"Post-racial" relationships in the US?

[rorschach]

My dearest Americans -

I recently caught GUESS WHO'S COMINGT TO DINNER? (1967) on TV and that got me thinking: For all the talk of "post-racial politics" and social improvements in the US, are interracial relationships today more common/less problematic than 40 years ago? Do you personally know of marriages between African-Americans, Asians, Latinos and whites?

Just curious.

R.

[ms.peachy]

Yes of course, I know many interracial families, both in the US and the UK. Equally, almost everyone I know, whether they are in an interracial relationship or not, lives somewhere where there are many different races living within similar ranges of class and income.

I'm not so naive as to think that everything is rosy and perfect everywhere, but to me, when I hear this term 'post-racial', all it means is that as a society we've reached (or are at least on the cusp of) a tipping point where a majority of people just don't see race as a qualifying factor as to whether or not a person is fit to date, marry, govern, employ, etc.

[rorschach]

when I hear this term 'post-racial', all it means is that as a society we've reached (or are at least on the cusp of) a tipping point where a majority of people just don't see race as a qualifying factor as to whether or not a person is fit to date, marry, govern, employ, etc.

So - race does not/will not matter anymore? I kinda thought the whole "post-racial" concept was just pc propaganda, glossing over ongoing problems and tensions (see: Obama being "too black"/"not black enough"; the lack of interracial relationships in pop culture).
But I'm more than happy if I'm just overly critical/misinformed here ;)

R.

[Bob]

So - race does not/will not matter anymore? I kinda thought the whole "post-racial" concept was just pc propaganda, glossing over ongoing problems and tensions (see: Obama being "too black"/"not black enough"; the lack of interracial relationships in pop culture).
But I'm more than happy if I'm just overly critical/misinformed here ;)

R.

there are still pockets of humanity out there that care about this kind of thing. apparently during the 2000 primaries, republicans ran a whisper campaign against john mccain in south carolina, who had adopted a bengali child, spreading rumors that he fathered an illegitimate black child. nobody's saying that race isn't an issue anymore (i notice you conveniently edited out the part of ms. peachy's post where she specifically said she didn't believe that), but it's fading out of mainstream society in the sense that in a growing number of communities it isn't a socially acceptable attitude anymore. you'll find fewer anti-miscegenation statutes out there, for example.

and to answer your original question, i don't think i personally know any interracial married couples (unless asian + white counts!) but i know a bunch of unmarried long term interracial couples that will probably result in marriage fairly soon.

[ms.peachy]

So - race does not/will not matter anymore? I kinda thought the whole "post-racial" concept was just pc propaganda, glossing over ongoing problems and tensions (see: Obama being "too black"/"not black enough"; the lack of interracial relationships in pop culture).
But I'm more than happy if I'm just overly critical/misinformed here ;)

R.

I can't speak for, you know, everybody ever. I can only say that for myself, and I think for probably most of my immediate peer group, race isn't an issue. Before I was married, some of the people I dated weren't white - but that's not why I dated them; I went out with them because a) I liked them and b) they asked. I've worked with enough people from every corner of the globe at this point to know that some people are great to work for or with and some aren't, regardless of where they are from or what colour their skin is, and I can extrapolate that to the wider world and see that a good leader can come in any size, shape or colour.

Of course I hear and see the same things you do in the media - these "discussions" about too black/not black enough etc etc - but that stuff just washes straight past me. If other people want to engage in that, if they think it's important, well, that's them. To me, and I suspect to quite a lot of other people, it's not something I can give any brain space to.

I look at it like this: my grandparents, god rest their their narrow minded souls, had a lot of prejudices. Blacks, Jews, Puerto Ricans, gays, whatever - those were people who were "not like us" and, the undertone certainly was, 'not good'. Did they actually know any blacks, Jews, Puerto Ricans or gays etc? Not likely, certainly not well enough to know them as, oh, like, acutal people. Why would they? They lived in seperate worlds.

My parents were in their late teens and early 20's in the 1960's, and have vivid memories of watching the civil rights struggles via the family television, and then later on thier college campuses. They had one foot in the old camp - they didn't grow up around people from other backgrounds, and in childhood only ever been exposed to the prevailing views of their parents; what else did they know? - and then one foot in the new: a world where everything was changing, where they could see so much of this stuff for nonsense it was, and were moved by the passionate fight for the rights of all people, for a country that lived up to the words "one nation under god, with liberty and justice for all". Ask not what your country can do for you, and all that.

So my parents then bring into the world me and my sisters, determined to not to impart to us the same bigoted, small-minded views. They tell us that we can be anything we want to be, if we are willing to work hard enough for it. They tell us that every human being has equal intrinsic value, and that everyone deserves dignity and respect. They tell us about people like the freedom riders. They tell us about places like South Africa. They take us to different places of worship to learn about other faiths. They let us learn through experience that people, at the end of the day, are just people. (My parents were far from perfect - far far far from perfect - but they did do a few things right. ;))

So this is what I mean when I say we're coming to a tipping point - eventually there will be enough people who have grown up knowing without having to think about it that, to paraphrase Dr. King, the measure of a person isn't the colour of their skin but the content of their character. And people like my grandparents, who were not ill-meaning but who were products of their own era, well, they're dying (actually and metaphorically). Race and ethnic heritage will always be important to many people individually - it is part of identity, and there's nothing wrong with that. Hey, it's not only not wrong, it's great - makes society richer and more interesting. But in terms of whether someone is qualified to be elected President, or would make a good spouse, or any of that - what's race got to do with it?

[rorschach]

I see Peachy's point, time might actually work in our/society's favor. Similar things are happening over here, too, old-time prejudices losing ground with younger generations.

However (and I'm speaking about Berlin here) it still feels a bit like talking-the-talk: Considering that the biggest Turkish community outside of Turkey is living here (for two, three generations) there's not a lot of mixing. Turkish guys might date German girls, but when it comes to marriage (or Turkish girls dating German guys) that almost never happens, "Cultural differences", family traditions. So iIt's less melting pot and more "parallel societies"...

Which, in a way mirrors what Bob said: Interracial couples yes, properly married, however, no. Or will that just change over time???

One more thing concerning pop culture: Does anyone, outside of say: The Wire, know of any (positive) examples of interracial relationships on TV or at the Movies?

R.

[YoungRemy]

One more thing concerning pop culture: Does anyone, outside of say: The Wire, know of any (positive) examples of interracial relationships on TV or at the Movies?

R.


I Love Lucy?

On the other hand, it does seem that the frequency of mixed couple-sightings certainly has increased, regardless of context. "ER," "Grey's Anatomy," "My Name is Earl," "Lost" and "Will & Grace" have all featured mixed couples. (Visit Diversity Inc. com for a more in-depth review of interracial couples and coverage on these and other TV shows). Although it's the brunt of jokes on "My Name is Earl" other shows such as "Will & Grace" have not made it a central issue.


http://racerelations.about.com/od/raceinthemovies/a/ictvscreen.htm

[rorschach]

Thanks, YoungRemy...
(y)