Research Says African-American Women Are The Most Likely To ‘Marry Down’


African-American women over the years have sought out education as a way to pull themselves out the underprivileged category that 27.4 percent of the black population is listed under. This has led to black women in American being the most educated race class in 2010, accounting for 68 percent of the Associates degrees, 66 percent of the Bachelors degrees, and 74 percent of the Master’s degrees earned that year. Being such a highly educated group has given African-American women decent paying jobs and high ranking positions. The only trouble for black women seems to be finding black men whose education and income match theirs.

According to research conducted by the Brookings Institution, black women are more likely to marry a man who is less educated and less financially stable. With African-American men being less likely to have a higher education, black women are left with the choice to marry down or marry out.

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Though the number of interracial marriages has greatly increased over the years, studies show that African-American people are one of the least likely groups to marry outside of their race. They come in second to whites, who, according to the same data, are the least likely to marry interracially.

In 2013, a Princeton alumna, Susan Patton, spoke to a group of women on the troubles they would face in finding a mate after college. Female students, reportedly, did not respond well to Patton’s statements, but they may have been meaningful after all.

“Here’s what nobody is telling you: Find a husband on campus before you graduate. You will never again be surrounded by this concentration of men who are worthy of you.”

Patton’s discourse caused an outrage on Princeton’s campus, which later lead to a media frenzy, labeling the woman as an anti-feminist. But for African-American women, the advice may be beneficial. Because they struggle to find suitable mates after college and refuse to marry non-black men, finding an educated black man might be more realistic while still in school. Though the number of black men enrolled in school is lower than other races, their presence on college campuses is more abundant than many would like to admit.

The common thought that there are more black men in prison than in college is simply not true. The female to male ratio on college campuses could prove to be a problem, especially for African-American women. However, in a scenario where there are 12 black female students to nine black male students who mated, that would only leave three single black women. That would be a huge change from the 70.5 percent of black women in America who have never married. African-American women are reportedly the least likely to marry than any other group in the country.

[Image via PixShark]

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