Please Help Me! I am the mother of a biracial (White/ Hispanic) son.
We are having no problems, but I am a researcher, and wotking on
my final project before I graduate. The topic of this paper is Multiracial
Children (& Adults) If the is anyone out there who would be willing to
help me with any info or your own experiances as a person of mixed race
or a parent of a mixed race child- I would appreciate it more than you
could ever know. Please E-mail me at the above adres s as soon as
possible.

Thanks!!!

I am a junior education major at Grove City College.
As an independant study, I am writting a children's book on
dealing with interracial adoption. I am looking for stories,
comments and suggestions to help with the research for this
proj ect. If you have any particular topic, situation, or
information you think children who have been interracially
adopted need addressed, please let me know. I am in the
beginning stages of this project. Thank you for your help.

I am a junior education major at Grove City College.
As an independant study, I am writting a children's book on
dealing with interracial adoption. I am looking for stories,
comments and suggestions to help with the research for this
proj ect. If you have any particular topic, situation, or
information you think children who have been interracially
adopted need addressed, please let me know. I am in the
beginning stages of this project. Thank you for your help.

I am a junior education major at Grove City College.
As an independant study, I am writting a children's book on
dealing with interracial adoption. I am looking for stories,
comments and suggestions to help with the research for this
proj ect. If you have any particular topic, situation, or
information you think children who have been interracially
adopted need addressed, please let me know. I am in the
beginning stages of this project. Thank you for your help.

I have been in an interracial relationship for 11years. My significant other is a wonderful man whom I fell in love with while in highschool. We have a beautiful son and I feel truly blessed to have found someone who is a wonderful partner and father. I will admit that it has not been easy sustaining this relationship but I will say that the effort has certainly been worth it. My family was not very supportive for the first couple of years we were together but since that time they have grown to love my boyfriend . I feel that my son is blessed with growing up with the best of both worlds. He is very close with both sides of his family . My niece ( who is seven) recently became offended when a young girl told her that my son could not be her cous in because he is black! She responded by saying " He's not black, he's Alex and he is the color of love". I would love to receive e-mail from other parents who are raising interracial children.

I recently posted comments and after reviewing the document I realized I mistakenly typed my e-mail address. I would love to hear from other parents who are raising interracial children so that I may learn about new ways to handle those in our society wh o cannot recognize how blessed our children are. Hope to hear from you soon!

My daughter, Melanie, is seven years old. I am white and my ex-husband (her father) is Mexican. Although Melanie doesn't see her father often and I am raising her alone, I have taught her to be proud of ALL aspects of her heritage. She looks more white than Latina, but she is proud to say that she is half Mexican.

As a parent of interracial children and being of mixed race myself, I think it's wonderful that this organization exsists. My children are well rounded, caring individuals. although we have to face the occational rude comment or ignorant raves of some peo ple, we have love and compation and understanding in our lives. We don't always want this kind of treatment but we have learned to accept others opinions and ways of thinking without letting it cause difficulties in our lives.
Thank you for being here and allowing us to see that there is a world of people that don't see color, only love and human kindness. Thank you, Angelina Wells

I am a single mother of two handsome interracial boys. I am white and their father is black. I must say that they are very well rounded children and both are very popular in school. I am glad to find this association and will be checking in on it often . Thanks for your time.

I am presenting at the Utah chapter of the National Association of
Social Workers (NASW) regarding transcultural and transracial
adoptions and identity. I am very interested in hearing from
individuals who have experienced this situation eit her as an
adoptee themselves or as an adoptive parent, or both. I would like
to know what kind of rituals, celebrations and experiences that
have been helpful to you in this process. Please e-mail me. Thank
you.

My name is Nancy. I am the mother of three beautiful biracial girls. My oldest daughter is from a first marriage and my two
younger daughters are from my second marriage. I currently live in Virginia, but I grew up in Massachusetts. I can honestly
say, that I have not experienced any negetive reactions in my 13 years of parenting. Fortunately, I have two open-minded,
loving parents who taught me to look past color, race and religion. I, in turn, am bringing my children up the same way. I want
to thank the founders of this site for giving me the opportunity to speak up! Anyone wanting to chat, please email me at the
above address.

I am a Irish-American, married to a beautiful African-American woman for three wonderful years, and we are about to have
our first, of many, child. I was reared a in a white enviroment, where it was strictly taboo of ever thinking about dating,
much less marrying, outside my race. My parents all-time favorite phrase was, "What about the children?". So what
about the children? If anybody has any tips for me I would deeply appreciate it.

Until next time

I have two interracial children aged 7 and 10. My wife is an Asian Muslim and I am black African brought up as a Christian. I work as a marriage and family therapist. Bringing up children within an interracial relationship requires the parents to be spec ially sensitive to all intra and extra-familial communication since nothing can be taken for granted. Because my wife and I cannot make assumptions about culturally determined meta communication, we have helped our children not to assume what people mean but to always seek clarification. My daughter periodically gets distressed about her non straight hair but we manage! The children are accepted totally within the African and Carribean community but less so within the Asian community. What's even more imp ortant in my view is that whatever rows my wife and I have, race and ethnicity are never used as factors contributing to the disagreement.

I have an 19 month old daughter who is biracial. She is part Caucasian and part African-American. I did my Master's thesis on biracial children and self-esteem. I'd like to correspond with others who are focused on educating society about the beauty of being biracial! My daughter is Sydney Simone is the joy of my life, and I ALWAYS get comment about her being "mixed". We're all a mixture of something! It's a sad situation that our world is in...as an educator too, I'm bothered how in most states the ir isn't a multiracial category for biracial/interracial child to check on their enrollments forms. This is something that I hope can be changed by the 2000 year Census. If anyone would like to correspond about their ideas on how to promote a positive a ttitude about being biracial, please write to me at Briarwood Elementary, 14101 S. Brougham Dr., Olathe, KS. 66062. I look forward to meeting others who are on a quest to change the face of society for our children!

I am doing a research paper on interracial marriages and children, any information that you may have for me would be very helpful...Thanks

I am an African-American female who is married to an Euro-American(that's how he's started identifying himself lately)
We are raising our son, who just turned 5 and is attending pre-school
We had never discussed racial classifications with our son , until about
two months ago, when he came home from school one day and asked me what color was he.
I asked why he was asking and it turned out that one African-American little boy
in his class had asked several of kids what color were they and if they didn't know
he labeled them. This child told one Asian child(who's parents are from Vietnam)
that he was a chinaman, one hispanic boy that he was mexican but couldn't come up with a label to give
my son. My son was very upset th at he didn't have a color or label. My husband and I tried
to explain to him that he was mixed raced and we even spoke with his
teacher (she is Caucasian and has two mixed race children, one of which
is in my son's class and had identified herself as cafe au lait). We offered
our son many options to choose from since he was so adament that he wanted
a label and he finally settled on this label - I'm part African because my mommy's
great great great granny lived in African and part European (he mispronouses
it) because my daddy's great great great granddady lived in Europe. and
I'm a Texan because I live in Duncanville Texas.
What surprised me the most was how badly I wanted hime to identify
himself as an Afr ican-American and how I find myself hurting when he says
something like when looking at a Caucasian man "he looks like me and
daddy" and that I've never heard him say an African-American looks like him and mommy.
I want him to self identify b ut it sure feels like rejection when he
doesn't identify with me. I'm working on getting over that.

I am a reporter with a Louisiana television station and we are beginning to research a series of reports on what it means to grow up biracial in the South. I am trying to locate biracial couples and their children to interview and video tape. If you are such a couple, or know of someone in East Texas, Southwest Arkansas or Northwest Louisiana, please let me know how I can contact you. Thanks for all your help.
Jim

My wife to be has two young sons...8 and 4. I fell in love with both of them the first time we met. My wife to be was very cautious in introducing us automatically and I do understand her apprehensions. I'll never forget the first time the youngest ask ed me if I was white [his mother and I were talking on the telephone and he wanted to speak with me]. I told him I was and that was all that was said. His mother was embarrassed, but we both laughed and continued our conversation. I have a great love f or the boys and they for me. Racism is taught and not something one is born with. Those guys love me for who I am. Why? Because I spend time with them and ask them about their day. What made them happy or sad. They are also a part of the decision ma king process as well when it comes to things they would like to do and where they would like to go. However, the eldest is learning about compromises as well. If we do this, then we can't do that...at least not for today. My wife to be and I believe in our hearts that the children really don't care about the color of skin...they want to be heard and noticed, but most importantly loved. Love is the key to it all. Some or most may say that both my wife to be and I have a huge undertaking ahead of us. We have talked and prayed in great detail about this, but we both know if we put our trust in God and ask in His name, he will give us the desires of our hearts. Our desire is not only for success in our soon to be marriage, but that we raise our sons to be pillars of their communities and to be righteous men as well as men of good morals and character. I see so much love in the boys eyes and on their faces when I hug them or tell them how much I love them. They have made it a habit of telling family a nd friends that I will be their daddy soon. This makes me proud. I have a college education and hold down a very good position in a bank in a rather large southern town. She is still in school, but had to take time off to raise her children. She holds a
position in the same bank as well. She is 26 and I am 34. Any man or woman who lets race stand in his/her way of raising a family is missing the boat, in my opinion. I do not come from a multi or interracial background. My family was born in t he south, but moved out, only to move back. However, I received love at home and though my parents had deeply seeded southern roots that state to marry within ones race, [my mother has finally come around after all these years, my dad passed two years ag o] things have since changed. It is very hard to give love where there is none. If you are not used to receiving or giving love, it may be hard to raise any child.

i am a white woman who has recently adopted my husbands three children. There mother was killed 4 yrs ago. they are not interracial children both there mother and father are african-american. I am trying to deal with the negativity that people have pl aced on me for adopting these beautiful children. if you are in a similiar situation i would love to here your input. These children are my heart and soul. I cannot take the place there mother holds but i can love them as they are my own flesh and b lood. I want to share this thought from my youngest ....... one day we were sitting at the table coloring and he was looking at me very intently and i asked him what was on his mind? he asked me if he went to heaven would he be able to become an ang el he had never seen an angel that looked like him and he was doubting his own faith in heaven. I told him he was one of gods children and everybody who is as wonderful as he would definetly become an angel. We are all gods children and we bleed the same blood. I pray that ignorance will not harm my childs faith in himself. Thank ou

I'm really happy to have found this. My husband and I (both Caucasian) have a beautiful biracial 3 year old boy.
We were able to bring him home from the hospital at two days old, and we love him beyond all reason! We are committed committed to pr oviding for him in every way possible. We would be interested in hearing any advice people might
have. Also, I heard that somewhere in Texas is an agency that places many biracial children. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks in advance.

My partner (Samoan) and I (New Zealand European/Pakeha) are raising a daughter biculturally. I am also writing my MA Thesis on this topic. "Intercultural parenting: The experience of Samoan and New Zealand European couples". I would love to hear from anyone who has a contribution to make, whether personally or professionally.

Hello, I'm an African American woman of 23 who has dated men of
Asian Indian heritage. I am currently in a relationship with
an Indian man of 29 who has spoken of marriage (with me)
Aside from the fact that we are of two different religions
which i am concerned about, when it comes to raising kids & family,
life)since I am Christian (international four square gospel, pretty much
non-denominational) and he is Hindu (non-practicing),we both want
to have children. However I have some questions on raising our
children, culturally speaking, if we do get married...Any suggestions???
Anyone in an bi-cultural East Indian marriage (preferably with
a Black person).
I am also doing reseach at university on East Indian and Black
intimate relationships. There seems to be quite a few, mostly
in Europe, but "no" books or support groups have I found...mostly
because it's so hush hush. Although there is info. on Indian/
Mexican or White.
Well, I guess that's it, any support or encouraging words
for us would be greatly appriciated. Or if you have any questions
for me...e-mail me!!! :o)
Thanks in advance,
Rosey

I have two sons, aged 14 and 11. My husband is white and I am black. We have been married for 16 years. Perhaps we have been lucky because our familes have always whoeheartedly accepted our marriage and children. Our community has done the same. Sure , we have gotten occaional stares, but like my husband is quick to point out to me, they could be staring because we make such a strikingly beautiful family! But seriously, our children have always been encouraged towards open discussion about their feel ings or questions they might have about their heritage. What they see when they look in the mirror, etc. From the beginning we instilled in them pride, so that is what they reflect to the rest of the world. They celebrate all of who they are. Thanks fo r listening.

To anyone who has adopted trans-racially:

A group of us are putting together a web site focussing on trans-racial adoption, and would be happy for any help we could get. Specifically, part of the site will include a lising of agencies who are re commended. We will be contacting agencies all over the US (but any info about non-US would be great as well) and would like to have your opinions of any agencies as well. Please contact me if you would like to help.

Thanks,

Kate

There are live moderated chats scheduled at adoption.com on Friday nights at 7:00 Central time to discuss interracial adoption. Please stop by!

My husband is african american and I am caucasion. We have been married for
almost ten years. We have a three year old daughter and a 12 week old son.
When my daughter was only 2 1/2, she started noticing the differece in peoples
skin color. Also, a few days before our son was born she asked if the baby would
be black or white. She often refers to herself and her new brother as white (they
are both very fair) Although we have never discussed racial differences in front
of our daug hter she seems to have picked up on them at a very early age.

I would be interested in hearing for other parents of biracial children who
might be able to offer advice or insight on my situation.

Having only been a new parent for a year now, I have a biracial daughter who I am raising alone. My comments have to do with the fact of teaching her her heritage of her father who is African American. I have been very lucky not to have experienced any ne gative situations or prejudice against my daughter, people are more curious than anything else. She is light skinned, but you can easily tell she is mixed. I will bring my daughter up with pride of who she is, not what she looks like. It's time for societ y to include biracial people of all mixes. I am so tired of categorizing. My daughter will not feel she is an outcast! She is beautiful, smart and charming, I love being a mom!

Well, this is my first child and she is going to be here in Jan.98
And I'm also going to be a single Mom of a bi-racial child. Her
father and I met here in Germany (military) but he has gone back
to the states and gone on with his life. I'm very worried that
she will not know his half of her culture. I'm caucasian and he's
African-American. My parents want nothing to do with the two of us
and he has decided not to tell his family about her, they are as
prejudice as mine. So I have a lot of questions about how I approach
these topics with her once she is old enough to understand.
Please write if you have any comments or suggestions, or information.
Write to: Shannon and Brooklyn
HHC DISCOM Unit 26 132
Box 101
APO AE 09031
Regular postage is all that's needed!

I am white and very happily married to a black man.
we have a beautiful 6 year old daugher. We have
taught her to be proud of her heritage from both
sides, and she identifies herself as bi-racial.
Last year she told her kindergarden class that
she was black and white - the best of both
worlds. As a white person raising a bi-racial
child I made it my responsibility to learn
about african american culture and history, and
i made sure I learned how to care for her hair
properly(moisturizing and braiding,etc) that may
sound funny, but you would be amazed at the
number of bi-racial kids I see who have white
moms who care for their hair as if they were
white too.This is a shame, because often these
k ids have dry brittle hair that just looks as
if its not being cared for. Thats really not
necessary,and I think that if you decide to have a bi-racial child you must then take the reponsibility to
do the things needed to help your child have< br>a positve sense of self and high self-esteen.
She is a real joy - I love being a mom!!

My daughter is bi-racial and is darker skinned than most bi-racial children. I often get insensitive comments regarding her skin tone. I am white and people are always astounded to discover that she is my biological child, due to the darkness of her skin and hair texture. I am asked all the time if she is adopted. Is anyone else out there experiencing the same thing - I would like to hear from you. Please e-mail.

My daughter is bi-racial and is darker skinned than most bi-racial children. I often get insensitive comments regarding her skin tone. I am white and people are always astounded to discover that she is my biological child, due to the darkness of her skin and hair texture. I am asked all the time if she is adopted. Is anyone else out there experiencing the same thing - I would like to hear from you. Please e-mail.

I have two interracial children (my husband is Kenyan and I am Canadian). Both of our families have accepted the children with open arms of love. Several of my siblings are adopted and biracial, so I have the unique experience of growing up in a multi-col oured household. I need help in trying to do my children's hair. Any tips or advice on how to do their hair or even where to look for help would be welcomed. Seems like I'm working by trial and error right now and my daughter isn't too impressed. I would also like to hear from mothers who are or will be raising their biracial children in Africa as we will be moving to Kenya.

I have two biracial children ages 2 and 4. Although my children
are not at the age yet where race has become an issue in the
school, I still take precautions to make sure they know both sides
of their heritage. I refuse to label my children as black or white.
They are biracial and that is a beautiful thing. They are being
taught about both sides of their heritage and history, as well as
about other people's culture.
The biggest pet peeve I have is when someone asks me "Are your kids
black?" as if I had no part in making them. Biracial children are
a miracle to me as are any children. I love my children more than
anything in the world and as a mother I would do anything necessary
to protect them from being hu rt. This includes setting people
straight about how to treat them.

I am a interracial child. I am thirteen and I am half Hispanic and half Caucasion . I think that this has really opened my eyes to two different worlds, but, when my parents did this, they didn't make a point that I am mixed. They see me and my brother as individuals without a label. We are the future of America, we are proud from where we come from but we do not limit ourselves to this. I have friends from everywhere, but I do not see them as "my hindu friend" or "my friend from Vietnam" but friends. B ecause I am mixed, I can see through the flesh, into the heart of my peers.
I am proud of who I am and where I come from. I am not a Hispanic. I am not a Caucasion. I am the happy medium. "the cream in the oreo," if you will!

My wife and I have a boy 6 and girl 4 1/2 the kids really don't have many distinguishing marks so they can pass as nything they'd like. My son is in 1st. grade and the topic of color really hasn't been brought up. I feel that there really doesn't need to be any rush. I my self (father)can be described as black by color. Usually if color or race is topic of conversation. It's usually negative. so I stear away from it. If it ever does become problem I trust my children to tell me so we can talk.

I am a single mother of 2 children. My fears lie within having a white son and an interraial daughter. I want my children to be well rounded children. However I haven't a clue as to where to begin to teach my daughter about her other heritage. And how do I include my son in this process so that he understands her. I don't want to teach him there is a difference but there is and even though there is a difference he should love her anyway because of the person that she is not because of the color she i s. He doesn't have any concerns about that now but the town we live in is not very accepting of mixed children. In the community's eyes it's better if you are of any other race but mixed. Any comments or suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you!

I was born in Britain in 1970 and moved to Canada in 1980. My wife
was born in Viet-Nam in 1970 and after spending a few years as a
refugee, made it to Canada around the same time. We have identical
twin boys, Nicholas and Lucas, who will be 3 this February. I just
wanted to mention the language issue. We are teaching the boys to
speak Vietnamese first since English is going to be predominant for
the remainder of their lives. I am surprised by how many people think
that this is not right. If I try to get their opinion as to why, I am
given reasons such as "they'll do bad in school" or "English is far more
important", etc. I would happily discuss this with anyone interested.

In my life time, I have seen more and more people my age (later generation X), involved in interracial relationships and subsequently having children. Those people that know me or know that I am "bi-racial", "interracial", "mixed", or 'multi-ethni c",, have asked me what it was like growing up and how my parents raised me, as if I was/am an expert on the issue. My only aswer is that when it come to defining quintessential interracial experiences, there are NO EXPERTS. Children from black/whi te, asian/white, latino(a)/black, latina(o)/white, latina(o)/black, ...etc..... relationships will all have different experiences from each other. These differences will also be magnified by the region of the country (US) or the world they are rais ed in. Also, how closely they resembly the dominate ethnicity of that region or country will influence their upbringing.
The only advice I can give to parents of interracial children is:
1) Try your best to love your child/ children unconditionally (as with all children) and don't ever let them believe for one second that there is anything wrong with them. At the same side, don't ever get caught up in the skin tone/ hair game ("good skin and good hair " vs "bad skin and hair". The children should not be raised with a sense of inferiority or superiority.
2) Don't ever get involved with "keeping-up with the jones/smiths". Our society has not completely accepted children of interracial relationships as being normal. Keep your family first before friends and the community.
3) Keep your children active in sports, music, church groups, or other activities/organizations. In this way they are able to interact with other children/people and see for themselves the similarities that exist bewteen all of us.

I just discovered this web page and I think its wonderful. I wish there was a support group in my home town, which is Miami, Florida, where I can go to discuss all of these issues. I am a white, 28 year old lady, and have been happily married to a wonde rful African American man for 3 years now, together a total of 10. We haven't been blessed with any children yet, however, we plan to begin trying late this year. If anyone out there is in the same situation and would like a pen pal or someone to share stories, please write.

Recently my husband went to pick up our four year old son at preschool and a child came up to my husband and asked him if he was my son's Daddy. When my husband replied "Yes" the child remarked "But you're Black". My son who is very pale complected and has straight brown hair and blue eyes is often presumed white by most people. I don't go out of my way to tell others of his ethniticy because I don't want my son to pick up on the fact that I often have to define him to others. Yet at the same time I a m very proud of my family and will often tell coworkers and friends upon meeting them about my family. Since the "preschool incident" my son is now trying to understand the differnce between us. He sees the colour of his skin and associates himself more closely to me yet we have tried our best to educate him on his black heritage. I stumbled upon this web site looking for resources/books for interracial children. But the best advice would come from other parents out there. I don't want to overemphasi ze this issue to my son but yet I want to adequately prepare him for the future. If anyone has any advice, please feel free to email me. God Bless.

I left a message on January 21st re. the language issue for bi-racial children.
Just in case anyone was interested in contacting me, my e-mail address doesn't
contain a "cal" in it. My correct address is as above.

I left a message on January 21st re. the language issue for bi-racial children.
Just in case anyone was interested in contacting me, my e-mail address doesn't
contain a "cal" in it. My correct address is as above.

I am a single, educated, caucasian mother of
a biracial 2 year old fabulous little girl.
Her father thinks that he can walk in and
out of her life whenever it is convenient for
him, so needless to say, she will learn about
both her cultures from me. My question is,
can you make too much of a child's ethnicity?
I want her to feel special and unique and loved,
but I do not want her to feel like her being
biracial has to be an "issue". I am going to
be starting my own organization in my community
for my daughter and other families that have
biracial children, because there is not one in
my area. If you live in the Seattle area and
are interested, or if you have any feedback
regarding my daughter, please e-mail me. thank
you for your time!

I am a student and mother with a wonderful black husband and a beautiful biracial child. We live in a small town in Southwest Arkansas. Whenever we first met we had a terrible time. The family forbid me to see him and the people in the community thought that this was the most degrading thing that could ever happen. And I will admit those were the ideas that were put in my own head as a child. As I grew older I begain to notice that these ideas were not the way I felt about people in general. I knew that I had a love for all people and that I could find something good in everyone. So I started dating my husband in secret and it stayed that way for a long time, until we got married in 1989. I think about how much fun we could have had if I could have seen him in public. I still don't blame my family for anything though. Thats how they were raised and its to bad that they were not educated to over come this at and earily age. Since my husband and I have progressed in our marriage and had a child, my family has learned the meaning of over coming or coping with things they do not agree with. My little boy loves both sides of our family and I do not deprive him of the experiences both sides can give him. I think children in general need to learn the importance of being different and it being OK. Making children aware of this at a young age is very important. I think that is one of the keys to raising interracial children. My family has grown much wiser as these nine years have past and I think this little biracial child play a big part in their understanding. I thank God for answering my prayers.

My wife and I are soon to have a son. My wife is Chinese and I am Caucasian (country boy from PA). Is there anyone out there that has the experience of rasing a child under these circumstances. Her English is poor but improving, and my Chinese is poorer and not improving since we now speak English at home to help her English improve. I'm afraid our son is going to be very confused. Any comments?

i live in atlanta and im trying
to find other interracial
families to interract
with for my wife and
daughter who is about
2 yrs old. any help would
be appreciated. thanks

I am in search of resources or references, or even personal opinions regarding the necessity of biracial children to know their total heritage. My fiance has a 6-year-old son (black/white) who is not aware of his mixed heritage. My fiance is fighting for visitation and has not seen his son for four years. It is our feeling that this child needs to not only know his father but to know NOW that he has been blessed with an entire family of another heritage, and not wait to find out when he is grown. Please e-mail your response, names of psychologists, attorneys, organization, etc. to mpc@virginia.edu. Thank you in advance.

I am an interracial adult and I'm doing a research paper on interracial children.

I am a white mother-to-be of an interracial child. My fiance and I are wondering how we will approach this subject with our child when he is old enough to notice differences in people's color and characteristics.

If you have experiences with this subject please send me advice. Thank you.

Eric:

I am in exactly the same situation as you, with a Chinese wife from Hong Kong and two
children. The only difference is that I'm 21 years down the marriage route, while you
are just starting.

Don't worry about the kids. Mine are very bright, and have figured things out. They
are 16 and 18 right now, with one a Junior in High School, and one a Freshman it
college. The main thing is to provide them with the love, support and understanding of
their cultural roots.

We took the boys to Hong Kong on three different trips, and that gave them a good idea
of what the Chinese side of their family was all about.

Don't worry about the language too much. While I wish my wife had taught the boys
some Chinese, in our rural setting it was not possible for them to learn and establish it.

I'm short on time, but I hope this helps. I saw your post on IIA.

John Ratliff
searat@sorcom.com

I currently have a boy 6 and a girl 4 and I really haven't stated which race that I'd like my children to affiliate themselves with. I don't think I should. I'm black and their mother is as white as white can get. Blonde blue eyed and goodlooking. We as a couple have lots of friends and associates at work and at home and I think eventually my children will make their own choices. I guess I feel this way because I never have subscribe to a preference myself. The plain and simple truth is predjudice comes in all shapes, size , color, financial status, etc. To me surviving life is to get as much success as possible. Achievement, status, and social circles means everything. If this means alienating my own culture then so be it.

My husband (Irish American) and I have been married 3 years. We now have a 9 month old son and have recently moved to Massachusetts. We are in a new community and looking to connect with other parents who have bi-racial children. I would welcome any ideas you may have. Thanks! Gina

My husband (Irish American) and I have been married 3 years. We now have a 9 month old son and have recently moved to Massachusetts. We are in a new community and looking to connect with other parents who have bi-racial children. I would welcome any ideas you may have. Thanks! Gina

I'm writing a short paper on the dynamics around bi-racial, bicultural children feeling like they have to "choose sides". I'm interested in social contexts, how families deal with this, what ages are most affected or influential, etc. Any comments would be appreciated. Contact me asap, please.

i am a student on raising interracial children . please send any information you have imeditaley
thank you

Father (black) Mother (white ) Actually I'm not sure what is right and what is wrong. We tend to acknowledge both backgrounds. Being supportive in situations where color is the cause of negative problems is no harder than swearing in front of your children. We try to show our children that color is of no consequence. It's how you treat people that matters. Our children are ages 4 (girl) and 6 (boy)and they haven't really noticed any problems yet. As their parent I try not to point it out either even when I'm sure that color is the problem. As they get older I will explain to them as the need arises.

I am a white grandmother and I would like to find a chat room for other grandparents black and white. I have issues with both her white mother (my daughter) and her father. I want some support from people of my own age and background. I love my grandbaby dearly but there are problems I think only another grandparent can understand. I would welcome input from black grandmas.

We are an interracial couple living in a small Texas town. We have three interracial children and feel that it is important for our children to receive as
much nourishment from both sides of their culture as possible, which is black and white. Unfortunately, most of this nourishment has to come only from
our household and not from society. As parents raising interracial children, we feel that there is an overwhelming deficiency of resources such as books,
cartoons, toys, and movies for our children to relate to. If there is anyone out there who'd have information on materials relating to interracial children please
e-mail us for we would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

I recently read an article where Tiger Woods said he was only 1/8 BLACK,1/4 this, 1/4 that what I want to know is HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT. I guess I could say that I am a QUADROON (A person of 1/4 black ancestory:the child of a MULATTO and a WHITE person) but HOW DO I KNOW? I am so SICK of everyone making thenselves sound like some sort of RECIPIE BOOK. EVERYONE in AMERICA is mixed, especially BLACKS and LATINOS....so what's the big deal with these so called NEW MIXED PEOPLE. My Family comes from a long line of miscongeneation. I have ancestors that participated in the famous QUADROON BALLS of New Orleans, I even have MIXED(Part BLACK)ancestors that OWNED SLAVES in Haiti, New Orleans, and Cape Verde. If they were mixed back then wouldn't todays BLACKS and HISPANICS be mixed, after all they're the decendants of those PURE and MIXED SLAVES and SLAVE-OWNERS. I know I don't look BLACK, that's probably why I am so PRO-BLACK-AMERICAN....My CAPE VERDEAN family always jokes about how AMERICAN BLACKS are DILUTED and NOT BLACK AT ALL...we don't even now what tribe or part of AFRICA we came from, and this is the truth. If I had a penny for every BLACK person I knew with NATIVE AMERICAN and/or EUROPEAN blood I'd be one of the richest people in the world. MULATTOES don't exists today; a MULATTO is the offspring of a PURE BLACK & PURE WHITE. Most of these MIXED PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DECENT would see that if they studied their BLACK-AMERICAN history they already we mixed before their mom married their dad or visa versa. MY CULTURE IS MIXED FOR ME AND HAS BEEN MIXED FOR 500 or MORE YEARS....I speak a language, CREOLE, that combined the FRENCH & SPANISH & PORTUGUESE of my EUROPEAN ANCESTORS with the AFRICAN & NATIVE AMERICAN TONGUES of my DARKER ANCESTORS...so why do I need a NEW culture..this MIXED RACE THING...MIXED RACE isn't even a culture...all it is is a fasad to group everyone into one catagory...no offense but if you've ever met a CREOLE, we are a proud people...I LOVE MY HERITAGE, so why would I want to be clumped in with someone who isn't of any AFRICAN DECENT, and doesn't have the same history as I do? BLACK and HISPANIC have been the MOST excepting of all the RACES, if we weren't then we wouldn't have so many different shades of ourselves. I've heard people say that to slove the world's racial problem we should all mix into ONE RACE....NOW I'M NOT PREJUDICE, how could I be, but that's one of the worst ideas I have ever heard...OUR CULTURES AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS ARE WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT....nobody has a house that's all one color inside and out, with the furniture, food, and appliances all the same color...most people like varity, well if everyone is the same then we have no varity....and trust me if we were all the same color someone stupid would start finding ways to make us hate each other...they did it with BLACKS:DARK-SKIN HATES LIGHT-SKIN, KINKY-HAIR HATES STRAIGHT-HAIR.....I like varity. I like being able to go visit my Jewish friend one day, my Irish friend the next, and my Cuban friend the next...

The best thing that parents can do for an interracial child is to be srong, and to know who they are. People say that kids are confused, or don't fit in with any of thier cultures, but this doesn't have to be the case. Surround your child with people who love him/her, and they will always be secure. You can't sheild them from a racist society, but you can give them a fighting chance when you arm them with knowledge, and respect for themselves, and who they are.

I'm interested in information about inter-racial adoption, particularly between white parents and af-american children.

I'm 25 single mother raising my 7 year old birracial son.
When my son was was younger I have always made sure he knew where he has come from. And if you ask him now what color he is he will tell you that he's not black nor white but grey. I think if you teach them that color is not important and that they should love themselves for who they are. My son I feel is so lucky to have both sides it makes him stronger and makes him more special than anyone else. Something else I have taught him is that if other kids can't like him the way he is then they were never friends in the beging. And thats important for anyone birracial or not.

My husband and I have 3 beautiful bi-racial children, of a black and white background. My children are 6, 5, & 2, one boy and two girls. We live in a very multi-racial & multi-cultural enviornment. My children have had issues concerning their skin color and their background yet with my husband and My support and love they have been able to come out of the situation with love in their hearts and respect for others feelings and a respect from others. Kids of all backgrounds, race & culture can face things everyday from anybody and their parents help them solve it or guide them in the right direction, our bi or multi racial children face things as any other child would, just in a serious category. If we educate our children with love, strength & respect they can educate other children, children are more willing to listen and learn than adults, so it starts with both us as parents and them as our future.

I feel like I'm on a pioneersman's journey, trying to raise
my interracial daughter because I also have a son of a
different race.There are no books with families similar to
ours and society can't help being curious about us but I
really get tiredof the oddball feeling people give us.Thanks
for letting me vent:)

Well, as a single, African-American mother of a beautiful, 16-month old biracial son, I'm glad to find a web site that I think I can finally relate to. And believe me, I've been looking for quite some time since my son was born. I was moved and enlightened by so many of the comments I've read. To the single white mother of a biracial child who took the time to learn how to do black hair, kudos! That's one of my biggest gripes in seeing biracial children of white mothers -- they don't know how to handle their hair (a minor issue, I realize, but so often it's the little things that we allow to get under our skin). To the white mothers who are still perplexed by what to do with their biracial children's hair, don't be too distressed. Plenty of black mothers have trouble dealing with their childrens' hair as well, not to mention their very own hair (black hair is beautiful but can be high maintenance). May I suggest that you reach out to at least one black woman whom you admire and respect, and who's hair typically looks nice, and find out where she gets her hair done. Then, once you find a black salon and stylist that you like, ask her for tips on how to care for your child's hair and what products to use (there's a reason why there are so many beauty supply stores in urban areas!). To the father who is teaching his chidren Vietnamese first, bravo! They'll always be a step ahead of most kids being fluent in 2 languages, and English is all around them and easier to pick up. To the Creole woman (I have some Creole in my family, but I digress), you made some very deep comments. I tend to forget the fact that in the country, we are all "mixed," and variety is really the spice of life! The final point I'd like to make (finally!) is that when my son was first born, because he was so light -- practically white, actually -- I was often asked "Who's his mother?" or, "Are you his mother?" I really hated that. It's as though it's completely impossible for some dark chick to produce this little light child. He's gotten darker (although he's still light) and looks a lot like me now, so I don't get that anymore. But I often wonder what's on white people's minds when they see my son and I together because they seem so new and naive to mixed-race issues (whereas they have always seemed to be a part of black life). Are there other black mothers out there who have gone through what I have? Please share your experiences with me. And what about white mothers of biracial children? It seems that just about every time I see a biracial child, the mother is white. Have you often been subject to people looking at your child and asking, "Who's child is that?" How did it make you feel? I just wonder how much of a gulf there is between black and white mothers of biracial children. Thanks so much for bearing with me. God bless.

It is no different than raising any other childe, being tha I have both white and biracial children

My husband and I are an interracial couple, and we have two beautiful 18 month old daughters. We live in kentucky. We moved to a city that, because of it's size, we assumed would be ope minded when it comes to interracial marriages. However, since moving here, we have received more stares, rude comments, and had more obsenities yelled at us than we ever would have immagined. fortunately, these people's ignorance does not seem to extend to our children. People see them and smile and tell us how beautiful they are. I am caucasion, and my husband is African-American and Korean. My children mostly resemble their Korean grandmother, and we are constantly being asked if our children are adopted. Strangers ask us this, and then justify it by saying things like "well they just don't look antthing like americans". If there is anyone with simmilar experiences, especially in the kentucky area, fell free to e-mail me. It would be nice to know somone else who is dealing with the same things.

I am an american and I have a God Daughter who has become my daughter over time. She is in Philippiens and I am in USA. We have all tried to find ways to bring her here to offer her the materialistc benefits of USA life but the traditional values of her home life where she has other family that love her. We want her to come but realize that she needs to understand her heritage. I have tried hard to understand her society and learn her language. I find that to be a parent for her it may be easier for me to move to her culture than it is to get her into mine. Even though the material wealth is not nearly as possible The philippines ahs a vestigial colonialist mentality as a result of international interference for almost it's entire existance as a nation. I tread a thin line to keep from passing along a message that one society is more imnportant than the other. I think her ciulture is vibrant and alive and important for her to explore her true self. I believe that as one of the first truely global Children she is poised on the verge of something that can be quite interesting.

I am an american and I have a God Daughter who has become my daughter over time. She is in Philippiens and I am in USA. We have all tried to find ways to bring her here to offer her the materialistc benefits of USA life but the traditional values of her home life where she has other family that love her. We want her to come but realize that she needs to understand her heritage. I have tried hard to understand her society and learn her language. I find that to be a parent for her it may be easier for me to move to her culture than it is to get her into mine. Even though the material wealth is not nearly as possible The philippines ahs a vestigial colonialist mentality as a result of international interference for almost it's entire existance as a nation. I tread a thin line to keep from passing along a message that one society is more imnportant than the other. I think her ciulture is vibrant and alive and important for her to explore her true self. I believe that as one of the first truely global Children she is poised on the verge of something that can be quite interesting.

Hello, my name is Lance, I live in the US, in west Texas. I have been in an interracial marrriage for 14 years. We have 2 children, one stepson, and one son biological to both of us. Rasing a mixed race child has not be such a challenge, as this is a more prevalant thing, especially in the last 3 years, it seems. You have to know how to go with the flow. They have much more contact with my wife's culture (african descent) than mine, as is expected, as my family is spread between western Massachusetts and Reno, Nevada. Thus, the characteristics of her side prevail, which is OK. They are good boys, and have great influences everywhere, (she is a high school teacher). I even get along with my mother in law for the most part! The lesser contact experienced with my side of the family is unfortunate, and a small source of dischord, but it is getting better, as I have access to air travel to a degree I did not previously.My youngest (13 next week) has basically decided at this point that he is "black", which I have no problem with- I think he feels less potential for rejection there, I might do the same thing in his shoes.

Lance Duchesneau
lance@mbz.org

Hello, I am Bart, dutch and very white, i am married to a Bahamian lady, very dark and we are very much in love.
I married into an instant family because she already had a son of another man. He used to abuse her. He doesn't like it at all that i am his new (white) daddy in this all black country. Personally i dont care much about everything, at least thats what i keep saying to my self, but sometimes it's so hard because of what people around us say and especially behind our backs. I found that since i moved here i see myself living a more and more secluded life, i mean
only true friends and true family is remaining. You really develop a thick skin. I didnt realize all the stress that i got myself into sometimes. Especially in the beginning of our marriage. Now i see that i get more and more at ease with the whole situation and care less and less about WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY. I love my wife and step-son.
We are having our first baby in May. I see a bright future for this baby, growing up in a beautiful country. But sometimes i worry too.

I have to make something clear, when i say
"he doesn't like it at all that i am his new (white) daddy in this all black country" i mean that our little boy's biological daddy doesn't like this, and he threatened to kill me several times. We dont want him coming around my house or having him around our boy because of his negative attitude towards me and language.

I have to make something clear, when i say
"he doesn't like it at all that i am his new (white) daddy in this all black country" i mean that our little boy's biological daddy doesn't like this, and he threatened to kill me several times. We dont want him coming around my house or having him around our boy because of his negative attitude towards me and faul language.

Hello, everyone! I am glad to have found this site. We are all in the same boat together. I am a black woman married to a white man. We have one biracial son together, and he acts as father to my two older black children from before our marriage. We are a very happy family. Both our families love us and accept our relationship, the only flak we get is from other people. I invite you all to visit my website for people in IR marriages/relationships and those raising biracial children, www.mixedmama.com.

I am going to be a first time mom in a couple of months. I am African American and my husband is Italian American. We are both very proud of our backgrounds and our families have been supportive of our relationship. But we are both in the military and far away from our families and I am concerned about how to raise my "to-be" interracial child without the support of the people I trust the most. My husband thinks that I'm just being paranaoid, but I worry that my child will not appreciate being Black and having Black family members around because of our location and the fact that I have an extremely light complexion for being Black ( I am the only family member like that). I worry that not only will my child not look like he or she may be Black, but might come to disregard that part of their culture. Maybe I am being paranoid and unreasonable but I would like to know how other people are dealing with it. I was never bombarded with cultural items because my family was always there to explain or show me what they didn't teach in school. I wanted to share the things I value most about being Black and having a family like mine. Any suggestions or stories about how others have dealt with this?

I have a daughter who is half black. She looks like a white baby though. I'm wondering if this is common. She has blue eyes abd dirty-blond hair. I would like to hear from other parents of interracial children to know if this happens alot.

I am a 26 year old mom of two Korean American kids. My son is 2 and my daughter is 7 months! We have been married for 2 years now. I am interested in meeting other American women married to Korean men, or mothers of Korean American kids. Please E-mail me at tlhong@msn.com if you'd like to talk!

I could really use someone's advise. My boyfried and I babysit his 7 year old interraction granddaughter at night while her mother works. Her mother is white and her father is an African American. She is light skinned. One night recently she started to cry at bedtime and scared to be alone. She has expressed fear that she would be hurt because she is half African American. Does anyone have any advise?

I could really use someone's advise. My boyfried and I babysit his 7 year old interraction granddaughter at night while her mother works. Her mother is white and her father is an African American. She is light skinned. One night recently she started to cry at bedtime and scared to be alone. She has expressed fear that she would be hurt because she is half African American. Does anyone have any advise?

My husband (black) and I (white) have two interracial children ages 6 and 3. My parents and grandparents were very worried about my children and how they would be received by people since they were interracial. We live in Texas and living in the city is helpful because people are a lot more open minded. We seem to have had at least one other interracial child on any sports team that are son has been on. This has been very encouraging. We have found that he majority of people have been very accepting and I have been even more surprised because my son goes to a school that is predominantly white. He has several friends with whom he plays with on a regular basis and their parents never seem to notice the "color" issue. I think that we are very fortunate. Being that we do live in the Southern state of Texas we certianly get plenty of looks, especially in small towns. However, these looks are usually from older people. We are noticing biracial couples and children more and more. There are still many racial barriers to overcome but things seem to be getting better. Having biracial children does present frustrating situations, for instance, on the school enrollment form do you check white or black, because in Texas there is no "other" option. I think that the most important thing is to try to provide these children with positive influences from both cultures. We have tried to accomplish this by visiting both families, we also have friends that are of all races. Our children attend predominantly white schools but we attend an all black church. Raising any child is a challenge, as parents of biracial children we may face somewhat different or additional challenges however our children enjoy heritage from two cultures. Teach them that they are special and blessed as a result.

I am a hawaiian, filipino,japanese and my daughter is half white. We are an Air Force family, and living in South Carolina. After having lived in hawaii the last years of my childhood while my dad was stationed theree, I noticed how hawaii is a gigantic mixing pot of cultures, most from the Pacific rim and blacks and whites there are minority. I had to adjust to not being the only asian child at school and was very soon comfortable with my being asian. More than ever before.
Now that I am iving in the mainland USA I remember feeling so out of place in civilian public school. I was always teased for looking different and treated differently by even the adults around me.
I hope that I will be able to help my child to be confident and proud of her ethnic background living in place where she will be minority also. I know that she will not always be easily accepted by whites or asians.

It is good to see so many of you coming together to help make the world a better place for us all!!
I will check back, as I want to keep in touch with you!
Thanks.
George Vreeland Hill

i am a junior in high school and i have been given a topic for a persuassive essay i have to write.
my topic was "do interracial maariages affect the children?"
it is my job ot discuss both sides ofthis issue as well as to give my point of view on this issue.
i know my point of view, but i am not aware of all sides.
i am in need of inforamtion on this topic.
if any one is willing to let me ask you a few questions or even give me a few websites or books i could look at i would be much appreciative.
thankyou for any help you may be able to give,
sarah lowther

I really enjoyed reading other people's e-mails. It's nice to know there are other people out there going through the same thing I going through. I have a 7yr old daughter. Her dad is mexican and I'm white. Being from Tex. I don't really have that many problems. But I just want to make sure she grows up knowing about both cultures. The only real issue right now is her dad being in jail. We are still together, and we go see him, but it's not the same thing. My daughter is taking it really hard. If there is anyone out there going through this I could really use some insight. Thank You Susan

Hi,

My name is Troy Fleming. My wife a white Hungarian Female and me, an African American male started a sportswear company called One People One Planet. Our goal is to promote diversity and respect regardless of race, religion, or creed. By wearing (OP/OP) sportswear, you show the world you truly support diversity, multicultural, and interracial relations.

We invite you to join our team.

I am looking forward to raising our Interracial Daughter. We already decided to promote the "Good" in the races. My boyfriend's mother is White, his father was 100% Hungarian I visited website on the Hungarian race and, was excited about their culture. I'm looking forward to sharing with my daughter The Hungarian Culture. The Black culture is quite interesting also, I will share with her the history of blacks nothing that will "Promote Hate" but, the Good things about my black heritage. Last, but not least, the White culture we will educate her on, not the things that "Promotes Hate and, Fear" but, the good things that Whites contribute to our world. Brittany get's the best of so many worlds I'm so happy for her. We as Interracial Couples and, family should embraced each other because we are of another Nation.

I am a Black american woman. I am very proud of my ancestry and I deeply love my husband who although hispanic looks more european than latino. I don't think these two things are mutually exclusive but occasionally I do feel a since of guilt about my marriage to my husband. I want to have his children. I want to look into their eyes and convey all the love I feel for their father and none of the unexplicable shame I also feel. How can I do that? I

Here is an intresting twist for you all, I am a 31 yr old mother of two bi-racial children of African and Italian decent. I myself am of African decent but I was adopted at the age of six month old to an all white family,my father is a 1st gerneration pole my mother an Irish Jew with two of thier on biological children my sister 35 and my brother 34 and yes they are the only famlily I known. We live in Framingham Mass. til 1978 or so and we moved to northern Ca. to the suburbs. I was the only black kid in school and had alot of explaining to do(as you could imagine...oh no, you could'nt know could you? I return for the ability and credit to my mother she had always supported and encourage me to find ways to embrace my race, and the truth was that it never occured to me how important it was for me to find the identifacation of my heritige until I had children of my own. The truth is that I want my son and daughter to feel complete and sucure with thier cultures as AMERICANS r!
ace mixing is how we got here folks. I find weather we are celebrating Kwaanza or IM >>> ME>>> teaching myself and them how to speak italian or going to Calabria Italia to learn more of thier heritage I can embrace the fact that my children will have an understanding of the beautiful qualities that thier blood is made of with souls of many past gererations.

My wife and I have been married for six years and it certainly has not been easy. I am Black and she is White. We had to hide our relationship for a while until our families got used to the fact. Now as parents of two beautiful children, we have decided to raise them with the knowledge that society is not always going to be friendly towards them because of their heritage and the way they look. We love God and He is the center of our lives. We will share Him with them and show them that God loves variety and that's why there are so many different looking people in the world. We understand that Love is not measured in feet and inches nor by the color of ones skin. We want our children to know and understand that there are differences in the races, but different doesn't mean bad or good. We in America should not think of the USA as a melting pot, because in order to melt, one has to change and take on different characteristics. My wife and I like to think of the USA as !
a salad. All the ingredients maintain their own characteristics, but they all enhance the flavor of the salad. There are different sizes, shapes, colors and tastes but its all good. This is the attitude that we will pass on to our children.

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I'm a white woman who has a one year old daughter who is half black. Her father lives in Trinidad and unfortunately she will never get the chance to know him. Since she will be growing up in a "white" family, I'm not sure how this will affect her. I don't know what to tell her, or teach her as she grows up. I don't want her to be confused about her own identity although I believe she will be. I know others see her as being black and people even ask me if she's adopted. Some people say that she should grow up being told she is black so that she won't be confused. I'm not sure if that's the best thing. If anyone has any suggestions or comments about how I can make it as easy as possible on her then I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

I'm a parent of two multiracial children. These comments are a response to another parent's message on this site. Every interracial couple has probably heard this one."What about the children?" Which usually seems to translate into their not comfortable with the idea of biracial children in their family.
Visibility-wise there appears to be a great increase in the numbers of biracial children out there. Really, it would be more, if people actually claimed all of their heritage.I can't go anywhere without seeing at least half a dozen interracial families about. The kids even seek each other out as if to say 'hey...they look like me!'It is actually comforting for me to see my oldest daughter experience that. So far she has seen plenty of interracial families who 'look like her's'at a young age. When she sees other kids with interracial parents, she points and beams up at me. She is at the age where she has begun to notice differences. We live in a multiracial and multiethnic world where they 'fit' just fine.Books can be important tools to convey that colorful variety of shades and types people come in. Try to instill in them a sense of pride in both parents heritage.
I'm building a library for my kids to help me answer some of their questions that I can't answer. It will include other cultures, racial, and ethnic groups as well. Sometimes situations can be complicated enough that I may feel ill-equipped to explain properly. This can be an aid to a parent raising biracial kids.

My 37 year old son and his wife are expecting their first baby. I am white and his father was black. I was blessed with having many friends in the black community who helped me with his upbringing. My son's wife is Australian. She is a delightful woman with no bias towards anyone, but I know hasn't a clue about black culture or even the most simple things (for example, if the baby is a girl knowing how to fix her hair). My son loves Australia, but other than Aboriginals there are not a lot of back people living there. Does anyone know of a book addressing this subject? Thank you. Merry Reed

I have a beautiful biracial mix granddaughter. I a black and her mother is white. My son and her have been together for five years and they are blessed with a very special three year old daughter, But I worried about her mothers side of the family , the mother, mother accepts the child and spends time with her , but the mothers father doesnot. Lately my granddaughter will only talk to her mothers mother on the phone and has stopped talking to the black side of the family. I live with her parents and we are very close. She knows her paternal grand parents and great grand parents, but she treats the very mean. Could some one give me some feed back on this. thank you grand mom

i am a black american and i use that loosly because my parents are and were mixed themselves. my father was half black and half white(german). my mother is native american, irish and black. I myself have a daughter that is half filpino and of course they are mixed with spainard so she has an hispanic last name. although all my famliy including my daughter, look like totally different races than what they should, i would just like to say that people shouldn't judge others by what they look like but by how there demenor is.
people nowadays should raise bi and multiracial childern like any other child and just leave out the part where a person has to act black , white or eat rice for all occasions.

I have read all of the comments and all I can say is that if you are a white woman in the south with a black man WATCH OUT! I am white. Everytime me and my husband go out I get hated on from some single black woman. I am not married to him to hurt anyone however I can't go around explaining myself all of the time! We have 2 little boys who are very light. People look at them like they are wondering if they are all white or what? We have been together for 6yrs and married for 2 but for some reason things seem to be getting really hard for me! I am worried about what people's reactions are too much lately. Many people in our families still haven't came around and it hurts. I love my husband and kids very much and I pray often. Sometimes I can't seem to understand anything. If someone has encouraging words please give them to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hi, I have three children that are what i call bicultral. I do not like the other terms people use. I am white and their father is black. I consider them bicultral. we are all from the human race they just have different cultures to enjoy. I am raising them alone but, I have relatives from both sides that participate in their lives. they enjoy all of their family and their families enjoy them. there are people in the public that have made comments to me or my children. sometimes I educate people when comments are made and the people that I know i can't educate I just allow them to be ignorant. My children are happy and well rounded and I would not have it any other way I love them more than anything in this world. If any one is interested in talking I would be happy to. e-mail me. thanks for your time.


mindy

I have a 10 month old daughter that is bi-racial, (hispanic/white), and I am starting to think about how I am going to help her as she grows up and people are cruel to her. If anybody has ideas, please let me know.
Thank you,
Sara

I am doing a Sociology term paper on the effects of society on interracial children. If anyone could help me understand the children's/parent's point of view more thoroughly it would be a tremendous help. Feel free to email me at anytime, ALL info is welcome. Just email me at the above address with your name, state which you are from, and what races are being discussed. THANKS!
Joni

How do I raise my chilern? Black? White? I have decided to do a persuuasive speech on this subject. Please point me in the right direction.

I am white and my husband of seven months is Mexican. He has a 6 year old daughter from a previous marriage who is half-white/half-Mexican. His daughter's primary residence is at her mother's (we have her weekends) and is being raised with three older white siblings (13-girl, 15-boy & 19-boy) & is growing up "white."

My stepdaughter's mother is clueless when it comes to fixing her daughter's hair and caring for her skin--it's a huge pet peeve.

My stepdaughter has expressed anxiety over being "different" and often feels isolated at her mom's. She is an only child in my husband & my home. She's excited about having a baby sister or brother in a few years, but thinks that any baby her father & I have will be white (like me), not brown like her & her daddy.

My stepdaughter has been confused about her identity, but I think that hindges on her mother's poor parenting & ignorance of how to raise a bi-racial child--something her father and I are trying to compensate for & helping my stepdaugther cope with. My stepdaughter doesn't know any Spanish (her dad's first lanugage) and doesn't want to learn due to fear of being more isolated at her mom's. She only associates with other white children at her mom's. She does spend time with her dad's side of the family--whom all speak Spanish & she adores all her Mexican cousins, but the majority of her time is spent in a white family, school & environment.

If there are any other non-custodial stepmoms to bi-racial children, I'd love to hear your input in dealing with the challenges. Thanks.

HI:)
I know what its like haveing an interracial child. My daughter is half german. I find it very easy, absolutely no problems.
But i married a wonderful man and he is chinese. He is from England, and has suffered with racism all his life. I saw it with my own eyes when i recently visited there. It was terrible. Both of us worry that our children may go through the same hardships growing up. We have one on the way. I myself haveing almond eyes was teased as a child about being chinese, so i know how cruel kids can be. His family also does not accept our relationship because it is not traditional and so my children will not have family on my husbands side. Which i find so heartbreaking. How would i explain such a thing? I wonder would that make them question their differences? His mother gets the most disgusted look on her face when she ask what our babies will look like. Because i have red hair and my family all have green eyes. I guess its a bad thing?! I sometimes think this is something i should get prepared for, but don't know how. If anyone can give me a bit of advise id like that very much.
Thank you:)

I live in a suburb of Fort Worth. My husband is white and I am black. We have a 3 year old son. I wish I could say that we have a strong support system, but we don't. I don't care about how my husband or I fare (we are all grown up and can handle it) but I am concerned about my little one. If anyone knows of any schools, churches, organizations, playgroups, etc. that are especially welcoming to interracial families/children, please send me information.

Thanks!

I was born and raised in Brooklyn as an interracial child (black mom and white dad). My childhood was terrible. I was beat up by black kids and held up at gunpoint by white kids. I was called names throughout my childhood and did not establish an identity or any sort of self esteem until well into my late 20�s. I tried to kill myself three times between the years of 11 and 15 (albeit very lame attempts). Most of my childhood was spent doing drugs, drinking; anything to gain acceptance from the few people that would choose to hang around with me. These are just hard facts, not anything to try and discourage you from having multiracial kids. Two of the most important things you must think of if you are going to have mixed race children are 1. Support. Make sure and surround your child with support, not only from the parents, but from your friends and your community. If you are in the Deep South or some very affluent neighborhood, your child only stands to be singled out and ostracized. Don't try and fight the racism "battle" because your children will suffer greatly from this. That being said, you want to expose your child to all ethnicities, not only your own (or your significant other's). Try and find neighborhoods that are more accepting and tolerant. Generally neighborhoods that are more tolerant of gays will be more accepting of other non-traditional lifestyles. Neighborhoods that come to mind are Boston, Seattle, Phoenix (!) and Southern California (and suburbs of these areas). Neighborhoods that do NOT come to mind are Houston, Dallas, and anywhere in Florida. The other important thing I can think of to provide to your child is 2. Education. Try to OVER-impress to your child how stupid racism is and how wonderful the differences are in all of us. Also teach your children to be colorblind at a very early age. They will need this knowledge as they will be called names and not know what they mean. Also, you don't have to raise your kids as black, if they are mixed black and white. The rule that you should be classified as whatever race your mom is, is BS. If you have more than one race, then you are biracial or multiracial. Encourage your children to embrace what's beautiful about both (or all) of their races. This will help them not to dwell on the negative aspects, and later on they will be better prepared to deal with the negativity that comes with living in the United States and not being 100% white.

My mother is native American and Black and my Father Is Native-American Black and Greek. I am married to a Caucasian man. I live my life as an African American woman and have been treated as such. I am looking fro literature on raising Biracial children from a Black woman's point of view. All the literature I have found is from the perspective of white women. I want to raise my children to be proud of and comfortable with who they are from every angle white and black. Please advise if you know where I can find literature/web sites on black women raising biracial children.

i need someone to talk to about my bi-racial (native american and black) child to be. i am facing am difficult issues and have on one to turn to. help!

Hey there I decided to post this here because I figured you all could help me with this little question. I am expecting a baby soon and I was wondering if you could help me with what it might look like. I am white and its father is black. I have blonde hair also. So what color will the baby turn out to be and what color hair? Thanks so much.

Hi I am raising a interracial child by my self as a single mom. My daughter is almost 9 months she is part white,indian, and mexican. I don't see anything wrong with two diffrent races going together.I think she is cute ljust the way she is. I would never change anything about her.

Hi my name is Lynnice. I am a mother of one beautiful bi racial son. I wouls like to meet and talk with others in my shoes. Hope to hear from you soon!

I am black-white-Jewish, but I identify myself as African-American. I honestly have to say, I am often confused with being Latina i.e. in Puerto Rico they think I am Puerto Rican, Florida- Cuban, and Mexico-Mexican...I have also been to places where they don't know what bi-racial people look like, and couldn't figure me out i.e. Japan, Korea, and parts of the US...especially in parts of the Midwest and south. However, more often than not, I am received as black.

I am a 23-year-old educated woman. When I say educated, I mean that I have traveled, I grew up in affluent Marin County (mostly rich white people) and I went to the best schools in the area. Further, I am currently finishing up my studies at the University of California at Berkeley in American Studies with an emphasis in American Cultures and Social Movements. UC Berkeley is considered one of the most prestigious and diverse colleges in the US, and I constantly run into bi-racial students that suffer yes suffer from identity crisis because of the way they have been raised-unconnected to any race and alienated by both races because they can�t identify with anyone, yet they are defined by everyone. Common complaints I hear, blacks see them as black, whites see them as black, they feel just as much white as black �they are never white enough or black enough to fit. Similarly, I hear Chicanos who are mixed say the same thing (not Mexican enough, white enough etc.) They are ill prepared for racism and do not really understand the world they live in as bi-racial people. This is because, even though America is the melting pot, we still classify each other racially. I think it's wrong to have to choose, but the reality is, like in history, most of the time we do not make the choice, and society does. The law says if you have more than 1/16th black blood, you are considered black. Therefore, I think it's important to educate your children about the world and society, as well as their individual identity.

My white mother raised me, and my black father was more or less unavailable for questioning. My mother raised me to identify myself as African-American, which in my opinion was the best possible start for me. My mother is white, and most of my childhood friends were white as well, so I already had a firm grasp of what it means to be white. However, I had to learn what it meant to be black without a black parent. It did not take me long to figure it out as I got older and darker. This helped me for two reasons, it helped me connect with black communities and culture, and it helped prepare me understand how the rest of the world would relate to me. Regardless of the amount of European blood that flows through my veins, I am treated as a black woman (in my experience). The world has received me as black, and has treated me so. I have received this world as a black woman, and my understanding of what it means to be a black woman in historical and contemporary America has been fundamental to my comprehension of my experience and the world around me.

Raise your kids how you want, but be aware of the outside influences that are placed on them. I think the most important thing a parent/s can do is prepare kids for the world, and teach them to be proud people. When appropriate, teach them about prejudice. Because even though you may want to pretend like it doesn�t exist, there is no way to protect your children completely from it. Bi-racial kids are �target groups,� and communication is the only way to prepare them. I hope this helps a bit. Sorry for any incoherence.

I am a mother of 3 beatiful children, whom happen to be bi-racial, I am european and my husband is african american.My children are taught to be proud of both cultures. My family didnt accept my husband at first, but have came around since and love my children and my husband. I did find that my husbands family accepted me right away. Also im not going to lie there are some issues we face as a mixed couple.Ive seen a young girl about to make fun of my daughters hair, but I caught her before my daughter realized what was happening. But its ok because there is going to be issues my children face,Id be ignorent going into this if i didnt expect some problems. I have taken the time to talk with my children at a young age about prejudice so that they will be better prepared to deal with ignorent people. Although i also feel like any kid no matter what color they are are going to face problems weather there to fat,skinny, tall,etc... thats life its how we deal with the situation that matters. So the best advice for anyone with birracial or any child is love them ,talk to them , spend time with them guide them in the right direction and pray to god to guide there every move things should be fine.

Im the mother of 3 interracial children

I am a white mother of two beautiful biracial children. My childrens father is african american. We live in a small town in Georgia where racism still exists. My daughter is 6 and goes to a primarily white school where she has came across a few problems from her peers, most recently being a little boy said she was black and couldn't play with his toys. She wanted to know was she black, I told her it didn't matter what color she is because God loves everybody no matter what color they may be. It sometimes gets really frustrating dealing with such ignorant people, but thats just how some people are. I'm just very blessed to have a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful and healthy children. I thank God for that.

Hi, I have been living in New York city with my husband(caucasion French) of 12 years and three beautifull children.Iam black, we are about to move Upstate NY where the schools are mostly white how do I prepare my children to be a part of a community that does not reflects the real world Any advise is welcome
Maureen

Hi I was wondering if there is any interracial couples in Shreveport, LA with children? My daughter is an only child and I would like for her to play with other bi-racial kids in the area.

Interrcial is not more importance but the human being is more importance.