Introduction Importance of The Study America Has Had a Complicated History With
African Americans
America has had a complicated history with African Americans (Leary, 2005; Staples,
1985). Slaves were transported as labor and not treated as humans with equal rights and
freedoms as were those of European descent. Throughout this document, the terms African
American and Black will be used interchangeably to better capture the diverse definitions of
African descendants (Martin, 1991). Slaves were forced to live together in deplorable conditions.
African men and women were forced to live, work, and procreate with one another to maintain
the labor needs of the European slave owners (Leary, 2005). Laws prohibited slaves from
learning to read, write, or other forms of advancement. Black men were whipped, chained, and
even killed if they looked at a woman of European descent without permission (Horton &
Horton, 2005). For hundreds of years, Blacks in America lacked the freedom to determine their
familial relationships (Horton & Horton, 2005). Relationships could be determined by the slave
owners because slaves were seen as the plantation owner’s property. Slave owners would buy
slaves and arrange relationships with other slaves in order to raise more slaves (Leary, 2005).
Oftentimes this would destroy already established family lines and relationships. The frequent
selling of slaves between plantations impacted the development of romantic relationships
between Black men and Black women.
The historical treatment of African Americans has impacted romantic relationships within
the African American community (Betha, 1995; Bae et al., 2020; Leary, 2005). Similarly, to how
the perceptions of African American’s by non- African Americans have changed throughout
history, and as these negative perceptions about African Americans have changed, African
Americans were afforded similar rights as Caucasians. In 1865, the U.S. prohibited slavery. For
,many ethnic groups, intraracial dating was the norm and law. As freed African American slaves
began to purchase land and build their own communities, they were still forced to remain in
heterosexual relationships with other African Americans. During the post – slavery era to the
early 1960’s romantic relationships within the African American community were successful and
flourishing (Besharov et al., 1996; Kelly et al., 2013; Leary, 2005; Ross, 1996). Besharov et al.
(1996) described African American families as happier during this time. There was increased
collaboration, higher rates of marriage amongst Blacks compared to now, and family meals were
a staple in the family (Besharov et al., 1996; Cready et al., 1997). The African American
community began to prosper economically, socially, and politically (Leary, 2005). Despite the
success developed within the African American community, there continued to be barriers to
equality, including but not limited to the miscegenation laws, which prohibited interracial dating
and marriage. It was not until about 1967 that all anti-miscegenation laws were abolished in the
U.S. (Thompson, 2009). The case of Loving versus Virginia was the first law on record that
stated that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (Cline, 2019; Head, 2019). For the first time in America's
history, there was the legal freedom for African Americans and other racial/ethnic groups in
choosing whom they dated or married. The long-term effects of slavery upon the romantic
relationships between African American men and women has still not been adequately explored.
Currently, there is minimal research regarding the decisions of African American males on not
engaging in romantic relationships with African American women. Interracial dating has
increased amongst all cultures and ethnic groups (Mendelsohn et al., 2014; Passel et al., 2010).
However, African Americans are three times more likely to marry outside of their race, which is
higher than any other racial or ethnic group (Passel et al., 2010). Passel et al. (2010) research
,found that African American males married outside of their race 22% of the time compared to
African American women, who married outside of their race 9% of the time. This is congruent
with Pew Research (2017) that found that African American men marry outside of their race
more than any other race.
The dynamic of romantic relationships between Black men and women continues to be
debated (Simons et al., 2012). Because Black men appear to date and marry interracially more
frequently than any other group (Livingston et al., 2017; Passel et al., 2010), it is possible that
Black men may have a stronger preference for interracial dating comparatively to all other
groups, and thus have unique perspectives regarding interracial dating. This qualitative research
study was specifically designed to explore the lived experiences of heterosexual, African
American males related to their disengagement from romantic relationships with African
American females. The primary goal of this study is to begin to close the gap in our
understanding of Black men’s perceptions of romantic relationship development with Black
women. This research hopes to provide counselors and other helping professionals with a better
understanding of intraracial dating within the African American community from Black men’s
perspectives, thus, better equipping counselors in engaging with African American men and
women regarding relationship development.
Statement of the Problem
Since the early origins of America, minorities – particularly African Americans – have
been enslaved, oppressed, robbed, and treated as “less than” (Williams, 2019). Minorities have
been subjected to hate, but over time minorities have slowly gained access to their legal rights
and opportunities. In 1967, minorities began to receive more freedom in dating choices because
anti-miscegenation laws were deemed unconstitutional (Thompson, 2009). Since the abolishment
, of anti-miscegenation laws the rates of interracial dating and marriage have increased for both
whites and minorities (Livingston et al., 2017; Maldonado, 2017; Passel et al., 2010). The growth
of interracial dating within the U.S. has helped to make great strides in equality for minorities. It
is important to note that this researcher believes in the freedom of choice in dating and values
interracial dating. The researcher wants to better understand why African American males are
choosing not to date intraracially. Because there is an increase of interracial dating for African
American males more than any other group (Maldonado, 2017; Passel et al., 2010), the
researcher is justified in examining why this may be occurring within the African American
community.
The stark difference between African American males’ and females’ rates of intraracial
dating may impact the way that African American men and women view each other
romantically. African American women have historically been more likely to intraracially date
(Maldonado, 2017; Moore, 2012; Passel et al., 2010), and without a population of African
American men available to date, this may affect their view of self, relationship satisfaction and
view of African American males (Abrams et al., 2018; Simons et al., 2012; Yancey, 2009).
Black women may be the least likely group to date interracially due to the collectivistic nature of
Black culture. In collectivistic Black culture, group members emphasize the importance of the
communal goal, an example of this is working towards equality for African Americans,
comparatively to individualistic culture that focuses primarily on the needs of the individual over
the needs of the group (Leary, 2005; Ross, 1996). Historically, African American culture has
been considered more collectivistic in comparison to the more individualistic culture of the
dominant society (Bethea, 1995). Being a member of a collectivistic culture increases the
likelihood to have a preference for intraracial dating (Kelley et al., 2003; Simons et al., 2012;
