Black and Single

Bill Curtis

Nineties Romantic Journey
—a Bill Curtis Book Review

In the revised, updated book, Black and Single—Meeting and Choosing a Partner Who's Right For You, Dr. Larry E. Davis takes on the formidable, if not near impossible, task of writing about contemporary Black romance heading toward the 21st century.

Black and Single—Meeting and Choosing a Partner Who's Right For You is an intelligent presentation of a subject that typically triggers emotional mortal combat between the sexes. Usually, the women bash the men and the men bash the women, but Dr. Davis takes the high road by coupling research data with social theory to weave explanations, tips and dating-approach information to bring order to romantic chaos. If the reader is ready to stop the bashing-game, then Black and Single—Meeting and Choosing a Partner Who's Right For You could prove worth the read.

Perceiving fairness and experiencing happiness is the key to beginning to understand successful romance dynamics. Dr. Davis deals with the intangible, non-material question of "fairness." According to Dr. Davis, "fairness is the feeling that you are receiving as much as you feel you deserve, even when your rewards may differ from what outsiders expect. This is especially true when considering qualities of an emotional nature, such as caring and support. But the principle remains the same—there must be a sense of fairness."

Fairness requires deliberate thought. "Understanding the dynamics of fairness", says Dr. Davis, "is "crucial for Black couples, because they so often are faced with situations that are unconventional in terms of the mainstream white society". He goes on to say that "changes in employment opportunities available for Black males and Black females, even more so than for whites, require that Black couples contribute to their relationships what they can, and ignore gender expectations as to who should contribute what."

Black and Single—Meeting and Choosing a Partner Who's Right For You exposes a myriad of behaviors and vitalizing ideas useful to successfully navigate a 90's romantic journey. Some given treatment include power; attitude; dating with children; love, like or merely lust; and dating scene mechanics.

Dr. Davis respects reader intelligence. He raises reader expectations regarding successful romantic possibility; however, if the romance falls short of success, then at least the journey was an adventure. Equally useful to singles and married couples, this book speaks volumes to the strengths of successful romance. If you can stand your mind being stretched from the shape of what you think you already know, then Black and Single—Meeting and Choosing a Partner Who's Right For You could turn your head to look at an old problem from some very new angles. Must-Read-Reading: MRR***1/2