that fall under one umbrella: economics. If you're at a bus stop, and a guy is hitting on you, the two of you getting hitched ain't gonna put the two of you in a Lexus. We need jobs, we need an education, we need equal access to reasonable credit instruments, we need...a whole lot of other economic "things" to get us back treading water. But did we get swept away by economic forces that forced us to not get married, or did we not get married, so that economic forces hit us harder than most? Steven Ruggles and Catherine Fitch, of the Minnesota Population Center, completed a 2005 study that discusses part of this paradox. The results weren't conclusive, and more investigation was suggested - the chicken vs. egg paradox remains. Their study includes some graphics that show how dramatic the marriage decline in our community really was/is, and also how women were hit a bit harder (interracial marriage). I uploaded an abbreviated version of their presentation for those with a short attention span.
marriage as a panacea:: that's cure-all in laymen's terms. On first, second and third readings, it sounds like the equivalent of putting Neosporin on a broken arm with an infection. Maybe it'll cure some of the infection. Maybe it'll make some of the pain dissipate. But it won't set the arm, and it won't heal the arm, and it won't get rid of all the problems associated with said arm. Marriage won't "fix what's broke". So when reading about healthy marriage initiatives, and govenment progams/policies to promote them, I have an eye out on what other programs or policies are also being implemented to "fix what's broke". Our community needs economic programs in tandem with this.
Hows-n-ever - I've had numerous professors, both of the Social Sciences departments and even in B-school, profess the benefits of marriage. Most recently, a professor tied the success of entrepreneurs, particularly the truly "wealthy", to their marital status. The hypothesis there is simple (and a lil "hood"): "chasing p*ssy is expensive and time-consuming...and the cash/time you save as a married entrepreneur can be better invested in your budding business". No empirical data here, but it sounds like common sense. And that's where I stand as far as marriage is concerned....I don't think it's a cure all, but when applied properly...it helps.
A recommendation: If you want reasons why you should get married, the Institute for American Values provided a report on "The Consequences of Marriage for African Americans" (including a pseudo top ten list), which is detailed here. But I'll give you just the list (sans details):
- Marriage clearly appears to promote the economic, social, familial, and psychological well-being of African American men and women.
- While both Black men and Black women receive a marriage premium, this premium in most cases appears to be larger for men.
- Economically, marriage appears to benefit Blacks more than Whites.
- Overall, Black women appear to benefit from marriage substantially less than do White women.
- Black-White differences in marital quality seem to constitute an important reason why Black adults, and particularly Black women, typically benefit less from marriage than do Whites.
- Parental marriage produces important benefits for African American children.
- Parental marriage appears to be especially important for the well-being of young African American males.
- # In some areas, Black children seem to benefit more from parental marriage than do White children, whereas in other areas, the reverse is true.
- The reasons for some apparent racial differences in the consequences of marriage for children are not clear, and further research in this area is needed.
- For policy makers who care about Black America, marriage matters.
Comments
This is a lot to process at 1:33 a.m., but I'm going to print out this entry and discuss it. Many of my friends (sistas and brothas) are considering marriage and we've been discussing the benefits and downside of marriage. I've got to share this with them.
Posted by: Aziza | March 21, 2008 01:44 AM