Interracial Couples

An interracial couple is a romantic or married couple in which the partners are of differing races. The increase in interracial relationships is a pointer of life in twenty-first century U.S.

Black-white interracial relationships have progressed from being ostracized and, in many states, being deemed criminal. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2003, there were 2,094,000 interracial (black-white) married couples, as compared to 651,000 in 1980. Of those, 275,000 were comprised of a black husband and white wife, while there were 141,000 couples in which the husband was white and the wife, black. It is estimated that today, ten percent of married black people have partners of another race.

The increase in interracial marriages could be the natural progression of the breakdown in educational and residential segregation and the oust of the U.S. Supreme Court laws banning racial intermarriage in 1967. Additionally, most universities have a diversified environment. By integrating students from diverse nationalities into their student bodies, universities are doing away with the seeds of racism and prejudice. These factors have led to a significant increase in interracial dating and mixed couples.

However, while Americans proudly describe their nation as a “melting pot” today, interracial relationships are still among the most psychoanalyzed topics. Despite research into such relationships, there have been few stories about why people from diverse, and sometimes antagonistic, worlds defy cultural bigotry and get married. Society, in general, frowns on interracial marriages and pegs them to the lure of the exotic, instead of identifying these relationships with love and compatibility. Stereotypes about interracial couples state that black men perceive white women as trophies; another typecast has black women marrying white men for social acceptance.

These self-professed critics do not comprehend the soul-searching that goes into making an interracial relationship work. Interracial couples deal with a greater number of challenges than “regular couples.” Two people from different cultures have different customs, beliefs, viewpoints, and lifestyles. These differences generally come to light after the initial infatuation wears off and the couple is forced to deal with the reality of marriage.