Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband was born and raised in DC. We are stationed in upstate NY almost in Canada. We can go shopping, out to eat, the movies and so forth w/o people saying dumb **** or whispering, laughing, or mean mugging. While in DC it is totally different. We mind our own buisness and I try not to let anyone get to me and ignore it. I always have some one looking at me crazy or whispering. Then they look at my husband and seem to get mad. Then when they see we have 2 children they go crazy. My husband does speak up and defends his family but we shouldnt have to go thru this nonsense just to go to the carry out or to buy some jeans. Why is it that an interracial family is a distraction? Its not just the older people either. I can expect that. But the younger crowd...Its 2009, the world is changing. Accept it and move on.
I'm puzzled that you find DC not accepting of biracial couples. I know several here and none have ever comment to me about public issues with people's reaction. DC seems to have relatively little racial tension.
This is so surprising to me. I have recieved a few direct messages from other females that feel the same way as I do. From all different races it seems to be the same. Everyone has the same experiences as me. Its good to know that Im not the only one who feels this way but its so sad to know prejudice is still an issue in the nations capital.
wow! i am surprise that DC does that. interracial couple are everywhere in montgomery county Maryland not far from DC. It's the norms here. no problems at all.
It's unfortunate that anyone would hassle you or your spouse for your family. And it's particularly unforgivable that anyone would EVER make your children feel uncomfortable.
Maybe you think it's irrelevant but you haven't indicated your ethnicities - are you White and your husband African-American? In the DC metropolitan area, that may be the type of interracial relationship most likely to lead to the behavior you describe.
It's unfortunate that anyone would hassle you or your spouse for your family. And it's particularly unforgivable that anyone would EVER make your children feel uncomfortable.
Maybe you think it's irrelevant but you haven't indicated your ethnicities - are you White and your husband African-American? In the DC metropolitan area, that may be the type of interracial relationship most likely to lead to the behavior you describe.
I don't know...I can think of at least 3 inter-racial couples I am friends with, all 3 white women married to black men, and I don't recall them being pointed out any more than the other inter-racial couples I know. Actually, I've never noticed any of them ever being pointed out or given dirty looks, etc.
Perhaps it was a bunch of out of towners? I hate to think that DC Metro people would have such a response to something that is really, after all, fairly common any more.
I don't know...I can think of at least 3 inter-racial couples I am friends with, all 3 white women married to black men, and I don't recall them being pointed out any more than the other inter-racial couples I know. Actually, I've never noticed any of them ever being pointed out or given dirty looks, etc.
Perhaps it was a bunch of out of towners? I hate to think that DC Metro people would have such a response to something that is really, after all, fairly common any more.
As many times we visit DC I know that these people were not out of towners. And no it doesnt matter if he is white/black or if im white/black. Someone always has something to say. Mostly the females. Interracial marriage is very common that is why it is such a shock to me that people act like that. If Im downtown not much happens but I do recall being at the building where you get birth certificates and an older security guard asked my husband what he was doing with a white woman. C'mon people you are suppose to represent the law and you can fix your mouth to say something racial like that? Shopping in SE is way worse because of the negitivity but the deals are great. But not good enough to put my children and my self thru what we have been thru.
As many times we visit DC I know that these people were not out of towners. And no it doesnt matter if he is white/black or if im white/black. Someone always has something to say. Mostly the females. Interracial marriage is very common that is why it is such a shock to me that people act like that. If Im downtown not much happens but I do recall being at the building where you get birth certificates and an older security guard asked my husband what he was doing with a white woman. C'mon people you are suppose to represent the law and you can fix your mouth to say something racial like that? Shopping in SE is way worse because of the negitivity but the deals are great. But not good enough to put my children and my self thru what we have been thru.
My children are multi-racial and I would rip someone a new one if they were being hassled on account of that.
Having said that, and I understand your need to vent, the reality is that with inter-racial relationships still being the exception rather than the norm, and with a dispropotionate number of Black men in urban areas killed young, incarcerated, or unable to find gainful employment, some African Americans, particularly women, do not like "marriage-eligible" African American men to be with White women.
As you know, throughout most of our nation's history (and depending on who you talk to, perhaps even today), most of the hostility ran in the other direction, and the consequences for the African Americans involved in the inter-racial relationships were much more severe.
Does this discrimination come primarily from African Americans? In my experience, there is a fierce adherence to "black culture" in DC.
You mentioned an older security guard, and that's more than likely from the "local" DC population (regardless of his race, and that's going to be a lot less progressive of a population).
I'd be absolutely shocked if you were getting these looks from people in federal DC. Most moved there from somewhere else in the country or world, are very educated, and very open. Homosexual couples, for example, don't warrant a second glance. I can't imagine it's any different for mixed racial. I've known many.
Homosexual couples, for example, don't warrant a second glance.
In most neighborhoods, that's true...but there was an uptick in anti-gay violence during 2008. A murder, several beatings, assaults, etc. Not singling out DC for that kind of behavior, but in a city and region this size, you're going to attract all types--including those who hold feelings that may be in contravention to the norms of the region's populace.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
