Sometimes Rhythm, Sometimes Blues: Young African Americans on Love, Relationships, Sex, and the Search for Mr. Right
Are African-American relationships in crisis? If so, who's to blame: A shrinking pool of eligible Black bachelors afraid to commit, or a consumerist generation of women acting, as one writer asserts, like "the new men"? In this riveting, brave, and unabashed collection, both men and women reach beyond the hype to explore the complex, varied, and rhythmic backdrop to the African-American search for love and lasting partnerships.
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Today’s women expect it all: a successful career, an understanding and equally successful mate, and children—all wrapped up in a white picket fence. But recent studies show that while black women have ascended to form a new middle class and have attained success in the business sector, black men haven’t followed suit. Perhaps as a result, with other sociological and economic factors at play, many successful sistahs are having trouble finding a partner to call their own. Sometimes Rhythm, Sometimes Blues is a groundbreaking anthology that explores the many reasons why—analyzing materialism and financial expectations, single motherhood, bling-bling culture, media representations of African-American gender roles, missing fathers, incarcerated partners, and more—and offers hope from women who have beaten the odds. Writers including Kevin Powell and Victor LaValle weigh in on the men’s side in a “Talking Back” section, while female contributors include Kiini Ibura Asalaam, Shawn E. Rhea, Shani O’Neal, and Asha Bandele.Library JournalIn an effort to clarify the state of relationships in the black community, network news journalist Smith has assembled 25 mostly unfamiliar writers who bare their souls, discussing burning issues like marriage, infidelity, and single parenting. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
IntroductionInterview with Audrey B. ChapmanA Tangled Web We've Weaved: Exploring the Complexities of African-American Relationships1When Conception Equals Confusion: The Battle Between Mothers and Would-Be Fathers3The Edge: Topography of a First Date in Prison11Dance Like Nobody's Watching17Marriage: The Unfulfilled Prophecy25Retracing Our Steps: An Examination of the Personal Histories that Shape Us33The Trial35Black, White, and Seeing Red All Over49Different Ways of Saying I Love You59Las Cartas del Alma de Pedro Valentin Carol Almeraz65The Bride Price79Bass87I'll Sing You a Song from My Soul: The Love Stories97The Gift of Breath99Baggage Claim107Pack Light119Love Down Under131What One Dance Can Do137For Better or Worse: African-American Marriages Under the Microscope149Me and My Marine: Holding Fast in Love and Faith151Don't Judge a Brother by His Cover167Co-Parenting: Stay-at-Home Dads and Other Family Constructs173Notes on My First Year of Marriage181Talking Back: Black Men Speak191Love Letters193Big Time201Wilderness 101207I Don't Need No Man: Does a New Kind of "Bling-Bling" Feminism Create a False Sense of Emotional Empowerment?215The World of Yes221Acknowledgments233About the Contributors237About the Editor247
\ Library JournalIn an effort to clarify the state of relationships in the black community, network news journalist Smith has assembled 25 mostly unfamiliar writers who bare their souls, discussing burning issues like marriage, infidelity, and single parenting. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\ \
