Interracial Marriage

[Stephanie Runyon]

I am conflicted in some aspects with this. I have known people who have no problem if the woman is black and the man is white but not vice versa. Personally, I am not attracted to African Americans but if they date a white woman, it doesn't bother me.

[Damis Seres Rodriguez]

Is it acceptable? Well, I think the question should actually be whether or not is it my business. Granted, the social background has changed heaps if we compared to the way it used to be and that probably is the root of my perception. In any case, I'm sure we could spare us a lot of social issues if we simply mind our own business and let people be, whether we consider something "acceptable or not." Now I want to clarify that this does not mean staying quiet to matters like abuse or injustice. But that's just my personal opinion. Now, in the context of the books of course, it played an important role. Stigmatization or the fear of it can definitely affect the way someone perceives the world and react to their circumstances. That's what happened with Kalayla.

[Tonika632]

I think love is greater than any religion or skin colour. If two people love each other, there should be nothing stopping them to cherish their love.

[Budhal]

Interracial marriages are accepted easily these days. I won't say that it is all good because it does have its own challenges. As far as Kalayla's situation is concerned, I think her being biracial kid was not the problen but just a part of the problem.

[Worship peer]

Though legal and 'acceptable',interracial couples can still experience difficulties at times by virtue of the fact that racism exists in our society on a deep level. Some societies have however embraced interracial marriages but I must say that it still is a challenge to the couples when it comes to the aspect of their cultures.They may reach conflicts when asserting their values if they differ from each other's, based on racial or cultural identity.
With the above facts,I think that indeed interracial marriage between Kalayla's parents contributed to challenges that she went through.

[evraealtana]

I have known people who have no problem if the woman is black and the man is white but not vice versa.

This does seem to be a problem for some people, and I'm really not sure why.
Prior to the American Civil War, it was perfectly acceptable for a white man to have sex with (rape) a female slave, but absolutely unacceptable for a white woman to have sex with (also rape?) a male slave. A black male caught having sex with a white woman would be killed, regardless of which of them had instigated it, even if she insisted that it had been voluntary on her part (which she probably would never have done). Perhaps part of it stems from historical trivia like that?
Can anyone enlighten?

[A Y reviews]

Kalayla problems stem from many angles. Financial difficulties, lack of maternal love etc. So I don't really think that her biracial relationship alone was the cause. And today they are many successful interracial relationships

[Stephanie Runyon]

Ironically, in the period of the late 90s, I found that interracial marriage wasn't as disapproved of as depicted in the book. Where I live (Oklahoma is considered a southern state) interracial marriage and relationships are commonplace.

[JGretz-7]

If you look at it from a different lens, then many of the issues that Maureen and Kalayla faced were due to Maureen's decision to enter into an interracial relationship. She was cut off from her family and support. She and her husband were denied a place to live. Things became much harder for her than what she grew up with. Kalayla also suffered because of her grandparents inability to accept the marriage by missing out on years of knowing her grandparents and other family members.
I do not think that an interracial couples will face the same obstacles today. I would hope that as a society we continue to move forward and judge people on their contributions to the human race and not by the color of their skin.

[car-mbz]

Interracial marriages are now being accepted, but in some parts of the world I think its still not accepted fully. Kayalya painful experiences were caused by many other factors, but I think being biracial also caused her pain.

[Chiawa]

As much as I am open to biracial marriage, I think it can be a contributing factor for difficulties in some marriages and relationship. Especially if one has insecurity issues. Kalayla's difficulties streamed from multiple sources and I think her biracial marriage is one.

[Astrolorraine]

Yes to both - of course and thank goodness it's acceptable (except in some part of the US), and it might have contributed to her hardships because of racial prejudice.

[Zand13]

Interracial couples are widely accepted in this day an age. however it has lead to confusion for biracial children. Biracial children often seek out acceptance form either races and feel displaced. Similar characteristics where depicted within the character kalayala.

[Readinggrl18]

I think it doesn't matter where we come from, our race, culture or income level. Love is the most important thing. I think it is beautiful when two people find love and are willing to accept whatever challenges may come due to other people's opinions, desires or hatred. I wish this was not a reality, but people still have such strong biases and this would have certainly affected the way Kalayla was treated. This is especially true in the way her grandparents didn't want to get to know her for so long.

[Jasy95]

The amount of interracial marriages has definitely been increasing as times have changed! However, just because they've increased doesn't mean that they're common. Just to bring some statistics into the discussion, this is how the numbers have changed over the decades according to the US Census Bureau:
1970: 0.7% of married couples
1980: 1.3% of married couples
1990: 1.8% of married couples
2000: 2.6% of married couples
2008: 3.9% of married couples

I think there are always going to be people who view interracial marriages as controversial, just because there will always be people who are close-minded and hold onto their prejudices. But I also have hope that as the world continues becoming more open, the amount of people who see that controversy will decrease.