Oct 04 2008
For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls
I attended a wedding last night. It was a simple ceremony but was quite nice. As I sat looking around me at all of the beautiful black people dressed up to share in the happiness of the couple, I felt proud. I was proud to see my people looking so beautiful. I was proud to see two people expressing love by taking the ultimate step; one that is not often taken in our community.
In the past two years, I have attended two weddings. Before then, I had not attended a wedding since my childhood (I am now 31). It seems that somewhere along the way black people have forgotten how to express love to one another. We are not teaching our children about the joy and value that can be found in marriage. I spoke about this a while back and I firmly believe that if you never see examples of happy black marriages, you never desire to experience it for yourself. As I watched the happy couple tie the knot and pledge a lifetime to one another, I felt inspired to try and make sure that I encourage the ideals of marriage to young people that I meet.
It is only through conversations that are reinforced with real life examples that one can change the tide of opinion that our young people have towards their futures. . . .which currently do not include the distant sounds of wedding bells.
