Unlike any other Black man in the world, the Black man in America has survived the 400 plus year old lineage of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.  Furthermore, he survived being robbed of his culture, language, God, family, education, and nature.  Yet, today he suffers severely from broken homes and family structure as he once knew it before being brought to America.  These factors are significant to his current success or lack thereof to experience closeness and intimacy within male: female relationships as he truly desires to.  As a result, the current image and life style of the Black man in America conveys a lack of interest, desire, and effort to experience and facilitate intimacy within a male: female relationship.

A more accurate account of how much value or emphasis is placed on intimacy by Black men is needed.  Also, any positive correlations between age, family structure, previous and present experience in relationships will be discussed. This study seeks to answer the  questions of how successful Black men will be in intimate relationships, if he so chooses to, and if Black men in America are interested in intimacy and being intimate in relationships, according to their own definition of the word.

There have been implications that women, with the exception of some, view and judge Black men in a general manner contributing all wrongs done by a few to the entire population as to imply that the negative behavior define what it means to be a Black man.  This study seeks neither to prove or disprove the above statement, but to understand the root or why that conception or misconception exists.  Thus, to know what it means to be a Black man in America you must ask one.