Kenneth Chase Kelly
tween people of different groups, which face considerable criticism from parents and friends become more intense and meaningful to the persons involved than those of people in the same group” (Landis 83). However, these statements reveal as these couples go through the issues that try to tear them away from each other, rather than splitting up as many believe, it actually draws them even closer together and makes their relationship much stronger. Society’s harsh rejection of these couples does not cause them to split up, but rather helps them realize how much they want to be together and creates a stronger connection with one another, as opposed to other more traditional couples who feel no pressure at all. The main reason society opposes interracial relationships is because they break from the normality of society and causes a negative view towards those involved. Going back to Foeman and Nance’s article in the Journal of Black Studies, they cite a statement from Porterfield’s article in Marriage and Family Review, which says “no other mixture touches off such a widespread condemnation as black-White intermixing” (Foeman 541). Labeling the couples as a condemnation displays precisely how harshly society retaliates when individuals attempt to break from what has been label as the “norm.” Clark-Ibáñez and Felmee’s article cites two different quotes from individuals in their study about how their families would react to them dating outside of their race. One white female states “it would be difficult for me to date someone of another ethnicity, not because of any prejudices I have, but because my family doesn’t approve of that” (Clark-Ibáñez 300). This beautifully displays the individual has no problems at all with dating someone outside of their race, but they would not do it because their parents would be completely opposed to it. The second quote was from a white male who said “[his] family is conservative and elite in the community and it would not look good socially” (ClarkIbáñez 300). This brilliantly displays not only his family’s opposition to him dating interracially, but also reveals the reason why, because of society’s perception of them. An individual’s family is not only the biggest influence upon whether they would partake in an interracial relationship, but also shows the biggest opposition the parents would have draws its roots directly from how they would be seen socially. In response, the individual’s families should not allow the perceptions of society to force them to comply with what society deems as normal. Foeman and Nance’s article cites a source that reveals a lot about the history of miscegenation. This citation, within the journal, says an article by Smith from 1966 “reports that there is evidence of intermixing between the two races before Blacks even came to the continent as slaves” (Foeman 541). This disproves the opposing theory in which interracial couples are a new idea and such relationships should never be allowed to exist in modern society. If anything, society should allow these diverse new rela-
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