Enduring
50+ Years of Marriage
BY STEPHANIE BRINKLEY, ESQ.
LOVE IS PARAMOUNT. Whether it’s the way we express care for our parents, jokes shared between siblings, or the adoring eyes of a mother gazing at her child, expressions of love keep us going. And of all the ways we reflect that special four-letter word, romantic love is the most daunting to develop and keep. “My parents were married for 38 years before my dad passed. I saw firsthand what real love looks like,” said LC, a single, 30-something male and Florida native. “But they don’t make love like that anymore…, that R&B love.” • LC may be right. A 2018 study conducted by Bowling Green State University shows just how challenging it can be to find and maintain a long-term marriage. According to the study, the marriage rate among White couples is 32%, while the divorce rate for white couples is just over 15%. Sadly, for Black couples the numbers tell an even more desperate story. The marriage rate for Black couples is 17.3%, while the divorce rate for Black couples sits at an alarming 30.8%.
CHANCE ENCOUNTERS Singles often ponder this age-old question - where do you go to meet a good man or woman? For Dr. Carol Mills, MD and Dr. Earl Mills, MD of Longwood, it was an unexpected encounter at a wedding that sparked their immediate interest in one another. “I was fascinated by her! She was obviously a very bright person, and she impressed me,” said Earl of
his first encounter with his wife of 52 years. At the time, he was a medical student at Howard University College of Medicine, and
• But despite these stark realities, there are glimmers of hope. Radiantly Black sat down with three Central Florida couples who have survived the test of time and proven that enduring love is alive and well in the Black community.
DR. CAROL MILLS, MD AND DR. EARL MILLS, MD OF LONGWOOD
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RADIANTLY BLACK
VOLUME 1 / ISSUE 1
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