What advice would we each give to a friend, co-worker, relative, or even a stranger who is considering dating outside their race?
My advice would be:
• Keep an open mind
• Do not worry about pleasing his/her family because it is your life and you have to seek happiness for yourself.
• I hope that the family will come around but if not, it is their loss.
• Do not let family or friends dictate whom you should be with, in the end, it is your happiness.
• Be ready to endure the stares and comments.
• Be supportive of each other
• Make sure you are marrying that person for the right reasons and not to seek financial gain
• Develop a friendship first
• Open communication is very important
• Share common traits, otherwise, your relationship will
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I was hopelessly attracted to a white boy in my class that had no idea how I felt. I guess you could say that this was my first experience of puppy love. The boy was very nice to me and perhaps I took that as a sign that he liked me. I do not know to this day if he did or didn’t. I doubt it seriously because back in those days, interracial relationships were pretty much frowned on (late 50’s). After all, Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 was not made law recognizing interracial matrimonies until 1967 (being in the fourth grade was prior to 1967). History tells us although Interracial Marriages was not lawful until 1967; there were secret interracial marriages among blacks, whites and other ethnic groups. I will not get into the different statistics. You can research this for yourself.
As I became older, I felt the thought of dating interracially was a fleeting memory. My teen years were filled with “staying with your own kind” because no one that I knew dated someone outside his/her race. At least, none of my friends or peers dated interracially. I had an uncle who was married to a white woman and my oldest sister was married to a white man. Later in life, my family became a rainbow of colors with nieces, great nieces, and nephews entering into interracial relationships. My family is now a blend of multiple races, as I am sure that many black families