Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage
I’m such a fan of Lamar and Ronnie Tyler, the power couple behind one of my favorite websites, BlackandMarriedWithKids. Every day of the week, the Tylers live and breath the mantra that black love is beautiful, possible and alive, and they use their website to remind us, too, to treasure it and hold it dear. So dedicated to that mantra are they that they’ve produced a documentary about it, aptly titled, “Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage.”
Last month, The Tylers gave Nick and I the distinct honor of being interviewed for their film; they travelled from their home in D.C. to our place here in Atlanta, set up their camera and lights in our living room, and then asked us a barrage of incredibly intelligent, insightful questions about African American marriages, parenting, images, culture and the like. And just yesterday, they released a new trailer for the documentary, featuring, among other couples and relationship experts, lil’ ol’ us! That’s Nick and I in the very beginning, talking about how we black folk play a major part in the negative images associated with our community.
Thanks, Lamar and Ronnie, for trusting our voices in your project. The straight-to-DVD project will be released and available for purchase sometime this month. I’ll keep you all posted on the DVD’s availability. In the meantime, check out the new trailer below.
Aight!! Tell 'em girl!! That's awesome! Congrats, you were lookin' good! And I can't wait to see the full DVD!
You guys look GREAT!
The trailer is great and the guy at the end almost made me tear (I'm such a sucker for guys crying).
this is sooooo important!!! thanks!
Oh my goodness. This looks great! I can't believe you are a movie star : ).
Great trailer….marriage is hard work and worth every bit of it! Zena
How odd is it that despite how many really great marriages out there..all I hear about are those who are "famous" You are a great writer don't get me wrong but why you. Why are those the only one spotlighted. Your mom of the week are other bloggers who have sucessful businesses. But what about the mom who works 2 jobs just to make ends meet. Or the dad who works and goes to school to support his family and offer him his wife and gets a better life. I feel its high time to spread the love. What was wrong with talking to your everyday worker who happens to be married. I wish you well in you endeavors but I'm being "real". GODMOMMA
can't wait to buy it D…thanks for sharing.
I can't wait to see the documentary. Looks fantastic.
Also, I meant to drop you a note on Facebook about this – I thought your hair was soo cute. That was exactly the look I was going for when I said I wanted to go natural. I've got a little fro now, and I'm not really feeling short hair, but I'm working it! 🙂
Thanks for this. It looks insightful and most of all inspiring (for those times when you want to karate chop your other half for leaving the toilet seat up or eating all the cookies from the kids.) It's beyond time we see black marriage in a positive light. It DOES exist. It's strong and even thriving.
@ Felicia: LOL!!! Ah, the karate chop… I could be Bruce Lee around here if I handed that one out every time some mess went down around the Millner/Chiles household!
@ Tara: Thank you! I've had natural hair for almost eight years, and while I love it, it's HARD to maintain. Right now, I have a weave… I got it just to give my hair a break. Nick wrote about it in a blog I'll be running soon, and I did, too, in a blog that will be running on another site. Stay tuned!
@The Rambler: Girl, me too. Any man who can get that emotional over his kids is all right with me!
@Zena: So glad to see you here!!!
@Godmomma: Baby if you think I'm famous, then I'm scared of you. I got eight piles of laundry that need to be done, the sink is full of dirty dishes, I haven't a clue what's for dinner to night, and I work hard EVERYDAY. If I were famous? Shoot, all of that would be handled and I'd be off in Neiman Marcus, spending up a grip of money. Alas, I'm a regular chick from Long Island, who grew up in a regular house with some real regular parents who worked in factories all their lives. First one to go to college. First one to hold a "white collar" job. Married to a real regular brother and I got some real regular kids. Now if they were interviewing Jada and Will, I could see your point. But what you saw up top was two minutes of a documentary in which Lamar and Ronnie interviewed A LOT of married folks–some famous, many not–singing the praises of married black folks doing the doggone thing–loving hard and strong, taking care of their families, and making a way out of no way, against the odds. You certainly don't have to be rich or famous to do this.
As for the "why you" part of the question: You'll have to check in with Lamar and Ronnie on that one, but I think they reached out to me and Nick because they know we're extremely passionate about the topic. I've written five books on the subject, have written about the topic in several national magazines, and dedicate a large chunk of my blog to it. It's really that simple.
As for the Moms of the Week: No disrespect to my past moms of the week, but Angelina Jolie is a famous mom. Angela Bassett is a famous mom. Halle Berry? Famous mom. MyBrownBaby's moms of the week? Just like you and me. Hit me with an email and I'd be glad to feature you in an upcoming post.
D.
As a newlywed..love this! love, love, love it!
thanks for sharing I look forward to buying it. CG
*APPLAUSE* Love it! My friend Akilah and her husband Kamau just started a similar effort. They wrote a book called The Love Ethic:
http://www.twinlineal.com/the%20love%20ethic%20book%20page.html
Please check them out in the spirit of collaboration.
It's about time we worked on reinventing our image as a race and culture, which starts with the how our families are portrayed.
p.s. LOVE the hair!
I love BMWK and I think what Ronnie and Lamar are doing is so important and fantastic! I cannot wait to see the full documentary. Denene, you look good girl! Make me want to go natural.
I'm really excited to see this film, and I know my husband will be too. They're absolutely right in that we're tired of seeing the way black marriages are portrayed, and I'm sooo happy to finally have a true depiction of the way we see ourselves.
And I love your hair too! As a sista who's on her road to natural (6 months since my last relaxer), I'm encouraged when I see some of my favorite women who are able to rock natural hair and make it look great!
I can't wait to see this doc. I'm so excited about it. Thank you for sharing.
Looks great! Can't wait to watch it! I always knew you were a superstar!
Winks & Smiles,
Wifey