Excuse me, do you have this in another color?

America is easily known as the "melting pot." Home of many ethnicities and mixed races that make up what we call "American." I never thought that being of mixed racial background would be considered a bad thing, however I was wrong. Growing up as a Caucasian in Maine I didn't have much experience with different races. I was perfectly aware that there were people that were different color than me in the world, but I didn't have any close friends that were a different race.
                      

This all changed when a student transferred to our high school from Haiti. He was the first black person I had ever really spoken to and I realized that although he looked different than I did he was still very similar. Having this first eye opening experience to someone that was different than I was meant a great deal to me. If this young man hadn't come to our school I could have very easily gotten to known my very first African American when I came to college.

This lack of knowledge about races that are different from our own can lead to many prejudices and a large divide between races. But where does this divide begin? Was I lucky enough to avoid this pitfall or is simply because of where I was raised?

Looking at today's statistics, race is beginning to not matter to many individuals across the country. According to the New York Times, 1 in 7 new marriages were interracial. As of 2013 87% of the population was okay with interracial marriages as compared to the 4% in 1959. This increase in acceptance for interracial couples can be attributed to the 1967 Loving v. Commonwealth of Virginia which removed the ban on interracial couples.
               
Interestingly, the top two states for interracial dating and couples are California and Texas. The majority of the other top twenty states are in the Eastern part of the country and in the south. It may also be interesting to mention that these two states are also considered the most conservative.

So is it fair to say that interracial issues in America are beginning to lessen? If we look at only dating and relationships it seems to be that we as a society are beginning to accept mixed race and interracial individuals more readily into our society. However, this doesn't take into account the general acceptance of these individuals into society.

The job market is difficult for anyone, but it may be that your race is beginning to play a role into whether or not you get a job offer. It has been shown that individuals that have ethnic sounding names, or attend schools that are predominately black have a less likely chance of being called for an interview with a company than those individuals that are overall generally white.

The newest thing for graduates has been "whitening their resume" or making it sound like they are more white so they have a higher likelihood of being called in for an interview. If an individual attends a college and gets an esteemed degree, it should not matter what their race is when it comes to getting the job.


Looking back on my own experience in high school I am very grateful that I was able to meet that particular individual and open my eyes to the different kinds of people that this world has to offer. I believe that because of this I am more able to see the world with open eyes and accept everyone for the person that they are, not the color of their skin.