Single Black Female: Where have all the Black men gone?

According to statistics, 45% of Black women have never been married.

I'm a 20-year-old, African-American woman and I'm single.

Lets be clear, I'm single by CHOICE! Yes, the choice is mine. It seems that the "dating pool" as far as African-American men are concerned, is quite shallow. I only bring up African-American men specifically because I'm just attracted to them in particular. Not to say that I wouldn't date outside of my race, because I definitely would if the right man came along.

I look back to when I was about 13 years old and I would talk with my girlfriends about how I planned to be married with children by the age of 25. I now measure those dreams against my present reality.

Reality slapped me really hard! As I approached the age of 18, I saw more and more "baby mamas" and not enough wives in the Black community. I also so more and more Black women fighting over the same Black man. I also met some Black brothers who were on the "down low." I saw a lot of Black men going to jail instead of college. And the ones I met in college--- well, lets just say they weren't a match for the man I'd often dreamt about. Hell, they didn't even come close!

Well, I seem to find the not-so-good Black men just fine. So, where have all the good Black men gone?

Some have said that my standards are set too high. My mother always told me that I should never settle for less. If an intelligent, goal-oriented, spiritual man who happens to be easy on the eyes is too much to ask for, I might be single for the rest of my life.

I can only hope that Black men will get it together before I decide to test some new waters.