The session “Human Rights and Relationships of African Americans: Exploring Health and Well-Being” at the 2016 NCFR Annual Conference provided a stimulating conversation about the impact of human rights issues on African American relationships. More specifically, this session—which was aligned with this year’s conference theme “Families and Human Rights: Promise and Vulnerability in the 21st Century”—explored how contextual conditions shape African American relationship behaviors and well-being. Notable factors, such as discrimination, trauma and violence, relationships with law enforcement officials, access to health insurance, and marriage market conditions, represent opportunities to promote justice. The session was cosponsored by the Ethnic Minority and Family Policy sections.

Dr. Chalandra Bryant and colleagues presented a paper that investigated the role of health insurance and marital discord in financial stress and poor physical health. Dr. Antoinette Landor contributed work that examined how race- and skin-tone-based discrimination operate in the lives of African Americans and explored whether such stressors had implications for sexual and romantic relationship health. Stephanie Armes and colleagues examined how racial discrimination affected marital processes and marital quality. Dr. Jocelyn Smith Lee studied how interactions with law enforcement shaped the health and well-being of young African American men. Ebony Williams and Dr. Tera Hurt Jordan discussed how inequalities in education and professional work created challenges for African American women who desired to partner with same-race men. Various theoretical frameworks (e.g., Mundane Extreme Environmental Stress model) and methodological approaches (e.g., structural equation modeling, actor–partner interdependence modeling) were highlighted across the presentations. Audience members raised thought-provoking questions and additional recommendations were offered to strengthen the papers and develop new research.

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