I often feel like love and marriage are portrayed as an anomaly in the Black community.

I won’t deny that there is a breakdown in familial structure in our community that needs to be mended; it is unfortunate however that the media rarely discusses successful Black relationships. If we allowed the mainstream to define what Black love looked like you’d think that it didn’t exist. 

While Barack Obama’s presidential campaign changed the face of politics in our country, it also served as a very powerful and public reminder that Black love is alive and well. Barack and Michelle Obama’s deep love and respect for each other is not only beautiful, it has reaffirmed for all of us that it is possible. When that MAN looks at HIS WOMAN, there is no question that he is hers and that she is his. In the age of she’s got her own vs. all men are dogs…it has been simply refreshing to watch the gentle caresses, tender embraces, and whispers of “I love you. “ 

Here are my Top 10 Favorite Black Couples of All Time:

1. 1. Barack & Michelle Obama
2. 2. Will Smith & Jada Pinkett-Smith
3. 3. Denzel & Pauletta Washington
4. 4. Bill & Camille Cosby
5. 5. Ozzie Davis & Ruby Dee
6. 6. Jay-Z & Beyonce
7. 7. Courtney B. Vance & Angela Bassett
8. 8. Samuel L. Jackson & LaTanya Richardson
9. 9. Kimora Lee & Djimon Hounsou
10. 10. Oprah Winfrey & Stedman Graham

—sueZette yasmin robotham

TAGS: ANGELA BASSETT, Beyonce, BILL COSBY, CAMILLE COSBY, COURTNEY B. VANCE, DENZEL WASHINGTON, DJIMON HOUNSOU, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Jay-Z, Kimora Lee, OPRAH WINFREY, OZZIE DAVIS, Pauletta Washington, Relationships, RUBY DEE, STEDMAN GRAHAM, sueZette yasmin robotham, Will Smith