"The myth of the black love deficit"

Great class today! We wrapped our dialogue on Black Love and Beauty. Today we discussed a short essay by Lerone Bennett Jr. called The Roots of Black Love. Bennett challenges "the myth of the Black Love deficit"-- commonly held views that plantation slavery and Jim Crow destroyed black intimacy and led directly to contemporary social challenges in the Black community like single-parent households, high divorce rates, absent fathers and so on. Last week we discussed effeminization, sexuality, hair politics, hyper-masculinity, the "cool pose" and Malcolm X on self love and loving Africa.

You can read the Bennett essay @ Ebony - Google Books

Tags: Black Love, african american, 

Also dig:

• "My Last Will and Testament": A Love Letter to Black People by Mary McCleod Bethune