Media and journalism play an important role in forming the behavior of people. Today, we can notice an evident trend that media representation of interracial relationships has become an important factor in making this topic more acceptable and understandable for society. Positive coverage of interracial relationships makes it way easier for couples to feel comfortable in their relationship and create higher moral values in society. In this article, the owners of a popular interracial dating site share their top 5 books devoted to interracial relationships that help to attract the attention of people to this sensitive yet crucial topic.
#1. Caucasia
by Danzy Senna
This story is about Birdie, a fair-skinned girl who is born in an interracial marriage. Though the girl identifies herself as Black, the color of her skin is fair and hence other people consider her White. At the same time, her sister Cole has black skin and people recognize her as such. Her parents come from different races and both participate in the Civil Rights Movement in Boston. It is very interesting how the book shows the challenges faced by interracial couples. The father of the girl separates from the wife and children and goes back to the black community. Her father doesn’t see his own family as a safe place, which of course affects the main character. This novel is a must-read for all people who are planning an interracial marriage.
#2. The Vanishing Half
by Brit Bennett
The plot of the book focuses on Black Americans who are “White passing” and the White privilege. Two Black American sisters, Desiree and Stella, escape to Louisiana. Stella finds a secretary job in a luxury shop. The woman is fully accepted as a White woman and soon admits her new identity. The new habits of the woman make her more and more distant from her Black sister and she marries a White man. While Stella starts to feel more and more White, another Black family comes to live in their neighborhood. Stella finds it hard to keep her new White life and support her relationship with the Black community. Later, both sisters have kids, but the girls never even know each other. They spend different lives and live in totally different circumstances. The story shows one more time how hard it can be for a woman to hide her “Blackness” and live in society.
#3. Mixed Up: Confessions of an Interracial Couple
by Alex Court and Tineka Smith
In this book, Alex and Tineka share their hard and personal journey of an interracial relationship. They write about the hard moments of racism and misunderstanding that they had to overcome on the way to a happy life. The authors hoped to inspire other couples to go on keeping their relationships despite challenges. The book should show people an alternative vision of the things that many people don’t even notice. But in reality, mixed-race couples have to go through many hardships to stay together.
#4. Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ifemelu is a young girl from Nigeria who come to the US to continue her studies. The book tells the story of her life in Lagos and the US and the UK. You will read about how differently people see African identity and Black identity in America and England. This woman has a relationship with a White man, however, they quarrel and break up because of race discussions. The lover of Ifemelu simply can’t understand her feelings and they decide to part. Later, we see another relationship between Ifemelu and her new boyfriend. On one of the evenings, the woman confesses how hard it can be to swallow what people joke about races, even if they don’t mean anything bad. The book raises an interesting problem of interracial relationships: people with different backgrounds can have too different understandings of racism and privilege.
#5. Born a Crime
By Trevor Noah
It is a personal and touching story of a child born in a mixed-race family. The book describes the situation and racism in South Africa during the time of apartheid. At that time, it was considered a true crime to have sexual relationships with a person belonging to another race. And the main character, as a son of such a relationship, has to face all the problems related to interracial couples. The family of his mom stopped talking to her after she got pregnant, and she couldn’t be in public with the real father of the boy. The story of Noah tells how much people have already done to overcome racism and makes you think about things that matter in life. When you know how some people have to live with the understanding that their very existence is considered illegal, you inevitably start to look at your own life differently.
These five books are examples of how journalism and mass media transforms the way society sees interactional marriages and make the problems connected to them more visible. We hope that you will enjoy reading as much as we did.
