Much has been written about Black Love – songs, books and
poems. There are movies and reality shows dedicated to understanding and
celebrating the way Black men and women love each other. Perhaps, our
fascination is rooted in the early denial of the legal marriage uniting an
enslaved man and woman.
Enslavers wanted to prevent legal marriage because it gave a
couple rights over each other which conflicted with the enslavers’ claims.
Marriage would have also added an element of stability enslavers opposed. In
lieu of legal recognition, enslaved couples “jumped the broom”
which was a public declaration of their intentions to settle down in a
committed relationship.
After the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment
which ended slavery, one of the first rights the newly freed Black Americans
did was marry. Historians report a wave of African American marriages soon
after the end of the war.
The Freedman’s Bureau recorded marriages. States and other
organizations also offered formal documentation of longstanding relationships.
Ironically, after the war, Blacks were disproportionately penalized if they
were not married.
According to the Freedman’s Bureau,
former slaves Benjamin Berry Manson and Sarah Ann Benton White received an
official marriage certificate on April 19, 1866, which suggests they were the
first legally married African American couple. They had been together since
1843 – but lived intermittently on separate farms — and had 16 children.