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"Girl, I Need Me a . . ."

Photo credit: Sidney Baldwin/Focus Features Sanaa Lathan and Simon Baker in "Something New."

By the Hilltop Editorial Board
Black College Wire

Take a close look at Howard University classrooms, or any classroom for that matter, and one will find that the ratio of women to men is alarming. When you listen to conversations about who's dating who and how many women a certain man has, it becomes clear that men are like kids in a candy shop.

Black men are appealing to women of all races, and they are often the objects of serious competition among single black women. There are not enough black men to pass around, unless women want to share.

Who wants to share her man or bend over backward just to get one?

There are so many fabulous but lonely black women and single mothers due to the ratio of eligible men to available women in the black community.

We don't want to beat the issues of black men being incarcerated or homosexual, dating women of other races, or other situations that make black men unavailable to black women.

The media seem to be pairing black women with white men. Many of us watched the new film "Something New" and put some thought into the idea of interracial dating.

Interracial dating is not a new idea, but it has been more commonly linked with black men than white women. Halle Berry, Shar Jackson and others have been spotted with the lighter shades.

A majority of black women, especially on Howard's campus, love black men to death. In reality, however, not everyone will be able to marry her ideal black man and follow up with a picket fence and the "Cosby Show" setup.

The moral of the story is that black women have to be a bit more open in their dating habits.

People of other races do not have cooties (this applies for men, too). If you go on a date with a Hispanic or Caucasian man, it doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

You might just open up and meet a new friend, at the least. There is nothing wrong with having a preference, but being close-minded might result in some lonely nights.

This editorial appeared in the Hilltop at Howard University.

Articles in the Voices section are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of Black College Wire.

Posted Feb. 26, 2006