16 Famous Black Couples Who’ve Been Married for Over a Decade

Statistics indicate that marriage rates are lower in the African American community than in other groups. A Yale study found that only 42 percent of black women are married. Other studies suggest that educated urban black women, in particular, face challenges in finding a suitable spouse. This is partly because many successful black men pursue interracial relationships whereas a 2013 study found only 12 per cent of black women married outside their race. Another stat says that 72 percent of black babies are born to unwed moms. These types of studies are often controversial and hotly disputed, but there does seem to be a marriage crisis going on in black America, and perhaps America in general is shifting its values on the matrimony front. However, all is not hopeless. Most people want to believe that true love exists, and that it’s possible for marriages to last. These famous black couples have proved both by lasting for over ten years, and some much longer.

1. Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson

Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson met in a class at Morehouse College. They married in 1980 and have been together since – that’s 42 years strong! Together they have a daughter named Zoe.