ABSTRACT
There are many lenses for viewing the world. If we choose the same lens over and over, we see what we already know and reaffirm established perceptions. A single lens can become like the proverbial hammer that makes everything look like a nail. Marriage is complicated, and when scholars, therapists, and journalists view black couples through the lens of deficiency, it isn’t hard to find problems. The problems become proof that black marriages are unhealthy, unsuccessful, or almost nonexistent, and the justification for a deficiency lens is renewed.
