RESEARCH PAPER

Laura Berkeley

APRIL 27, 2015

Laura Berkeley

April 27, 2015

E.C.H.D 285

Research Paper

Although segregation has ended in 1964 from the civil rights act, it is evident that racial
tension still exists amongst blacks and whites. During that time, more interracial relationships
started to appear. This trend indicated a greater acceptance for relationships between individuals
of different cultural, religious and racial backgrounds. Interracial relationships have always been
looked down upon. But in todays society, interracial relationships are more accepted but not
fully approved. In the United States, Black and White union wasnt always accepted. In 1959,
only 4% of Americans approved of Blacks and Whites tying the not. In 54 years this percentage
has gone up from 4% to 87%. Although the approval percentage has increased, theres still 13%
of Americans who still dont approve of these unions. (Gedeon, 2014)
This racial issue has a more significant impact on the children of these families than the
adults. For the growing population in early childhood programs, children of mixed race make up
a large percentage of those attending these programs. The National Center for Health Statistics
(NCHS) reported 620,000 births of children with one Black and one White parent in 1990 and
predicted a continuing increase. (A. Driscoll, 2008) Children are more affected by the
interracial issue because children are more judgmental than adults today. This is apparent when a
child hasnt been exposed to other races or seen two different races living together. When this
child sees another child of mixed race, their initial reaction tis to state that this is weird or
strange and tells them that he or she is not like everyone else who has the same race parents.
Children think this way because it is out of their norm and they do not understand why that other

child has parents who are different from each other. When a child doesnt understand something
about another child, their first response is to tease that child. (Markson, 2015)
An example of this would be, one child doesnt understand why his classmate has
interracial parents. His first reaction is to state that his classmates parents are weird or strange.
His next response would be to tease the child about his parents, how they are different from each
other and different from his parents. He would continue to degrade this child about his skin tone,
hair, and any other physical feature that are apparently different from his own. At the end of it,
the child with mixed race parents will start to feel ashamed of their family. This happens because
they do not know how to defend themselves when being teased at a young age. (Markson, 2015)
Even today, there are still many children who are being raised in a racist household. (Markson,
2015) I believe that racism is taught and learned, its not programed into children.
A good example of media related racism was in 2013 when General Mills had created
and released an interracial commercial. In this commercial, it presented a family of mixed race,
white pregnant mother, black father and mixed raced daughter. This commercial was released
during the super bowl of 2013. Millions of viewers have seen this commercial and not everyone
was happy about it. (Goyette, 2013) It was obvious to General Mills that mixed race families
have barely been seen on commercials over the years. They felt that their commercial reflects a
growing reality. (Stump, 2013) G.M got a lot of complaints about their interracial
commercial. On YouTube, there were comments stating that the commercial was just gross,
outrageous, and this is the kind of stuff that's really rooted in unfair stereotypes of black
people. (Stump, 2013). Other commenters stated that this commercial was cute and was a
big step for interracial families. According to Hatcher-Mays, The commercial represents that we
exist." (Stump, 2013) This is a clear example that racism is still an issue today.

G. M did not let all the negative comment faze them. It was stated from Gibson that G.M
was ultimately trying to portray an American family, and there are lots of multicultural families
in America today. (Stump, 2013) Star Jones from TODAY news believed that her generation of
people are stuck in the mindset of giving interracial couples the side eye. She also believed
they the younger generation is more accepting and have gotten used to seeing different people of
different race together. She states that in the years to come, this is not going to be an issue
anymore. (Stump, 2013) Personally, I believe that with time, the issues that revolve around
racism and interracial courtship will diminish.
The only people who are stopping this advancement are the 13% of Americans who
disapprove with interracial relationships. The 13% will continue to raise their children to see
interracial relationships as wrong. The way children are raised has a huge impact on their
mindset and social life when it comes to other races and interracial families. Due to the strict
ways a child is raised, they will not know any better until they are told something different.
(Markson, 2015) This causes a lot of verbal abuse for the child with mixed race parents. Early in
a childs life, they become very aware that they are different from others. It doesnt matter if its
in childcare or preschool, or even in the community, the interracial child may experience the
social pressure that is often directed at someone who is different. Interracial children experience
the feeling of not "fitting in" anywhere during their childhood and it becomes a serious source of
conflict for many interracial adolescents. (A. Driscoll, 2008)
The only way to deal with this issue is to talk to your child. As a parent, you should make
sure that your child has a clear understanding that he or she is different and there is nothing
wrong with having an interracial family. You have to also explain to your child that he or she is
being teased because the other children simply do not understand. Once your child has an

understanding of why he or she is being teased, the verbal abuse will not affect them as much as
it would if they didnt understand and started to believe the things their peers were saying. The
sad part about it is that children can be really cruel, and their ignorance is taught by their
parents. (Markson, 2015) It is easy to see how children of interracial families can or cannot
handle direct abuse from their peers, especially with the two main factors combined. It was
stated that it is up to the parents to ensure that their child is comfortable with their family and
understands why their peers tease them. (Markson, 2015)
It was found that there are many other techniques that parents of biracial children can
utilize to help their child over come the affects of racism, categorization, segregation and
bullying. Parents should celebrate and express their heritage with their children. Try to visit older
family members from both sides, visit museums and your native counties. Doing this would help
your children gain information on their heritage and help them learn to appreciate who they are.
Help them understand that they are different but different is beautiful. Parents can also teach
their children about the complications of racial identity. (Eisele, 2012) Another thing that you
can do as a parent, pass down your cultural traditions to your children. Parent should also take in
account they type of school their child is attending. Try to find a school that celebrates diversity.
Having your child go to a school that accepts diversity will create the best learning experiences
for your child as well as for other children. Also, if you can try and move to a place where it is
more diverse. This would make it a little easier for your children to accept differences in
themselves as well as in others. This would also lower the risk of your child being bullied
because he or she is different. Another thing that you can do as a parent, seek family counseling.
On top of you trying to help your child overcome their differences as well as the bullying and
teasing, a family counselor can be a big help. If you decide not to seek out help or talk to your

child about racism, this could cause your child to develop feelings of worthlessness and could
possibly exhibit dangerous behaviors such as alcoholism and drug addiction. All in all, as a
parent of biracial children, it is ultimately up to you to go above and beyond to help your child be
comfortable in their skin as well as in their family. Your family comes first but you cannot
ignore interracial issues and situations that might arise throughout your parenting.
After 1964, racism was still a big issue. To me, it wasnt that big of an issue because
many interracial relationships started to blossom. In 1959, there was a small percentage of
Americans who accepted mixed race relationships. After 54 year, more and more Americans
began to accept it. In 2015, there are still some couples that are dealing with the issues of being
in an interracial relationship. Most of these issues reside with the couples parents and outsiders.
During conversation, I was told that it is quite difficult to be in a relationship with someone of
another race. It is difficult especially when both families have issues with their choice of
companion. The way my friends deal with this obstacle is to try and make their parents as
comfortable with their spouse as they can. One example of this is having family dinners and
outings. After a year of dating, their parents have approved of their spouse and have accepted
them into their family. My friends are great examples of a successful interracial relationship. I
believe that they are prepared to conquer any issues that arise in the future.
As a person in an interracial relationship, I do believe that it will get better with time.
More and more Americans are accepting interracial families as the years go by. The only way to
completely stop the issues revolving around racism is to continue to talk to your children about
race and differences. They will grow up with an understanding and open mind about everyone
and that being different is okay. This will help lower the disapproved percentage.

Bibliography
A. Driscoll, N. N. (2008). Interracial Marriages and Biracial Children. Early Childhood Education: Birth-8:
The World of Children, Families, and Educators .
Eisele, C. (2012). A Bit About Interracial Children and Some Suggestions on What can Help. Retrieved
from Craig Eisele on....: https://craigeisele.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/a-bit-about-multi-racialchildren-and-some-suggestions-on-what-can-help/
Gedeon, K. (2014, June). Madame Noire: All about the Swirl, Baby! Interracial couples in the United
States.... By the numbers. Retrieved from Moguldom Media Group:
http://madamenoire.com/432922/swirl-interracial-couples-america-numbers/
Goyette, B. (2013). Cheerios Commercial Featuring Mixed Race Family Gets Racist Backlash (VIDEO).
Retrieved from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/cheerios-commercialracist-backlash_n_3363507.html
Markson, G. (2015). Interracial Marriage and How it Affects Children. Retrieved from Families.com :
Frugal living for the whole family: http://www.families.com/blog/interracial-marriage-and-how-itaffects-children
Stump, S. (2013). Cheerios ad with mixed-race family draws racist responses. Retrieved from Today
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