Unless the less-educated man has achieved his own level of financial or business success, such pairings don't often work, at least not today. In decades past, it was more common for black women to marry men who had less education; that was just a social and economic fact. Though there were probably tensions, they were aired less because couples operated in a more closed society and they often encountered couples like them.

Life is different today. Men with less education may not feel as comfortable in circles the woman frequents. (This is also true for black men who marry less-educated women, but you don't generally find that as much today.) There may also be some resentment or fear that the woman may leave if she meets a man closer to her educational level. My parents were both very intelligent people. My mother had a college degree, but my father did not. That uncomfortable tension was always present. You not only have to love the other person, but you must also be able to live with them comfortably. Those differences will come to tell on a relationship one way or another.