Another one of the snippets from my Dissertation on Black/White Relationships. Keep in mind all of these posts are snippets of a much larger piece of work, so feel free to add to things, ask questions or give critiques. I’d love to hear feedback from people. In my dissertation, I focused on family approval of Black/White interracial relationships. The data is based on 39 interviews with people in interracial relationships (conducted individually) and 5 interviews with the relatives of some of these couples, so this is where most of the focus will be.
Clearly biracial children and views on them were a very significant feature in the process of family approval of Black/White relationships. In the interviews I conducted with Black/White couples, “concerns” about the children of Black/White couples was the most common reason cited for opposing a relative’s interracial relationship (IR), but ironically, the birth of a biracial child was one of the factors most commonly associated with an increase in family acceptance.
Before elaborating on families objections to interracial relationships, I should acknowledge two ideas that have had a dramatic impact on how people with a Black parent and a White parent are viewed. Throughout American history the rule of hypodescent and the tragic mulatto image have shaped views of biracial children. Hypodescent involved a set of laws and rules that defined anyone with as little as “one drop of black blood” to be Black; thus, the children of interracial unions were almost exclusively defined as Black (Wright 1993; Dalmage 2000; Moran 2001). The tragic mulatto ideology portrays Black/White biracial people as poor, lost souls caught in between two worlds and accepted by no group. According to this ideology, their mere existence was tragic, and they were destined to lead a life of sorrow because of their social ambiguity (Spickard 1989). Both these views are reiterated by relatives of interracial couples, especially White relatives. Several White respondents had heard negative things about biracial children well before they entered interracial relationships. However, it was not just relatives who had concerns about how biracial children would be perceived; even some members of interracial couples didn’t want to have children or were uncomfortable with having children with their spouse or partner.
Those relatives oppose to interracial relationships “for the sake of the children” feel that biracial children will suffer because they are “different.” They also believe that the child will be confused about his or her identity. People who expressed opposition to IRs also felt that interracial couples couples are seen as selfish, irrational, and unconcerned with the children’s well being, which they base on their assumption that biracial children have identity problems.
The one drop rule often comes up in interracial families because one of the primary concerns people have about such relationships is how the couple will raise their children to identify. In accordance with the one drop rule, most couples in this study tended to see their children as closer to Black. In some cases they said they would define their children as Black, and in other cases they said that their children would be seen as Black, in spite of their biracial backgrounds, something Rockquemore and Brunsma (2001) refer to as an unvalidated biracial identity. None of the respondents who had children identified them as White, and none of those who discussed biracial children referred to them as White; however, some did refer to individual biracial children as White looking, but not as White. Some couples and their families agreed (both Black and White) that the child would be treated as Black and should therefore be raised as such, but in many families racial differences emerged over how the child should be raised or identified (in terms of race). For White members of interracial couples the one drop rule was clearly racist, but for African Americans in interracial families the one drop rule was a racial reality that was part of being African American. Whites seem to prefer a biracial identity and Blacks seemed to prefer a Black identity.
Generally, the families of women, both Black and White, raised more concerns about biracial children. Given that it is women who bear children and women who are primarily responsible for raising children; it is not surprising that concerns about children were articulated more for women’s families. For White women’s relatives the general view is that children are a marker of the interracial relationship that can have a negative impact on how their daughter is viewed, but for Black women’s families the concern is less with the potential loss of privilege and more with the ability of a White male partner to understand and relate to his biracial children.
Families, particularly Black families worried about the racial makeup of the community the child will live in and the messages he or she will be given about racism. Many Black relatives were concerned about racism and/or isolation from other African Americans that a child could face if he or she lived in a predominantly White area.
Black relatives and White relatives generally had different ideas about the child’s racial identity and socialization. For some African American families, raising a child as biracial rather than Black was not seen as a challenge to the rule of hypodescent, but as a sign that the relative in the relationship or the child was (or could be) disloyal to African Americans. Given the long history of privileges bestowed on lighter skin blacks and those who could identify as “mulatto,” it is not surprising that a mixed marriage raises concerns in African American families (Spickard 1989). While white families appear to be more concerned with the loss of privilege that interracial relationships and biracial children bring, Black families are concerned about the privileges biracial children enjoy over their Black (especially darker skinned) relatives.
Although concerns about children are cited as the primary reason for opposition to interracial relationships, ironically, most couples who had children reported that the birth of a child made their families more accepting of the relationship (which is consistent with Rosenblatt et. al., 1995). Several couples talked about how happy their family was when they had children. This was especially true if the child was the first grandchild, and this phenomenon was particularly dramatic in White families who had strongly opposed the interracial relationship. Grandparents wanted to develop relationships with their grandchildren, and in some cases, grandparents began to understand more about racism by gauging others’ reactions to their grandchildren. The birth of a child may lead to greater approval because relatives see the couple following some elements of the traditional family script; moreover, it is much easier for relatives to be upset with adults than it is for them to be upset with children. While having children tended to make families more approving, it did not necessarily mean that the relationship was completely accepted or that there was peace in the family.
The question at the heart of families’ objections/concerns is how children from interracial unions and their parents will fit into the current (and future) racial order. Will they be more closely allied with African Americans? Will they develop into a unique racial group (i.e. coloreds in South Africa)? Will individual children of interracial unions have the power to create their own racial identities? Or will they be forever lost souls with no group to call home as the tragic mulatto image would predict? Although it is not possible to predict the future racial order, it does appear that the way interracial couples and their relatives talk about children with a Black parent and a White parent provides a foreshadowing of the changes that contemporary racial ideology will bring.
If you are interested in the subject of interracial marriage, I have a category at Rachel’s Tavern explicitly dedicated to this subject.
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Do you look at any cross-racial relationships besides those identified/identifying as black and white? How do you relate this aspect of your research to your earlier social construction post?
The Constructivist beat me to the punch. I know hispanics are alternatively lumped with white (as in “non-hispanic caucasian”) or black, but I think a separate consideration of black/ anglo and Black / latino relationships is warranted, not to mention other groups . I have never encountered the naked racism with my anglo friends and family that I have encountered with my latino friends and family. Recently my husband had to listen to a friend of a friend rant about how his daughter is dating a black man. He’s furious that his blond gringa ex-wife shrugs and says ” I married a latino”.
But perhaps Rachel only wanted to discuss Black/ euro-white (to coin a phrase) and that’s cool.
Yeah, many people have asked me why I focus on Black/White. Here is a link to an older post where I tackle that question in the comment section. It is a good question.
I think that the reason this is so significant for the constructionist perspective is that biracial children can pose a real categorizing dilemma for most Americans. It really seems to threatne the notion of distinct races. I think that there are other factors, but that is a big one.
But realistically, how many of those considered black in US today do not have significant amounts of european ancestors? Isn’t the majority of americans, in fact, biracial? Or how does it work?
Essentially every black person in the US has some white ancestry, as the result of the widespread sexual victimization of slaves by their owners. The exceptions are recent immigrants from Africa.
Many, if not most, white people have at least some African ancestry as well. If the “one-drop” rule were applied in a world with perfect genealogical knowledge, America would be a majority black nation.
Rachel, I think if you wanted to do some compare/contrast or follow-up surveys, you should check out an Army post and surrounding area. I have heard that of all the branches of the military, the Army is the most racially integrated and has the highest number of interracial marriages.
From my own experience, I would agree that grandchildren make a huge difference in acceptance of interracial marriages, and that the children of Black/White marriages tend to be raised as Black. But I also think class plays a significant role in this, as most of the biracial children I know who are from wealthy families are more likely to be raised with attempts at evenhanded exposures, while the blue-collar children are more likely to be raised as Black, especially if the mother is black.
Just my two cents. I think you’re doing some important research here.
What do those of you who have made reference to parents raising biracial children “as black” mean when you say that? The statement does not make any sense to me. (In the unlikely event people don’t know this, I am the mother of nine biracial black father(s)/white me children, ages 15-34, and am the grandparent of four biracial children, 9-11.)
Heart
One of the more interesting things I’ve observed about black/white interracial children are that, in the US, they tend to be geneological flukes. In another two or three generations, none of their children will probably be identifiably mixed, and the two racial groups will not have appreciably closened. Whereas for other racial pairs in other countries, there are enough interracial marriages to cause a significant blurring of the lines between the two.
For instance, in Mexico, few people can really be identified as very Native American or very European. There really is a huge number of people with very mixed ancestry. There’s even a word for it: mestizo, which is used as a unifying racial category for rhetorical political purposes. Now, it’s still true that there is discrimination there based on racial appearance. Those with more European blood tend to be better off than those with less. The upper class, for instance, is very white, and the lower class often very brown. But the separation between the two groups is remarkably blurry compared to that between American blacks and whites.
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The problem comes down to what happens to the kids…I believe that Rachel already posted the following in her blog. The children are used and become pawns.
Eduardo V. Genao A magnet school in Hartford, CT has been stirring up a ton of controversy after its principal Eduardo V. Genao allegedly coerced several mixed students to change their racial identity to white so that the school would qualify for more funding. Genao claims he asked for every student’s permission, but most deny this, and say that he guilted them into identifying as white for the good of the school:
Genao conceded that he asked teachers to help him identify biracial students and that he called the students to his office. In the course of discussing their racial classifications, he acknowledged, he spoke with them about the school’s funding. “I did indicate to the students and the parents how the formula works,” he said.
In fact, state guidelines tie the funding of magnet schools that opened before this year to residency, not race… to qualify for magnet school funding, schools must draw at least 30 percent of their students from the suburbs – a standard Sport & Medical Sciences Academy meets.
Race becomes a factor, for schools established before this year, in regard to compliance with the Sheff vs. O’Neill school desegregation settlement. It says 28 percent of a magnet school’s students must be white in order to count toward reducing racial isolation. With just 89 white students in a population of 400, or 22 percent, Sport & Medical Sciences falls far short.
Genao, who is in his first year at the magnet school and is new to Hartford, said he did not realize the state law linking funding to racial quotas applies only to new schools and not to established schools such as his. He denied, though, that the change in the students’ racial classifications was linked to money.
I have a problem with hearing “what about the chirrun? Won’t you think of the CHIIIIILLLLLDRUUUUNNNN?” Gah. It’s nothing but a smokescreen for bigotry, IMO. People who feel like interracial marriage is “icky” but don’t want to come right out and say it will cover it by expressing concern for the pweshus childwen. Especially to women – because it’s unnatural and selfish for women to NOT think of the children! You bad mommy you!
Maybe we shouldn’t allow short people to reproduce, because short people earn less and short men have more trouble getting dates! Or how about not letting really nearsighted people have kids because their kids will wear Coke-bottle glasses and be teased!
Most kids turn out just fine. I know a lot of biracial people and not one has been damaged for life due to being biracial. Kids need people who love them, and enough money so that they don’t have to go hungry or live in a roach motel. All else is gravy.
Meantime, anyone who asks me “what about the chiiillldrunnn” will get George “F*ck The Children” Carlin quoted right back at them. I’m childfree anyway so the whole point is moot.
Came over from “My Mother is White.” This is certainly a worthy discussion and one that black mother’s and black families very rarely get to be heard on. I picked up an interesting book just the other day by a mixed/passing woman named Toi Derricotte entitled The Black Notebooks. Check it out.
Keep talking.
Heart, Many Black parents I interviewed felt that their children were Black and should identify as such. Their main argument was the idea that the one drop rule still has a powerful affect on people, and that this would affect children in their everyday encounters. Those people who felt this way believed that their children would face discrimination because people perceive them as Black. This did not repressent all Black relatives, but it did represent a majority. I do not think the people who said this would all agree with each other as to what being Black means.
Crystal, I strongly agree with your first paragraph.
Jasai, “This is certainly a worthy discussion and one that black mother’s and black families very rarely get to be heard on.” I agree with you. I think this is converstaion that needs to include all voices.
Heart, this is purely from my experience, and out of a small sample, but when I said “raised as Black,” I was referring to patterns of behavior that, at least where I live, are more likely to be followed in Black families than White, e.g.:
– attending an AME church;
– participating in Delta sorority events;
– observing Kwanzaa and Juneteenth;
– attending hand dances;
– attending traditionally Black colleges;
– referring to oneself as Black.
Anyway, I wasn’t trying to stereotype, although it’s hard to show that when using phrases like “raised as Black”. I was thinking about what many families do when the parents are from two very different cultures, which is try to take some elements from each culture to use within the family. The parents of some of the biracial children I know are both minorities, however, and that might be skewing my perceptions.
I think my biracial daughters are more confused than most. I’m southern raised white/cherokee with green eyes. Plus, I’m a college professor at a Historically Black College. So I have no problem raising my girls in traditional black american culture. But my black husband who is also a collegue was born and educated in france insists that our girls are raised in a very european manner. I think it’s mainly because mother in law was the only one who was against our marriage and she still resides till this day in the heart of Paris. So my poor girls are told costantly that they act more white than me.
So maybe do a perspective of when the black parent is not from America. Were I’m at it’s actually a frequent occurance.
Im a very confused white mother of 2 bi racial mother my children are half black. im seperated from there father and he wants to take them sometimes for their better being i feel it would be easier for them b/c they are looked at in society as black n will have to choose to be black no matter the fact their mother is white and will have a more harder time relatinf to me. i live in a white neighborhood,white customs and tradtions, and they will be confronted with racism in society more then the areas and culture his dad will raise them in. i feel by letting them stay with him it will be doing thre right thing by them.Am i right or wrong? please I need feedback bigh time. if anyone would like to comment me on my email also my email is testedwhispers @yahoo.com, thanks i need support!!
my email was twstedwhispers@yahoo.com. sorry 4 the mistake
OK, I am also the mother of 3 biracial daughters -half caucation and half African American. I believe that it is left up to the parents on how the child grows up. If the child is taught “you have to choose to be one or the other” then that puts a bad influence on the child. Why can’t a biracial child live the life as a CHILD, not a THING that has to choose a label. You can take a person and put an identity on them before you ever know them and it isn’t right. When is the world gonna stop this ignorance? Let a child be a child and quit trying to label them. You are suppose to love them and teach them right from wrong, not teach them to choose things that aren’t as important. My children will learn both cultures, not one or the other. Not one more than the other. They are EQUAL !!
I will simply say let you and your partner or ex, educate your biracial daughters to have in mind they are both white and black,and as such seize what ever opportunities come their way by the fact that they have a white and black heritage.I am biracial,my mother is white European and father is black west African.I therefore feel my advantage and never thought of having an identity crisis.I now have a seven year old daughter with a white woman and now educate my daughter how to cherish her white and black heritage,infact she can even pass for a gipsy or asian.My daughter lives with her mum and is ofcause surrounded with her white relatives and in an environment where there are very very few blacks,nonetheless,she is conscious of her African heritage and eager to learn more.
I will simply say let you and your partner or ex, educate your biracial daughters to have in mind they are both white and black,and as such seize what ever opportunities come their way by the fact that they have a white and black heritage.I am biracial,my mother is white European and father is black west African.I therefore feel my advantage and never thought of having an identity crisis.I now have a seven year old daughter with a white woman and now educate my daughter how to cherish her white and black heritage,infact she can even pass for a gipsy or asian.My daughter lives with her mum and is ofcause surrounded with her white relatives and in an environment where there are very very few blacks,nonetheless,she is conscious of her African heritage .In the nutshell it is what parents tell their kids as they grow that shapes them on the issue of identity.I use to joke saying i am an embodiment of the good aspects of. the black and white race,when asked by mates if i consider myself white or black .It is high time biracials wake up to enjoy their dual identity than to be influenced and manipulated by theories orchestrated by society,thus being in limbo,as to “am I black or white”.
When I first entered university, I was living on my own and had to pay my own bills.
So for two years I got by working the night shift in a factory. Athough study during the day and work during the night took a toll on my body, it was a great time in my life and I remember those days with great fondness.
On my first day on the job I was taken around by the Supervisor and introduced to the other guys on the shift.
The machinary was loud and everyone wore ear plugs, so the initial introductions were brief and relied mostly on a few loudly spoken words, and some facial gestures.
I clearly remember the first guy I was introduced to that night, being a young man called Adam.
Now Adam looked for the most part to be Chinese, but like many eurasians, something about him looked different. When I was first introduced to him I could not hear him speak because of the noise, and his features were partly obscured by the safety gear he had on.
I later found out that he was born in the US, spoke with an American accent, and had a Polish father.
As time moved on, I realised, as all the other guys on the shift knew only too well, that Adam never mentioned his mother, nor his self-evident part-chinese lineage.
Because of this, during our mealtimes Adam bore the brunt of many sarcastic comments about his background.
Some guys would ask:
“Adam, are you Chinese?”
To which he would respond by saying that “No, I am an American with a Polish father”
When asked if his mother was Chinese, Adam would often use profanities, get up and leave the table in a huff.
Everyone would chuckle as a result, because it was clear that Adam had an issue with being referred to as Chinese.
I remember feeling quite embarassed for him, and wondered how his mother would have felt knowing the extent he would go to hide his Chinese background.
Well, things sometimes go full circle, and here I am now the father of a bi-racial child.
For me, it would be a nightmare magnified ten-fold if my son ever behaved like he was embarassed of his Chinese or Anglo lineage.
Although at the end of the day I hope that my son sees himself as an Australian first and foremost, I hope he always recognises how lucky he is to come from two proud, enriched and admirable cultures.
I hope that he can embrace both parts of his identity equally, and take from them what he need to carve his own identity in this world.