What are some unique challenges to marriage facing the African American community?
Ja’Ola: There are some cultural differences. For the first 20 years, we put our curriculum on tape because many in the African American community are more auditory in their learning style. Now we’ve converted it to CDs and DVDs. Also, we use a lot of humor and are keep things very practical and down to earth, to reach people where they are. We’ve added music and drama. We also deal with some of the issues we see specifically in the black community. One of the things I teach on is how to talk to a black man, because there is a whole stereotype of black women and their communication — for example, the hand on the hip and the swiveling of the neck. We want to break through the stereotypes. We teach how to deal with strongholds in the African American community, because there are some things that have been passed from one generation to the next. Have you noticed any gender-specific obstacles to marriage within black culture? Clarence: The historical role of the African American woman for
