Back in the day, interracial dating and relationships just didn’t happen. Even if a person was truly attracted to another person of a different color, heritage or ethnicity, the weight of societal, family, religious and cultural pressures would prevent you from ever considering to pursue a relationship with someone you connect with and have real feelings for. Back then, in a true love vs. social outcast scenario – the threat of being ostracized always wins.
Today, our in ever progressing culture, society has loosened up on its acceptance of interracial relationships even if but very little. Still we keep moving forward; there are even dating sites now that specialize in interracial dating. Sure, there will always be people out there to stare, judge, and criticize others for exploring outside the social norm, but is there really anything fundamentally or morally wrong with someone falling in love with the person that they feel deeply, passionately and physically attracted to?
Lets look at another species. It is an interesting fact that birds somehow never cross the barriers of their species; for them, is it a pre-hard wired, programming?…yes and no. Some birds do in fact cross breed but only if they’re closely related or descended from a common ancestor. But birds, for the most part, cannot cross breed because their genetic makeup is incompatible and their respective genes are too different to recombine successfully to produce a new hybrid embryo. It would be like a human trying to breed successfully with a baboon. Naturally our instincts tells us that this won’t work – just the same as it is for birds.
Dogs, on the other hand, as everyone knows – well that’s a different story. A dog will try to cross breed with your leg if you let them. Obviously they’re not built with the same natural or genetic parameters.
What does the Bible have to say?
Unfortunately prejudice and racism are still worldwide issues. In countries that have a melting pot of races in its population the question of whether or not interracial dating is an acceptable practice for Christians is appropriate.
Acts 10:28 – “He said to them: ‘You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.’ “
So, Is It Biblical?
As you can see, the Bible doesn’t have any prohibition in dating someone of another race. While culture may be more prohibitive of interracial dating and marriage, God accepts all people no matter who they are. God’s Word tells us that dating should be based more on beliefs than on racial concerns and that people need to be equally yoked to one another rather than share a skin color.
On the other hand, can you blame a person for feeling uncomfortable or showing pause or concern when their sixteen-year-old son or daughter brings home a dating interest of a completely different culture or race?
“The divorce rate of interracial marriages is 75%. It is believed that many who engage in mixed unions have profound emotional problems and/or are drug users. Often they seek to mock society’s norms or are in rebellion against their parents.
To young people of the late 1990’s, it seems inconceivable that all of organized society once actively opposed the mating of Whites with non-Whites. Those few who dared voice support for such an abomination were generally regarded as depraved crackpots. Most states had Anti-Miscegenation laws that trade sexual relations between the races. One could be imprisoned for mating outside of the White race.
This changed with Franklin Roosevelt and the onset of the Civil Rights era. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated all state laws forbidding interracial marriage. From that time on, there has been an ever growing campaign in the popular culture to promote and expand this irreversible race-mixing” – Dr. Edward Fields
If a parent isn’t in support of their child’s choice to explore outside racial dating lines – what is the best advice to give that parent on how to communicate their concern with their child? Is it simply best to show love & support even when not in fundamental agreement?
What are your feelings about interracial relationships?
Ray Rife
8 Mar 2011As a product of an interracial marriage and a person that has dated several different races, it takes incredible strength to last in this type of relationship. Yet, it has occurred throughout our country’s history. I recall the black Heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson, who routinely was seen with a white woman on his arm.
As I grew up and watch the decisions my parents made it always made me aware of the “unique” situation that we were in.
Even in my relationship I found that it was always something that was on the forefront of all the relationships. Each person is forced to put themselves into the other’s skin because of societies reaction to the relationship.
Instead of looking for reasons why these relationships shouldn’t be allowed, we should applaud the people that attempt to put love ahead of hate, bigotry and ignorance.
Raelea C. Phillips
9 Mar 2011My first boyfriend, my high school sweetheart, and first everything was a dark-skinned Jamaican. I, being of the whitest mix of northern European decent, defenitely looked quite pale next to Garvin. We began dating my sophomore year in high school and he was a senior. He came from a very strict Christian background. His parents forbade him to date at all but to date a white girl?
In south Florida in the late 80’s believe me when I say the discrimination and hate towards interracial dating was still flowing strong among both blacks and whites. Garvin and I were teased and harrassed everyday at school, on the bus and even at at the grocery store where we both worked. “Nigger lover” was yelled in my direction at least several times per day. It became part of our everyday life and we adjusted mostly ignoring the hateful comments. I admit, at first I wasn’t so tolerant of their ignorance.
Parents. Now THAT was another subject altogether. My parents liked Garvin. Even my grandmother with an 8th grade education and from a white rural Christian town in Tennessee liked Garvin. Garvin’s parents were not so accepting of my presense in their son’s life. They believed I was “corrupting” their son and somehow taking him away from God. They even accused my mother of being the “white devil” and that i was the spawn of the “white devil.” Of course I do admit that didn’t occur until Garvin went against their wishes and took me to his senior prom. Funny thing is we were both still virgins at the time and rarely saw one another outside of school, marching band practice, and work.
Thank you for this article. Well said. As you can read, you stirred many emotions and memories from my past!
csc
15 Jan 2012You’re comparison to birds is ridiculous. All human beings, no matter what they look like, are of the same species. Birds are of many different genera and species. The only way birds can cross breed is if they are sub species (i.e., very closely related species that represent evolutionary recent splits). Dogs are also all of the same species even if they look very different. “Breeds” do not represent different species or even sub species.
There is no such thing as “race” in human beings. This is a social cognitive construction built from assumptions (i.e., bigotry) about different cultures.
I’m old enough to remember when inter racial dating turned heads even in the most liberal cities. My first 4 boyfriends in high school in the late 60’s were all black, and I’m as Anglo Saxon looking as one can get. My family, thankfully, didn’t care what color my boyfriends were.
Nowadays it doesn’t turn heads at all unless you live in a very conservative area. So your comment that society has only loosened up “but very little” is dead wrong.
I, for one, love seeing as many interracial couples as I see nowadays. I particularly think its wonderful to see a black woman with a white man. That’ something that never, ever happened when I was a teenager in the 60’s. Its very cool 😉
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