The Challenges and Difficulties of Interracial families

Essay by kei-1High School, 11th gradeA-, May 2003

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Intro

This world is a place of diversity where all things weave together to create a perfect harmony. Unfortunately, as much as we would like to think this, things do not always weave together in such perfection or closeness. In the weave of wool and silk, there will always be gaps. Just as in a weave of different races, there will always be "gaps"-- those flaws of conflict. A lot of times, people from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures get together to create what we call an interracial family. On the surface, interracial families are portrayed as a symbol of "true love" where nothing else matters-whether the colour of your skin is black or white, or whether your eyes are brown or blue. This seemingly near-perfect family union has a reputation where members get along with each other and the rest of society--everybody is happy as a result. However, underneath this surface is the truth that most of us have not given much thought to.

Along with this interracial family package arrives many challenges that the family will face.

Although these challenges have lessened over the past several decades or even centuries, interracial families still continue to face many of the same challenges and conflicts. It is these difficulties that make interracial families substantially harder to sustain than same-race families.

Mixed matches have to decide how to defines a family faith, celebrate holidays, carry

on cultural traditions, deal with the reaction of family and friends to their relationship.

They also have to decide how to go about instilling a sense of identity in their

children. (Crohn, 1995, Pg.24)

The challenges and difficulties that interracial families face that make them that much harder to sustain than same-race families. Negative reactions from others may negatively affect the quality of the bond between...