Black & White

Why does everything today have to revolve around the negative?  The positive is never taken into account and tragically the black and white racial barrier still exists in most.  It is so disturbing to go through life in love with someone, yet still be afraid of portraying that love in public because you simply don’t want to be gawked at or talked down to.  Love is an exceptional gift that shouldn’t be defused because the people around you have a problem with interracial relationships. 

Fortunately, for the ones involved in such a relationship it isn’t easy to ignore the ignorant individuals who basically have a hard time accepting, and just focus on hating the fact that you are a mixed couple.  Sometimes you want to stare back at them, roll your eyes or simply say out loud.  “What the hell is your problem?”  That’s just putting it mildly, but those that understand can replace it with your own words if you’d like.

Of the many mixed couples I came across, whether black and white, Asian and black or Hispanic and white.  Love knows no ethnicity.  It happened, its special and should be treasured just like any other same race relationship.  There is nothing different other than the color of your skin, the slant in your eyes or the texture of your hair. 

Let’s take a look at some of the interracial couples that today have proven they will overcome the adversity and stay together for the sake of love, and they are Seal and Heidi Klum who have been together for as log as I can remember and are still madly in love with one another, and Robin Thicke and his wife Paula who apparently deal with the racial tension a lot, yet remain true to their relationship. 

In one of Robin’s songs he refers to racism and how the world would be a better place by adding the following lyric, “There would be no black and white.  The world would treat my wife right.  We could walk down in Mississippi and no one would look at us twice.”  

My husband and I are both Hispanic, but I am from the darker side and he looks white.  We ourselves have encountered several places throughout our courtship which since then been banned because of the racial tension felt.  Pennsylvania is at the top of that list and only because we were treated as if we were obsolete in this particular restaurant.  The waitress was rude, the service of course sucked and my husband got his first taste of the racial discrimination I have faced most of my life. 

I can still recall our conversation prior to our visit to PA and laugh every single time at how naïve he was about the concept.  We’re both Hispanic,” he said.  “Yeah, but at first glance they don’t know that.” I said.  “Well, I just think its all in your head.  This is the 20^th century, people don’t react that way anymore,” he said.  Not to say I told you so, but he had to learn the hard way and I am so glad he did.  He now is more aware of our surroundings, where we go on family vacations due to our son and is very leery about who our child spends time with since we now live in a highly white populated community. 

As Christians we were brought up to love the human race.  Your color, place of birth, heritage or family history doesn’t matter to us.  We try our best to love everyone, but of course being human we can’t help but get on defense mode more than we’d like.  To me this is a touchy situation and it depends on where you are or the type of idiosyncrasies these people (racists) come up with, but we tend to stay true to our beliefs and walk away without giving them the satisfaction of seeing us angry. 

No one deserves to have that sort of power over you, and fortunately things are never going to change.  We will always come across the few that don’t accept us, but as long as we remain strong, focus on our love and demonstrate that to our children we shall be alright and move on with our lives as we still have to live among them. 

Racial tension has been and always will be a problem plaguing our nation, but it is totally up to us to ignore it and keep the focus on the positive.  Our love, our commitment and our life together as an interracial couple full of hope, happiness and a desire to overcome any adversity tossed our way.

Copyright © 2009-Alma Gonzalez