(Check out Her Campus Howard team member Desmond Andrews in this great interview.)
Love is in the air. Going to Howard University, a predominantly Black institution one expects to see little diversity (although we know this isn’t true). But since many of the couples are Black on Howard’s campus, it can be shocking to see interracial couples. We thought it might be interesting to hear our peers’ opinions on interracial couples attending HBCUs, so I interviewed various people on the yard to get their feedback.
As we began our journey asking students for their feedback some students merely said, “Love is love” or “that it shouldn’t’t matter what the color of your skin is,” many others thought differently though. We came across an African American female who didn’t mind dating outside her race as long as it wasn’t a Caucasian male, because she felt as though she couldn’t really relate to them. A Caucasian male thought interracial couples were a beautiful thing and he has never dated inside his race before. Then we came across three African American males, out of the group there were two who were all for dating outside their race and have done so. The other boy doesn’t have a problem with interracial couples but would never personally date outside of his race because he is more attracted to women within his race and feels most comfortable with them.
There was one girl who thought African American males such as her brother may choose to date outside their race for all the wrong reasons. For example, they think that dating outside their race could be easier and calmer. One might find this comment offensive to not only African American women, but for women in general. Nobody should be categorized because of the color of their skin. People should date outside of their race for the right reasons, simply for liking that person for who they are and not for what people stereotype them to be.
In our generation there are many things that have changed, such as more people choosing to date outside of their race. Some people have no problem with it, and have done it before or are considering to give it a chance. Then we have those who don’t have a problem with it, but wouldn’t personality date outside of their own race because they feel that they can only culturally identify with their own race. People are entitled to speak their opinion about how they feel about interracial couples, but the truly important point is that nobody should be judged for who they fall in love with.
Check out our video interview at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mng8Os8BJgY