Black Marriage: An Evolution of Black Love
Being black is beautiful! And, it is truly a blessing. So let’s take a moment to celebrate ourselves + the black community and chat a bit about black marriage. If you are an African American couple please be sure to check out my Black Wedding Inspirations board on Pinterest. You will find tons of photos and videos of vintage black wedding inspirations and tons of decor inspirations..
Black marriage is a LUXURY! However, Black HISTORY has been taken out of the school systems, so we tend to not acknowledge or honor it. I want to challenge my generation of Millennials and Generation Z to do some research on black history and black marriage. Discover how it came about and how important it really is. I consider black marriage a luxury because of what it took for black people to obtain this status of relationship and respect in society.
Black people have come a long way of being Kings and Queens in Africa and different areas of the world to navigating through the triangular trade and becoming slaves. A slave is someone who is legal property of another and is forced to obey them.
Slave Masters would regularly divide couples from one another, and did not allow parents to interact with their children. This is where the myth of Black parents not wanting to be in their children's lives or not having great parental skills derives from.
Do you really know what it was like to be a slave or be someone’s property? Slaves were not able to express themselves, eat healthy food, or sleep in humane conditions. They were told what to do, what to eat, where to go and treated like animals. Black women were often raped for the pleasure of their masters and black men were beat just for existing. So life as we see it today is a luxury! And when I say it is a luxury, I mean we should treat it as such.
With the way black men and women were treated, black love should be celebrated in today’s society. African Americans did not have the right to take part in civil or religious weddings, which would allow them to have access to legal privileges like everyone else. Black people did not have the right to marriage until the year of 1866 by the Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act allowed black people the opportunity to own or sell personal property, enter into contracts, and have access to basic human rights.
We have been on a quest for social justice and equality for many years. A way out with social control. Marriage is simply a way to constitute your love and commitment to someone else. Imagine this being denied to you simply because of the color of your skin. Marriage was a way for black people to show they were human. Marriage was symbolic with no expectation of it being perfect but having meaning.
After obtaining such social status to marry, the U.S Supreme court launched the Loving vs. Virginia case which prevented interacial marriage. Still finding a way to stop the evolution of black love, black marriage, and black status. They considered interacial relationships Miscegenation; any marriage or interbreeding among different races.
Black Marriage and Interracial Marriage are amazing unions, full of love, andhappiness. I wanted to highlight Black Love because it is often overlooked, overshadowed, or disbanded for whatever ideologies that are floating around the universe. If we simply change the way we think about black marriage and use it as a tool to create a wealthy and loving community, who knows what kind of positive influence we can create.
African American Wedding Traditions
Jumping The Broom
Jumping the broom is a tradition that takes place at black weddings where the couple jumps over a broom. This tradition originated from African American slaves, as a way to recognize their marriage, because they were not allowed to legally marry.
Tying the Knot
Some people believe that “Tying the Knot” is just a phrase used to symbolize marriage, however, it is actually a custom done at weddings that derives from Africa. Before a couple says their vows, their wrists would be tied together with a rope and during the vows the officiant or pastor would tie a knot to confirm their promises and commitment to one another.
Communion
Many couples in the black community are very religious and implement their religious traditions or customs into their wedding day. Communion is a practice that honors the death of Jesus Christ. Communion provides couples with the security of knowing their marriage will be blessed by God.
