Are Children Of Interracial Couples Worse Off?
Keith Bardwell, a white justice-of-the-peace in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, refused to issue a marriage license earlier this month to Beth Humbrey who is white, and Terence McKay who is black, because Bardwell said he was worried about the future of this couple’s children. He said that in his experience most interracial couples face serious challenges and their relationship does not last.
“I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house,” Bardwell said. “My main concern is for their children.” He said that he had discussed this topic with both blacks and whites, along with some interracial couples. He came to the conclusion that most of the black society does not readily accept the offspring of such relationships, and, in fact, neither does the white society.
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This news article does not surprise me. Having lived in Louisiana, I have personally felt the racial tensions that still exist there today. And as shocking as this article is to many, it raises a very interesting and important question that I think is worth exploring.
Are the children of interracial couples worse off? Well, first off, the idea that interracial parents could somehow be more problematic parents because of their different race is completely ridiculous. Race has nothing to do with parenting skills. And anyone who would use the argument that interracial couples may be ineffective parents as a result of their high divorce rate, should first be reminded that 50% of all marriages in US end up in divorce. Does this mean 50% of the parents in US are bad parents? You might already know my answer, which is of course not.
So to digress a little, what I mean is that being divorced does not necessarily make you a poor parent; in fact, in some instances, divorce can be a better solution both for you and your children. (To understand more of what I mean by this, read my other article: “Mikko, I Cheated On My wife; What Should I Do?”) But my point with this, of course, is that what comes to raising children there can be and are poor and good parents amongst interracial couples just like there can be poor and good parents in general.
So with that let’s continue exploring our original question: are the children of interracial couples in some other ways worse off in our world? After reading remarks such as the ones from Mr. Keith Bardwell, I must agree with him on some level. Since discriminatory thinking still exists, as Bardwell himself indicates, this won’t make things any easier for interracial couples or their children.
This article is just a reminder of how racial discrimination, stereotyped thinking, and prejudices still exist in our world. It is true that we are often not aware of how we appear to be racist in one way or another. Often our prejudices, racist thoughts, and negative stereotypes are so deep within us that it is impossible to be aware all of them.
Just because we have few exceptions of successful minorities such a black president that does not mean that at large such discrimination does not exist. So, without a doubt, many interracial children and children of minorities are faced with additional challenges in this world. In this sense, I agree with Mr. Keith Bardell – yes, many interracial and minority children are worse off because of this.
However, it can also be argued that children of racist parents are worse off. So if are to do our best to protect our children, should we not also protect our children from racist parents because of the damage such parents can potentially do to their children’s worldviews?
Unfortunately, I don’t think we will ever be able to do that; but what we can do is be honest and more positive in our understanding of our own racist thoughts, negative stereotypes, and prejudices. We need to shine our own light and love into this world, so that, hopefully, one day we will have a world where we don’t have to ask questions of this sort.
Until then, what do you think? Feel free to share your honest thoughts. Do you think interracial children are worse off? And if so, how?
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