Adult Situations

This article was written by Johnell Smalls

“I was really scared to meet them.” That’s what Timothy Verwiel of Atlanta said after meeting the family of his African American girlfriend. She asked him for the third time and he finally said yes. Not that Timothy wasn’t serious; he just didn’t have the guts to meet a family of a different race other than his. While interracial dating is increasing popular and becoming quite normal, there is still a stigma attached to it.

Timothy grew up around a majority of African Americans and while his parents would not be shock if he brought a black girl home, he knows that her family would feel uncomfortable because he’s white. Timothy and his girlfriend, Amanda began dating a little over seven months ago and both have met each others families. “Her family made the most jokes and my family had the most awkward silences,” he said.

When meeting a family, the men seem to be the hardest to win over for boyfriends. In the movie, Guess Who starring Aston Kutcher and Zoe Saldana, the father wasn’t too please to see a white man dating his black daughter. The movie, made to be a comedy, touched on the real situations that interracial couples face when meeting the family for the first time. When Timothy met Amanda’s dad, he said he thought about his actions more than he should have and he kept fidgeting.

Kristina Pham hates meeting moms. “It’s so awkward,” she said. Vietnamese doesn’t have a preference for the guys that she dates when it comes to race. She just knows that the moms can make you feel more nervous than you need to be. “I met my white boyfriend’s mother and she was really nice but you can tell she didn’t take us seriously,” she said. His mom would ask questions about Kristina’s future and make side comments.

A father of two daughters and one son, Kevin Mitchell said he did not teach his daughters or son to date by color but he would like to see them with someone of their own race. “If one of my daughters brought a white man home, I would not be mad but it does make me question why not a black guy, someone like your father.”

You can’t help who you fall in love with; love has no color or face. Bringing someone home of a different race can be hard because there is no telling how the family will react. Some families are content with whoever their child brings home while others expect the same race and beliefs to walk through the door. With over 6.8 million multiracial Americans, families have been more content lately.